Kathleen

Today Kathleen Saadat allowed me to take a few portrait photos of her, of which this is my favorite. Kathleen is a human rights activist, an African-American lesbian, and in a dialogue published about a year ago, she said, ”White LGBT movements and institutions have not been strong and visible allies supporting the movements of people of color. There has been little reciprocity with the movement to insure the acquisition of Black Civil Rights, much of which has come at the level of participation by individual White  LGBT people rather than organizations.”

As I was taking pictures, Kathleen and I discussed our mutual admiration for Barbara Jordan,  who delivered the commencement address at the University of Texas the year I was awarded my PhD. Jordan encouraged all of us who were graduating to be mindful of our privilege and to accept our responsibility to share that privilege with those who haven’t had our opportunities.