Tirzah Sheppard photographed by Niyah Shaheed (2024)
Episode 7:
Tirzah Sheppard
(she/her)
Black Love Archive piece - Tirzah Sheppard - Photographed by Niyah Shaheed (2024)
“I feel like deep, deep, deep down I knew I was Queer, but I was ashamed of it and I tried to suppress it for my entire life…
And interestingly, I don’t really know why. I think I just knew it wasn’t what was expected of me…
I don’t think I knew that queer women existed.”
“augusta” - Photographed by Tirzah Sheppard. Courtesy of Black Love Archive - Black Love Photo Prints
“What really made me consider blackness in a different way was that we met a family of Panamanians… They were Black Panamanians like us. And it was probably the first time that I felt confident in being Black and Latino. I felt really affirmed in that because I remember feeling not affirmed in school.
When we moved to Virginia, there are a lot of African immigrants and that kind of brought a whole new level of blackness.”
“I think I’ve been seeking a monolithic type of blackness - but it doesn’t exist.
We’re all very different”
“What really changed everything for me was Black Queer friendships.
There’s this group in Baltimore called The Function. They throw Black Queer parties every few months, and they also do game nights, skate nights/days, and park visits - different things where Black Queer folk or Queer folk of color can come together, and just be together…
Involving myself deeper and deeper in this community has made me understand what love and community looks like, in the most beautiful way.”
“big sky” - Photographed by Tirzah Sheppard. Courtesy of Black Love Archive - Black Love Photo Prints.
Courtesy of @_.thefunction._
“philly” - Photographed by Tirzah Sheppard. Courtesy of Black Love Archive - Black Love Photo Prints.
Mabel Hampton and Lillian Foster. Courtesy of Lesbian Herstory Archives.
“I started my Black Love Archive because I don’t remember seeing Queer women growing up. I don’t have any recollection of knowing that they existed, so I didn’t know that I could even be Queer.
I started the Black Love Archive out of a desire to see more Black Queer couples.
We need an archive.
We need somewhere to see that we exist.”
Donna Burkett and Manonia Evans - Wisconsin (1971). Courtesy of Vintage Everyday.