Memories from the Dykeaspora

Abstract

Memories help us to define our pasts and shape our identities. The author begins this essay with childhood memories that are traced from the Caribbean to the U.S. in order to situate her burgeoning queerness. She then discusses the importance of giving voice to unspoken and silenced memories, particularly for Black queers, who tend to be erased from the collective memory. Giving voice to unspoken memories is doubly important for the Black queer diaspora that is expunged from both the national and diasporic collective memory.