This Bridge Called My Back

You're like, why, Jack? What's with an index? Anyway, my friend Kate McKinney wrote this dope book called Information Activism that's about the 1970s when lesbians organized and created the first databases.

And indices meaning like an index, like an organized roll call of all the good information about ourselves, including the fantastic, brilliant black feminist Barbara Smith, who co-created the Kitchen Table Press, was a huge part of this Bridge Called My Back and the Combahee River Collective and other amazing organizing.

And she created the Black Lesbian Index Project.

But back to the book thing, like, to me, I couldn't think of why would I bring a book to a bar? But that's how compelling being at the bar was.

I really can't tell you, I've never found anything like it, and there's a lot of dyke bars in it, so I couldn't not read it.

But of all of this amazing work, the one thing you need to read in this entire episode is This Bridge Called My Back.

This Bridge Called My Back is one of the most important books ever collected and written.

I found a way to teach it in every class I ever taught.

W- when we were talking, uh, talking about literature, one of my all-time favorite books to teach every semester I could teach, I just found a way to teach it, was This Bridge Called My Back.

Oh, absolutely.

Um, right? And I think that's a seismic shift with Cherrie Moraga, Barbara Smith, Audre Lorde, Kristos, Pat Parker, Gloria Anzaldúa, Combahee River Collective, are just some of the people in the book.

Mm