Honoring Our Queer Mothers

Today, I am paying a tribute to my Queer Mother, Robin G. White (Bobbie). She is the sole reason I became a co-principal investigator of the National LGBTQ+ Women*s Community Survey (https://www.lgbtqwomensurvey.org/) -- the first-ever large scale study of women who partner with women. I met Robin as a budding runaway dropping in at Vox, Atlanta's teen newspaper. She was the creative writing director then, where I would eventually find a tactile way to use my voice. As I aged through young adulthood, Robin was a constant source of the I'm-gon-come-get-you! kind of love. She fed me, gave me a job, published my first poetry chapbook, let me drive her car, and eventually would just save me over and over and over again. 

In September 2015, I asked her to sit my house until I was able to figure out to do with Atlanta. She did, and in so doing, she began a process of discovery for me to identify why the corner my house held in the neighborhood was so sick. We were able to source the root cause of the problem this past month. Robin actually was the first to find evidence of the problem -- a faulty roof job. However, the company that was called to solve the problem simply put a band-aid on it, and eventually the roof would give way to the elements and compromise the very foundation of the home. 

So, in many ways, Robin has not only saved me from myself on so many occasions; she has also saved me from my home. Most importantly, she led me to understand that if I just write it down, I will figure it all out. I stayed in the energy she uprooted in me -- that gnawing need to write in both the clearest and muddiest of moments. 

I would come to live by a mantra: My pen is my savior, and my ink is my breath...So, just let go, and breathe... 

Thank you Robin! I love you. Happy Mothering Day!