ZAMI NOBLA News & Notices

News

The Cruising Podcast interview with ZAMI NOBLA's Creative Director, Angela Denise Davis (27 May 2025).

You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts, but here is a link to the episode on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/7pn9p8VY93AbJXtf6MfcgH?si=b67b0965afa74311

“Unique group devises way for Black lesbian elders to ‘live forever’,” LGBTQ Nation, 23 Apr 2025, https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/04/this-unique-group-has-devised-a-way-to-help-elder-black-lesbians-live-forever

“Sometimes we’re part of communities where we are told, ‘Don’t tell your story. Don’t tell them about that aspect of your story. Someone may judge you. Someone may criticize you. Someone may think about you differently. Keep it to yourself,'” Davis said.

“[But] we’ve got to share our stories. Our stories tell us that we’re not alone. Our stories tell us that we’ve made it. We’ve made it through hard times with good times. And our stories connect us to other people.”

ZAMI NOBLA member Deneen Day featured as caregiver in Alzheimer’s article.

“‘I had to be a warrior':’ How one Black, LGBTQ+ Ohioan blazed a trail in Alzheimer’s caregiving”, The Buckeye Flame, 28 Jan 2025, https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/01/28/black-lgbtq-caregiver-blazes-trail-in-ohios-alzheimers-community/.

“I’ve done two tours of duty,” Deneen Day says without hesitation, introducing herself.

No, the Columbus native has never served in the military. But she is certainly a veteran of a different sort. 

Day has twice served as the primary caregiver for close family members with Alzheimer’s disease. For any individual, this role can be exhausting and all-consuming. But as an LGBTQ+ Black woman who has had to navigate support systems designed for people who don’t look like her or love like her, Day has encountered obstacles that straight white caregivers simply do not encounter. 

Add to the mix that Black Americans are twice as likely as older whites to have Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and you have an embattled landscape that only a seasoned veteran could traverse.

“I have had to be a warrior, that’s for sure,” Day laughs. “But I just put on my cape and did what I had to do.”

Mary Anne Adams, Founder.

“Reeling in the Years: The storied and ongoing journey of ZAMI NOBLA,” Rough Draft Atlanta, 11 Mar 2025, https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2025/03/11/atlanta-zami-organization/.

…[O]lder people who helped build the LGBTQ+ movement cannot afford to be “thrown away,” because they carry so much knowledge.

“Elders need our young generations. We’re interdependent as marginalized communities. People are trying to kill us, every day,” Adams said. “Ain’t nobody going to save us but us. And ‘us’ means LGBTQ+.”

…[I]t’s up to each generation to pass their stories on, to create safe, nurturing spaces for everyone. “We can keep people in their homes longer, we can have collaborative community accommodation,” Adams said. “We can ensure access to medical care, with non-oppressive providers who don’t turn people away because they’re queer.”