Wanda Alston sat down to tell her story in an interview with the Rainbow History Project in February 2001. Here are excerpts.
Identity
People always ask the question, ‘Are you Black first, or are you a woman first.’ I have to be honest with you, in my household no one talked about the color of my skin but they certainly reminded me that I was a girl. So when it comes to my sexuality, it is less important to my race and my sex, because it is less visible… my sexuality is important to me and if I want to make it important to others, it’s through education and sharing my story. … I can’t stop fighting racism, because no matter how old I get I’m still going to be Black. I can’t stop fighting [sexism] because no matter how old I get I’m still going to be a woman. I can’t stop fighting some of the other isms I see because I can’t change those things. I’m going to change the culture and begin to work with people who want to change the culture.
Human Rights Compaign
By the time I got to HRC I saw the gay movement from a national perspective but I saw what it really was. It was a microcosm of wealthy gay white men, white women, who were also racist.
… One thing that I like about HRC is that they know how to do marketing … I have to give them credit for being the best marketers out there in marketing the gay and lesbian message. That’s what attracted me to them. I wanted to learn how to raise money the way they did. I wanted to learn everything I could from them. See www.rainbowhistory.org/Alston.htm