Older Lesbians Gather in Oakland

A national organization for lesbians age 59 and older is hosting its biennial gathering in Oakland this weekend as it marks its 25th anniversary.

Old Lesbians Organizing for Change expects more than 300 women to attend the gathering, which kicked off Wednesday and runs through Sunday, July 27 at the Oakland California Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in the heart of the East Bay city's downtown.

"I have been an activist all my life. To find a group that is lesbians in their 60s, 70s, and 80s still being activists, troublemakers, and looking for social justice makes me happy," said San Francisco resident Carol Seajay, 64, who joined two years ago and is presenting two workshops at the gathering, including one about being hard of hearing.

Known as OLOC for short, the group grew out of two California conferences older lesbians held in the late 1980s, according to an online "herstory" published on its website. The first was held at the California State University Dominguez Campus in Carson, California, in April 1987.

In August 1989, lesbians in northern California sponsored a second conference. Out of that a group of lesbians came together to form OLOC. In 1992 it gained nonprofit status.

"The founding issue of OLOC is to combat ageism in all of its forms and the invisibility of old lesbians and old women as lead actors in society," said Oakland resident Elana Dykewomon, 64, who serves on OLOC's organizing committee and heads the programming committee for this year's gathering.

"The other part about what OLOC is, it is committed to understanding the intersectional nature of oppression and works against racism, classism, able-ism, size-ism, heterosexism, and all of those -isms and works for a progressive and just world on every front we can," added Dykewomon, whose partner, Susan Levinkind, 72, serves on OLOC's local steering committee.

OLOC's gathering comes as LGBT aging issues have gained greater attention from leaders in San Francisco and state lawmakers in Sacramento. As the Bay Area Reporter has detailed in a series of stories over the last year, the city formed a task force to examine the issues facing its LGBT senior residents, estimated to number upwards of 20,000, and suggest ways for how policymakers can address their concerns.

A state Assembly committee on aging held a special hearing about LGBT seniors' issues during Pride month in June. It plans to include its own recommendations about how to address the needs of California's aging LGBT population in a report set to be released this fall.

Supporting older lesbians, and women in general, economically is one of OLOC's main issues it seeks to address.

"How to share our resources and make sure old women's economic plight is understood, recognized, and addressed by all of our various movements," is a key goal, said Dykewomon, noting that at least a third of attendees receive some form of financial aide to attend.

This year's gathering theme is "Lesbian Activism Changing the World" and features workshops on a host of issues, ranging from lesbian health concerns and the importance of eco-feminism to preventing elder abuse and body image issues.

"Probably there is a workshop for everyone," said Dykewomon, noting that they cover "every imaginable subject."

The group has lined up a number of noted feminists, authors, poets, and activists to address attendees. Keynote speakers include lesbian femme writer Dorothy Allison; lesbian Chicana writer Cherrie Moraga, a professor at Stanford; and Native American activist and writer Chrystos, who lives in San Francisco and identifies as Two Spirit and lesbian.

During the gathering's opening night event OLOC presented its Del Martin Old Lesbian Pride Award, given to nominees age 70 or older and still living. This year's recipients were Arden Eversmeyer of Houston, Texas and Joan Emerson of the OLOC Bay Area chapter. The honor comes with $500 for each.

Eversmeyer founded the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project in 1997 and has been collecting stories of lesbian friends ever since. Co-director of OLOC from 1997 to 2004, she also has served on its steering committee for 14 years.

For 18 years - 1996-2013 - Emerson has worked to revitalize and coordinate OLOC's San Francisco Bay Area chapter. The local chapter is OLOC's oldest, most active, and its largest, with more than 200 members.

"Old age has been the best time of my life," stated Emerson.

For more information about OLOC and its gathering, visit www.oloc.org