Rev. Janice Smith
A Community Mother
We’ve got to really understand how important it is to love one another and be a community and a family. And I think that being a lesbian, that’s one part of it, but you’ve got to learn how to live in society and don’t let nobody put you down. Own it! Be who you are, whatever it takes.
This Black History Month, Cowrie Shell Archives is back alongside Living Lesbian Archive to share the stories of Black Lesbian Elders in the Atlanta area. A special thank you to Zami NOBLA for their contributions and connections in helping us to execute this amazing project.
For our first interview, we had the joy and honor of sitting down with Reverend Janice Smith. A minister of the Unity Fellowship Church of Greater Atlanta, a Queer Black church that is founded on welcoming community, Rev. Janice has done work both inside and outside of the church that has made her a pillar in her community. A mother, community leader, wife, artist, and so much more, Rev. Janice spoke with us about the various phases of her life as we talked through her thoughts and experiences.
Born in Michigan and raised in California, Rev. Janice Smith spent much of her life working with youth an welcoming community, especially children, into her home. She first became acquainted with the Unity Fellowship Church through her son, who had recently come out as gay and gone to Unity Fellowship Church in Los Angeles to find community. Exploring this with him, Rev. Janice also began to have questions about her own sexuality as she spent more time in the church. Gradually she realized that she identified as lesbian and was able to live more as herself. Rev. Janice Smith also met her wife through the church, and it was ministry that eventually brought them to the South.
Reverend Janice Smith has stood as a pillar of her community not only in California, but in Georgia as well. From her work with youth, to welcoming folks into her home when they were in need, to organizing community gardening groups. She shared that her involvement in community has been a driving force in her life that she believes everyone should cultivate for themselves. Especially prioritizing children, Reverend Janice holds a belief in the spiritual, and in the protection of children that creates an almost divine duty to ensure communities across cultures are able to live well together and in peace.
At the age of 83, Reverend Janice continues to engage in this work, stating that moving around has kept her young! It is clear that the strong community she has built has kept her going as well. She leaves young lesbians with a message to be who they are, express themselves freely and truly, and to create and nurture our communities.
Happy Black History Month!
Listen to the audio above for more on the story of Reverend Janice Smith