In honor of Black History Month, Georgia Equality was fortunate to interview historian Dr. Ashley Coleman Taylor. Dr. Coleman Taylor has worked on the oral history project, Atlanta as Black Queer Space, for several years.
The interview is conducted by Kermit Thomas, state outreach manager, denoted by “K,” and Dr. Coleman Taylor, “A,” and it explores race, space, identity, the ever-changing politics of the south, and more.
K: Could you introduce yourself and the project you’re working on?
A: I’m Ashley Coleman Taylor and I am an Atlanta native; my family has been in Atlanta since the 1970s. I am a professor of Religious Studies and Women and Gender Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. My work is primarily about Black embodiment, Black gender, sexuality, and Africana religions. My work is situated in Puerto Rico and also Atlanta.
K: Can you tell us a little about your work in Puerto Rico and Atlanta?
A: Yeah, so in the Puerto Rico work, I look at religion as a tool of white supremacy, so I look at how it’s impacted Black and Indigenous embodiment in Puerto Rico. I particularly focus on Black women and how they use their bodies as tools of resistance; to resist racism, sexism, classism, and coloniality. My Atlanta work is an oral history project with Black LGBTQ elders, so I look at how they have used their bodies as tools in the fight for social justice as activists over decades.
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