BOSTON—On Saturday, October 20, over 120 people gathered in community at the NonProfit Center for the 20th Annual Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch. Every year, Fenway’s Women’s Health Team hosts the brunch as a celebration of women of color and their supporters whose lives have been affected by cancer.
Started in 1999, the brunch is named in memory of Audre Lorde, a self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” and cancer survivor who fought against sexism, homophobia, and racism. Watch the story of the event’s founder Denise Bentley and past community leaders to learn more about the event’s history, the inspiring legacy of Audre Lorde, and our incredible community of women of color cancer survivors.
The brunch was an afternoon of diverse artistic performances, health education, and remembrance. The event featured the Afrocentric musical ensemble Zili Misik, Japanese Taiko drumming group Genki Spark, multicultural storytelling collective Red Sage Stories, and an Afro-Latina spoken word artist Queen Laura. The attendees enjoyed these performances to the taste of vegan Dominican Food by Coco Verde Vegan. The event introduced a health education workshop on disparities and cancer risks of LGBTQ women and women of color as well as resource tables from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Facing Cancer Together, Cancer Care Center at Boston Medical Center, and YMCA. The brunch also celebrated the accomplishments of community leaders, including transgender advocate and researcher Erin Ebony, cancer survivor and community activist Dianne Austin, and community healers janhavi madabushi and Kamaria Weems Carrington of Cultivate: Queer Healing Lab.
Read more about the event on Fenway Health website and check out photos from the event by Ellie Nguyen on Facebook. You can also access local resources and survivors’ stories on the event’s website.
[From a News Release]
