Globally, safe spaces are integral to queer and BIPOC communities. The power of a safe space lies in its ability to bring marginalised people together to experience community and cultivate a sense of belonging and significance - enabling an open and authentic existence existing without fear of discrimination, mistreatment or abuse. For the Black queer community, these spaces are often few and far between. The modern-day struggle that LGBTQ+ youth face, though often oppressive and violent still, has in many ways been softened by the efforts of our queer ancestors who fought for our liberation. As exemplified through the Black LGBTQ+ people that spearheaded 1969's Stonewall riots, Black people have been at the epicentre of queer liberation on a global scale.
Sistermatic's founding members, historical context, beginnings
Sistermatic was London's pioneering lesbian-run sound system and collective, based in London's Afro-Caribbean cultural hub of Brixton and made by and for Black lesbian and queer women. In 1986 Yvonne Taylor, Eddie Lockhart, Lorna Edwards and Sharon Lee founded the initiative in response to attacks on Black and LGBTQ+ people. Using South London Women's Centre in Brixton as the base for their operations, they created a space for their friends and the wider community to indulge in genuine self-expression, dance, and divest from the weight of racism and homophobia experienced at the time. During a 2020 interview at The Tate Modern for UK Black Pride and The Tate Exchange, Taylor shared, "I'd been coming to London since the 70s, and I'd noticed there was this major segregation, and I wasn't really seeing Black people other than in Brixton or Tottenham. I wasn't seeing them in clubs in the West End".
At the time that Sistermatic was operating in London, it was insurmountably difficult being Black or queer. Being both - in addition to being a woman - was, and still is, an even more complex experience. Sistermatic was unique in that it politicised social and cultural institutions that were typically considered divorced from hardline politics, structural discrimination, and activism, thus, expanding the conversation on the marginalised narratives on which the group centred. Taylor explains, "I decided to use my activism to do what I do best, which is to throw really cool parties for people that no one wants to throw cool parties for, and I've done that from the 80s to now".
Words from the club-goers
In Sistermatic: A Nightclub For Black Lesbians and Queers, Glynnis, one of the nightclub's veteran frequenters, spoke on their experience of community and how it changed after they came out. Before sharing her non-heterosexual identity, their social life in the Caribbean community was thriving; after, they felt isolated and lost: "On the other hand, when I came out, I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. The straight black community didn't know how to behave, didn't want to accept or be comfortable with my sexuality, which made it difficult for me to feel good about the events I used to go to. It was also difficult to feel part of the gay community since there were only a few black lesbian women on the gay scene in the Midlands. The music was not really to my liking, and it was difficult for me to identify with what was on offer".
Five Up and Coming Black British Women in Music
The music
At the core of every good club night is good music; it's the universal language that connects, unites and excites. Operating based on their experiences of Shubeen, which colloquially refers to reggae and dancehall parties, the women of Sistermatic were committed to cultivating joy and emancipation through cultural song and dance. They took inspiration from the parties and events they’d attend in the Black community and reworked them through a queer lense. In her interview at The Tate Modern, Taylor speaks about the significance of the music that was being curated and played at Sistermatic's events and how important it was for those tunes to relate to its intended audience: "I had a club, and I went 'I'm not listening to pop music all night. I'm not playing any pop music. This is a party that's been run by people of colour, and we're going to make sure that that music is representative'".
Sistermatic's monthly club nights ran from 1986 until 1995, becoming an invaluable pillar in the community it served. Not only did it form a safe haven for Black queer women in London, but it also opened its doors to marginalised women across racial and geographical boundaries, with many from outside of London travelling to the country's capital to revel in a night of freedom, safety and sisterhood. For that one night every month, the South London Women's Centre would be decked out with Sistermatic's own sound system, as well as a cafe and a games room. The event would often last the whole night, from 9pm until 9am. As put by Sistermatic-goer Glynnis, "Sistermatic knew how to throw awesome parties! At the time, it was the only place that played the kind of music that I liked and where I could relate to the DJs and the crowd… It had a huge impact on my own self-esteem and on the building of my identity as a Black, gay woman. That place gave me, like many of my friends, the feeling of belonging to a collective and a place that could be considered as our own".
The importance of queer BIPOC joy, ancestors and trailblazers
It is not enough for Black queer people to simply survive their marginalisation and mistreatment, as Sistermatic co-founder, Taylor highlights: "I was having to fight for my right to just listen to decent music without getting abused because I didn't look like the rest of the clubbers." In communities where mere existence - let alone self-expression and celebration - is an act of resistance and revolution, the right to party and experience Black Queer joy becomes a vital form of protest.
Though Sistermatic's impact is little known in the virtual world, it is undeniable that their legacy survives and thrives in the lives of every person who attended one of their events and experienced solace, if for a night, from the aggressive racism, homophobia and sexism that are inescapable when moving through the world as a Black queer woman. Every safe space that exists today is built on the foundation that the women of Sistermatic so fearlessly helped lay, from their club nights to their performances at protests across London. In true Sistermatic fashion, Taylor has continued holding down Queer spaces in London as a promoter for Sunday Happy Day and SuperSonic Queer Ball.
Check out the list below to get into the Sistermatic spirit and listen to some of their most frequently played Reggae tunes!