H. Lenn Keller

Courtesy of H. Lenn Keller, 1980’s via KQED

All images from Bay Area Lesbian Archives, courtesy of H. Lenn Keller

H. Lenn Keller (1951-2020) was a photographer, filmmaker and archivist. She was born in Evanston, IL and lived in New York before landing in San Francisco for the remainder of her life.

Growing up in Evanston in the 50’s and 60’s as one of the very few Black people in her community, she later made it her mission to document and cultivate Black and lesbian identities once she ran away from home to New York at the age of 17. She even said in an interview that “I grew up barely being aware that lesbian and gay people even existed,”. (Sara Hotchkiss, KQED)

As a filmmaker she produced 2 films. Her first short film “Ifé” (1993) won an audience award at the Women’s International Film Festival in Madrid. Her second short film “Sightiings” (1995), was a romantic comedy featuring Black lesbian leads. You might recognize her name from the ever so popular “Aché: A Journal for Black Lesbians” as well as 5 of her photographs being featured in “Queer California: Untold Stories” at the Oakland Museum of California in 2019.

Her collection and legacy lives on through the Bay Area Lesbian Archives, which she co-founded before her passing at the young age of 69.