​Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz

Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz is an Assistant Professor
and Head of Reference at the Graduate Center Library of the City University of
New York. She is a Coordinator at the Lesbian Herstory Archives, Board member
of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies, and Advisory Board member to a GALE LGBTQ
archival database. Shawn’s focus is telling the stories of Black lesbian
through oral histories, archiving, and the blurred lines
of fiction. She presented her work on archiving Black lesbians as
Keynote to theInternational LGBTQ ALMS (Archivists, Librarians, Museum Curators, & Special Libraries) Conference. 

Shawn has a BS in Queer Women’s Studies from CUNY, an MFA
in Creative Writing/Fiction, and an MLS with a focus on Archiving and Records
Management, both from Queens College. Her current project is curating the
narrative of the Salsa Soul Sisters, the first Black lesbian
organization in the country, through a zine and traveling exhibit with the
Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop,
Lesbian Herstory Archives, and members of Salsa Soul. Learn more about Shawn
here.