Regina Shavers (1941-2008) founded GRIOT Circle | Serving LGBTQ Elders of Color in the late 1990’s, and served as the organization’s first Executive Director. GRIOT Circle is “an intergenerational and culturally diverse community-based social service organization responsive to the realities of older lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, two-spirit and transgender people (LGBTST) of all colors.” Previous to this role, Shavers also co-founded Pride At Work, part of the AFL-CIO, “representing LGBTQ Union Members and their allies.” 

 Interview with Regina Shavers in 1999 

“As the conference closed, Regina Shavers, an African American woman in her fifties, took the podium. Shavers worked as a 911 operator and was a cofounder of LAGIC. Her deep singsong voice was both self-confident and determined. “You have started something now! So many people have come up to me this weekend and asked how to start an orga- nization in their workplace. Last week we told them we are everywhere, now we are telling them, ‘We work!'”

(Above, as quoted in Gold, T. (1999). Making out at Work. Social Text, (61), 89-110. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/488681). 

““Griot” is a West African word for storyteller—one who perpetuates the oral tradition of a village or family. We adapted the word and extended its meaning, developing the acronym Gay Reunion In Our Time, which references deep connections to the lived experiences of those who founded GRIOT and those who continue to walk through its doors today…GRIOT was created initially by a majority of women of African American, Caribbean, and Latino descent, and was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1996. Visionary first Executive Director Regina Shavers, who passed away in 2008, was a co-founder and driving force behind GRIOT.” 

References

Kim, H. J., Acey, K., Guess, A., Jen, S., & Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I. (2016). A Collaboration for Health and Wellness: GRIOT Circle and Caring and Aging with Pride. Generations (San Francisco, Calif.), 40(2), 49–55.