by Sarah Rutledge Fischer | photo by Greg Campbell
When Te Harris (pictured above) came out in the 8th grade, her parents’ supportive response reassured her that it was “okay to live in the skin that [she was] in.” She wore one last dress to the 9th grade prom as part of a deal to appease her mother; after that, she always wore a tuxedo.
When Tenisha Harris first came to University of Memphis from Arkansas in 2006, she wasn’t searching for brotherhood, she was looking for a community of learning and a pathway to success. But during her second year, the Stonewall Tigers, a campus LBGT organization, invited all Greek-letter organizations on campus, including the preeminent historically-black sororities and fraternities known as the Divine Nine, to an interest meeting for LBGT students. Harris was intrigued.
At the meeting, Harris waited with eight or nine other LGBT students, but none of the campus fraternities or sororities showed up. Harris and her fellow students faced a sad reality—LBGT individuals were not accepted by the Greek organizations then on campus. Harris was not really surprised. A lack of acceptance of LGBT people was prevalent on campus at that time.
“Even if no one outwardly said anything about not liking LGBT individuals,” Harris said, “you knew it was there. You knew that there was a level of ‘we don’t want you here’ there.”
One person who did show up, however, was a representative of Beta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc., a Greek-organization out of Florida that caters to feminine lesbians. Now, Harris is not a feminine lesbian. Despite infant years spent competing in beauty pageants, Harris had always been a tomboy. As a child, she was by her father’s side, working on cars, and doing everything he did. She preferred braids and jeans to hair products and dresses. When she came out in the 8th grade, her parents’ supportive response reassured her that it was “okay to live in the skin that [she was] in.” She wore one last dress to the 9th grade prom as part of a deal to appease her mother; after that, she always wore a tuxedo.
So Harris had no personal interest in a sorority for feminine lesbians, but she was impressed that the woman had shown up. The Beta Phi Omega representative told Harris about their brother organization, Omicron Psi Omega, Inc.
Like Beta Phi Omega, Omicron Psi Omega served the LBGT community, but Omicron was geared toward masculine-presenting lesbian women. Harris was interested. She spoke with the woman at length, learning as much as she could about Omicron. Soon after, she filled out an online interest form, and one of the founders got in touch. At the time, Omicron’s only chapter was in Tallahassee, Fla. Membership didn’t seem possible, but Harris was excited to find a kindred community, even if her connection with that community was mainly online.
Founded in Florida in 2000, Omicron Psi Omega refers to itself as a “bruh-therhood,” and prides itself on embracing women who self-identify as masculine of center (also aggressive, dominant, or butch) within the LGBT community. Like most Greek organizations, Omicron is focused on community, both the community of support members provide one another and the surrounding communities they serve through fundraising and service projects. Unlike many Greek-letter organizations, Omicron does not limit its membership to college students and the application process is open to post-graduate professionals. The focus is less on supporting each other through a college experience, and more on simply supporting each other in life.
In 2011, Harris graduated from University of Memphis. The intervening years had been difficult. The loss of beloved older brother to suicide in 2009 had shaken the foundations of her confidence and optimism, and Harris had spent the next few years struggling with questions of acceptance and happiness. After a brief move to Chicago, she ended up back in Memphis. Her late-brother had been a Lenny’s Sub Shop franchisee, and soon Harris was working with his partner, running stores and evaluating new franchisees. The work reinvigorated her drive, and soon she was pursuing an online master’s degree in business with a concentration in organizational leadership.
Harris was still in touch with Omicron’s Tallahassee members. She had watched new people “cross” and become members, but was not yet aware that the organization had plans to expand beyond its Florida roots. Around that time, Megan Johnson, Omicron’s current president, reached out. Johnson told Harris that Omicron was preparing to grow. She said that the organization was still very interested in Harris and asked for her patience.
Harris and Omicron spent the next four years courting each other. Harris was exactly the kind of person Omicron needed to expand into a new city, a professional individual with a strong focus on community involvement. Johnson visited regularly with Harris when she was in Memphis to see family. Harris often traveled to Atlanta for meetings where she got to know other members in person. Bit by bit, the group began to feel like family. In early 2016, Harris was invited to begin the official membership process, and in April the organization celebrated Harris’s initiation as the first Memphis member of Omicron Psi Omega, Inc.
These days, Harris is focused on growing the organization’s Memphis presence, and for her that means giving back to the community. She is working with OutMemphis to host and attend events on behalf of Omicron. She hopes to coordinate with the Stonewall Tigers and reach out to the University of Memphis LBGT community. But Harris isn’t likely to stop there. In her vision for the future, Omicron has a role to play, not only in the LGBT community, but also in Memphis as a whole.
“I can be part of the help for Memphis,” Harris says, “because to me that is ultimately what this city needs. I feel like this city needs to take the blindfold off and realize that there are different people around here, people from different walks of life, and if we can all bond together to help see this city grow, then we could get somewhere.”
For more information about getting involved with Omicron Psi Omega, Inc., OmicronPsiOmega@gmail.com.
