They were discriminated against during the 60’s when the word “lesbian” did not yet exist. They fought their way out of the closet in the 70’s with the help of the women’s movement. Then, in 1999, several women banded together to form the Alapine Community in Northern Alabama, voluntarily choosing to isolate themselves from a patriarchal, homophobic society and live out their days in peace and harmony with one another.

“The Alapine community is nestled in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachians, near the Alabama-Georgia line,” said Alex Hollinghead, president of Spectrum, a registered student group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning students and their allies at the University. “The community is secluded and completely self-maintained.”

He explained that many of the women live a very simple and eco-friendly lifestyle. Some of them collect rainwater to use for their homes, and maintain their own gardens.

“In their community center, they have a kitchen stocked with local organic foods and use water-free compost toilets, which are also miraculously sanitary and odor-free,” Hollinghead said. “Seeing these women thrive in such a naturalistic, self-sustaining way is completely humbling. They truly have a respect for the beautiful environment around them and are wonderful stewards of the land they live on.”

As part of Friday’s Day of Silence events, co-hosted by the Spectrum and the United Greek Council, Emily Green and Ellen Spangler from the Alapine Community are hosting an open dialogue forum in the Ferguson Ballroom at 3:00 p.m.

“Nine out of ten gay and lesbian students report the response of verbal, sexual or physical harassment when they come out to other students,” said Green, quoting statistics from Human Rights Campaign literature. “I will be addressing this issue, along with what it takes to get people in society to understand and recognize LGBTQ rights.”

Green, 65, notes that society has changed, and says she is inspired that a Day of Silence even exists. An open forum with dialogue about LGBTQ rights is a far cry from her own experience trying to come out of the closet.

“At 14, I entered into what was termed a ‘lesbian relationship’ with another girl,” Green said. “The relationship was quickly ended, and I was not allowed to be around her anymore. The reactions of those around me had such a tremendous impact that I went back into the closet at 21 and got married for four years.”

When she knew she could not take being miserable any longer, Green took a chance and told her sister that she was divorcing her husband because she was a lesbian.

“She told me ‘You have to do what makes you happy,’ and those words changed my life,” Green said. “I want to encourage students to support their gay friends in their relationships just like you would straight friends, take offense at gay jokes, etc.”

Green has lived at Alapine for nine years now, where she was finally able to live among women with similar values, like Ellen Spangler. Spangler and her partner of 21 years, Mary Alice Stout, were the first couple to move into Alapine twelve years ago.

She said while men are allowed to visit the community, they are never allowed to live there for any reason.

“We want to basically live in a place that’s all women,” Spangler said. “We really want women’s energy to be here, and men tend to mess up that dynamic.”

Spangler was born in 1934, when it was considered unheard of for a woman to do anything besides graduate high school, find a husband and have a family.

“The Women’s Movement was like a rebirth for my life,” Spangler said. “I was finally able to discover who I really was in my mid-30’s. When I came out as a lesbian, my children were still fairly young: two were in high school and two were in junior high. I changed my last name in the divorce, so they would not suffer any negative repercussions with their friends or friends’ parents.”

Spangler said she hopes the Day of Silence forum will allow women to understand what it really means to come out as a lesbian.

“I hope any woman who thinks she’s a lesbian feels free enough to find a good partner and form a good relationship,” Spangler said. “And she must expect negative feedback from the community and her family. For me personally, when I encounter instances of prejudice, I either find a way to change it or move on with my life.”

Hollinghead said they invited the Alapine women to speak during the Day of Silence because they can offer generational knowledge of life as queer people in the United States, which helps develop an outlook on the movement for LGBTQ equality.

“Above all, I hope students will take an appreciation of community from this event,” Hollinghead said. “The Alapine women demonstrate in a marvelously unique way how, regardless of the circumstances and attitudes of the world at large, we have the power to create a positive community around us, and how cooperation and respect are vital to empowering us all.”

If You Go

What: Women from the Alapine Community to speak

Where: Ferguson Center Ballroom

When: 3 p.m.