[3][4] Adams was born on September 25, 1954, as the second oldest of 10 children in Oxford, Mississippi, specifically Freeman's Town, just soon after the start of the United States Civil Rights Movement.
[6] In 1970, when she was 16 years old, Adams went on to study social work and sociology at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and eventually graduated at the age of 19.
[5] [3] After graduating from Ole Miss, she launched the Audre Lorde Scholarship Fund, with the help of the nonprofit organization ZAMI, to help financially support struggling Black lesbians ($1000 per recipient) who openly expressed their sexuality and were also seeking higher education.
[7][6][5] As a child, Adams knew an elderly woman that she called "Miss Savannah" who she spent ample time with.
The primary motivations behind launching ZAMI NOBLA were to combat the invisibility of elderly Black lesbians within the queer community and to help them learn about and cope with the aging process.
Along with mental health support, ZAMI NOBLA aids in providing/finding housing for elderly Black women who otherwise could not find any on their own.