Blog Post
Black&…
Welcome to Black&, our Black History Month campaign highlighting all of the ways our intersectional identities compliment each other and inform our experiences as LGBTQ+ people.
This month, join Youth Voices, activists, creators and more — sharing stories, celebrating heroes, and illustrating the ways we are more than just one thing.
Black& – Eris and Dale – @damngoodman),
Our friends at @theoutwordsarchive helped us link Eris, one of our amazing Youth Voices and a reproductive rights advocate, with activist, actor, author, and speaker @damngoodman!
They had an amazing chat about intersectionality, and how Black and LGBTQ+ activism have changed (and stayed the same) over the years. It’s those common experiences that bring us together. Stay tuned for part 2.
Black& – Kristen – @kplgrams), Meet Kristen P Lovell, who’s Black, trans, AND a filmmaker: her film The Stroll won Sundance’s Special Jury Award: Clarity Of Vision 2023!
The documentary shows the history of New York’s Meatpacking District in the ’90s from the point of view of trans sex workers who lived and worked there. They tell the story – through systems of violence, policing, and gentrification – that lead to building communities to support one another and a movement for trans rights.
“When you have these ambitions and aspirations, we don’t know if they’re achievable. And so when it finally comes you’re just like…’Damn!'”
Black& – (Trey – @traezonwright), Meet Trey, who is Black, queer, AND a performer.
Black& – (D Smith – @truedsmith), Meet D Smith, who’s Black, trans, a Grammy-winning music producer and singer-songwriter, AND now a director. She made her directorial debut at Sundance Film Festival with Kokomo City, which follows the lives of Black trans women and won the NEXT Audience Award *and* Adobe’s Innovator prize!
It was praised for showing life beyond only trauma: “In real life, trans women are funny. And we’re sad, and we’re sexy, and we have body parts that are our body parts. It’s time to embrace that. Enough with the fortresses that are built around us, keeping us from fully joining society.”
Black& – (Anthony – @moon_martian1), Meet Anthony, who’s Black, trans, AND a proud athlete. ️⚧️
Black& – (Arianne – @ariannebanda): Meet Arianne who is Black, queer and a forager.
Black& – (Dion): Dion is one of our AMAZING Youth Voices, who’s Black, queer, AND an artist. “Shout out to anyone Black… and to my A.P. U.S. History teacher Mr. Wilkerson.”
Black& – (Chloe): The lesson we can learn from Black lesbian activist, poet, mother, and writer Audre Lorde is, “Regardless of anything else, your voice and experience is important.”
Black& – (Eris): The person I admire the most is Angela Davis. I feel she represents me as a fellow queer Black Femme and an Alabama-born activist. Being an abolitionist and a part of the Black Panther Party, she gave everything to the Civil Rights and LGBTQ Rights Movements. Angela involved herself in every facet of the movements, from political advocacy and policy to engaging in direct action and community organizing like the Black Panther’s Free Breakfast Program in Oakland, California. We should all involve ourselves in every aspect of the movement to create tangible, lasting change.”
