178 Search results for "queer history"

Black queer people were never #allJussieSmollett
I want to start this off with a reminder that the police are never to be trusted—particularly when it comes to their version of a situation where harm has befallen a Black queer person (because of their explicit history of contributing to that harm, and of trying to cover it up). I want to start […]
Queering Kwanzaa: How the seven principles remind me of QTPOC power
by Loni Amor This essay contains discussions of suicidal ideation. Inspired by First Fruit festivals of Southern Africa, African-American civil rights activist and academic, the extremely problematic Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga established Kwanzaa in 1966. Deriving from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza”, which translates loosely to “first fruits of the harvest”, Kwanzaa offers Black […]
The story of Black queer women imprisoned for defending themselves to reminds us this criminal system cannot save us
By Gabrielle Noel The legal system was never built with Black queer people in mind. This system assigns victimhood, or refuses it, according to social biases, and society’s perception of who is more likely to be a victim or more credible thus affects who is allowed to receive justice. When it comes to sexual harassment, […]
Yes, I can still be unapologetically queer while in the closet
by Indigo One of my personal attributes I am most proud of is my identity as a queer and non-binary afro-boricua. Whether I am in a classroom on my college campus or a house party on a Friday night, I allow my fullest and most authentic self to occupy the space I am in. Among […]
I’m finally decolonizing the queerphobia I learned at home
by Indigo I could not have been older than six or so. It was the first time I can remember any indication from my family that queerness was something I would not be afforded the space to explore or embrace. This first memory of anti-queerness was a short conversation between my mother and I. In […]
Time explores the history of a Nazi concentration camp symbol that was repurposed for Pride
As detailed by a recent article in Time, as the Nazi Party came into power in the 1930’s, Hitler saw the existence of gay men in Germany as a threat to his philosophy of a new and purified Germany because they could not bear children. During this period, gay friendly bars and clubs were shut down, […]
We are not yours: I’m tired of white women’s racial-sexual terrorism of my BlaQueer body
by Tabias Olajuawon This essay contains discussion of racialized sexual violence and anti-Black fetishism “You are not to touch other flesh without a police permit. The State wants to seize your bed And sleep with you… The message is clear: your penis.. your anus, your orgasm, these belong to the state. The erogenous zones are […]
Black and Latinx queer people need safe spaces, too
By Preston Mitchum This past Pride month marked the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. At approximately 2:00 AM, 29-year-old Omar Mateen – who allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS on a 911 phone call during the hate crime and terrorist attack – walked into Pulse on June 12, 2016, killed 49 […]
1 year after Pulse, the vulnerability (and strength) of queer people of color is more apparent than ever
One year ago yesterday, a gunman snatched away the lives of 49 dancing souls at a gay nightclub in Orlando, FL. This tragedy became known as the Pulse Massacre, the largest mass shooting (that was not a military operation) in American history. As a few queer people of color pointed out amidst the predictable rush […]
Reading came first: how I journeyed from hotep to Black queer feminist
By Myles E. Johnson “Solitude can be a must-be-desired condition. In silence, we listen to ourselves, and in the quietude we may even hear the voice of God.” – Maya Angelou The search, as it were, began in wanting to deep-dive into something that was about me, and it began early. I wanted a nappy-headed […]
5 Black Queer Poets You Need on Your Bookshelf
By L.G. Parker For black and queer persons alike, much of the realities of our lives are considered “made up” by those who don’t and won’t understand us. Black, queer poets have access to new ways of approaching language as a result of this reality. As self proclaimed black lesbian warrior poet Audre Lorde said […]
13 Queer Creative Influencers That Are the Black Future
By Candice Iloh At the same time every year it seems the whole country focuses in on the same extraordinary black trailblazers of the past. They are the ones that have made the cut into your history books and who have managed to remain on the tongues of even the youngest black kids coming up […]