Black or African American
Audre Lorde (1934 – 1992) was a feminist author and civil rights activist who used her writing to address injustices of classism, homophobia, racism and sexism. Some of her most memorable tiles include “Sister Outsider,” “Your Silence Will Not Protect You,” and “Zami: A Spelling of My Name.” Lorde was inducted into Chicago’s Legacy Walk,…
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She’s not a regular. I’d been meeting there weekly for almost two months, and I’d never seen her before. It must have been her first time. I was sure I knew all of the unsheltered people. She asked if I had $2. I didn’t. I still don’t. I choose not to carry cash. I walked…
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Much of the pain and suffering LGBTQ African Americans experience in theologically conservative churches happens in silence and secret. Some LGBTQ congregants do not even recognize the source of their pain, because sexuality, let alone non-heterosexuality, is not discussed or taught in many African American churches. Black LGBTQ people are often unaware that some of…
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The Conference for People of African Descent, Friends, and Advocates is one of the landmark conferences of the Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC). Expressly rooted in the African-American cultural experience, the conference provides a space for people of African descent, friends and advocates to come together for a time of celebration, skill-building, strategizing, leadership development, and…
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You would think that we, those of us belonging to the LGBTQ community of faith would be mourning you and conspiring towards how we can work to protect you and cherish you in our communities. However, the silence around your death, Chyna Gibson, is deafening. As a black queer cisgender woman, I know that pain…
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What if the march towards Black liberation centered the lives of Black transwomen? What if the voice of our generation transcended gender? Not just in theory, either. What if they was actually this generation’s pronoun and when asked who their partner was they replied, “all of America.” What if I told you they is already…
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Daily, we have borne witness to the divisive language and tactics that have been employed during the 2016 Election. I have often had to remind myself: God is still in control and all things happen according to His plan. The 2016 election has reminded me how much further we actually have to go as a…
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As people of faith and leaders of faith-based organizations focused on justice and equality for all of God’s children, we mourn the death of Terrance Crutcher, who died a violent death on Friday, September 16, 2016, Terrence Crutcher was an unarmed black man who was shot dead by a police officer on a two-lane road…
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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has always been on the front lines of Civil Rights since its inception, and this time is no different. The Queering Racial Justice Institute is the perfect space to learn and engage around the pressing issues of our time. Set to take place on Saturday,…
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“Well—a lot of them would have been safe if they weren’t out all night sinnin’.” It was the morning after the shooting in Orlando and hearing these words on the radio pierced the little bit of joy I had to give for another day of Pride events in the South—particularly on this day in Birmingham,…
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