The Peculiar Kind is a web series that candidly explores the lives and experiences of queer women of color with eye-opening and unscripted conversations. Check out episode one on Youtube!
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We Need Your Donations by Dec 1st — Support Our New Space in the South End!
Posted By QWOC+ Boston on November 28th, 2011
Alert! We Need Your Help Today!
Our December RENT is due and we WILL be short unless you make a donation today. We’ve already raised $185 in monthly donations. We need $286 (rounded to $290) by THURSDAY to meet our goal for this month.
Here’s what you can do:
1) Make a one-time donation via Chip-In (below)
Note: The ChipIn goal is the cost of our monthly operating budget, less the amount of sustainer support we have already. Click here to view detailed budget w/ pledges.
2) Become a Monthly Donor at $10-20/month
This will make us VERY happy! To sign up, go to the sidebar at www.qwocboston.org, then select your preferred level to subscribe.
QWOC+ Boston has not just lasted — it has GROWN — after five years of community-based support, and our community has been better for it. Our needs, our goals, our direction — no watering down our mission for the sake of chasing grant money. We listen to YOU, only, and thus rely on your support to keep up our work!
Please consider making a donation today AND encouraging at least one more person to do the same.
We know we can do this. Our community always comes through. We appreciate all your support in advance.
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One-Time Donation via Chip-In
Become A Monthly Subscriber via PayPal
| Sustainer Donor Levels |
Get On the Bus 2-Month Tour Targeting Religious-Based LGBT Oppression
Posted By QWOC+ Boston on July 14th, 2011
“Maybe you just needed a little dick”, said a catholic mother to her youngest child, a lesbian, after it had been revealed this particular 16 year old had been raped for the second time. As a youth worker in the LGBTQ community, I have had to bear witness to many awful and disgusting forms of abuse from parents that kick their kids out on the streets, medical organizations that refuse to treat transgender clients, educators that call their students faggots, dykes and worse…What is hard for many people to hear when I retell these stories of abuse, is that often the abusers acting in these situations are doing so out of love- often in the name of God. I heard a poet ask once, what the world would look like with more love. Well, this is what the world looks like when faith and love are used as weapons.
From government sanctioned discrimination to the internalized force that drives many in our community to drugs and alcohol, it has become my belief that the number one way to create a society that is safe for all folks regardless of their sexuality/gender identity is to address religious based oppression. We cannot sit idly by and avoid the religious debate. We must welcome it. Face it head on. We must create a worldwide dialogue in which we reach beyond people’s intellectual selves and touch them where their morality and compassion lies. For many, this is the function of their faith.
The organization I work for, Soulforce (www.soulforce.org), is a national agency that targets religious-based oppression impacting LGBTQ people. Every 2 years or so, we organize a two- month bus ride around the country for folks 18-30. On this social justice excursion we stop at various religious universities and organizations that have anti-LGBTQ policies. From there, we
hold dialogues, trainings and information sessions with members of those organizations and surrounding community members on creating safer and more affirming spaces. This being our biggest program, the Equality Ride was started in 2006 and has helped to change policies and anti-LGBTQ practices at institutions all over the country.
Currently, we have an open application process for the 2012 ride that closes the 1st week of August. I would like to challenge each and every one of you that seeks to create lasting tangible change for LGBTQ people to consider getting on that bus. As a Black/Trans activist and educator, I know the impact I have seen in my community when we are able to walk people through these very important discussions. Whether you claim Christian like my mother, Muslim as my father, Atheist as my sister or simply aren’t sure where you fall on the spectrum yet- you are welcomed here. We want folks of all kinds, colors, ablenesses and backgrounds. This is
where change happens. Do you have what it takes to get on the bus?
Highest Regards,
Mason
J. Mason
Program Coordinator
Soulforce Inc.
Mason@soulforce.org
www.soulforce.org
Support Kit Yan – An Award-Winning Trans POC Artist & Friend to QWOC+ Boston
Posted By Lina Torres on July 13th, 2011
Transgender Asian American artist Kit Yan has been creating spoken word for almost a decade, bringing his art and activism to the world. He has encountered unfortunate circumstances that are creating barriers on his journey of bringing queer, trans and Asian art to communities around the country.
As a strong community of queer and trans people of color, we — QWOC+ Boston, who he proudly supports every single year — should consider helping him get back on tour and back into the studio. Through his Kickstarter campaign he’s taking pre-sale orders for albums and offering lots of other exciting merchandise and incentives. Please consider donating a few dollars to keep Queer and Asian art alive! It’s really easy and takes only a moment of your time.
By donating just $10, you will receive a digital copy of Kit Yan’s new album one week before it’s release!
For just $30, you can receive the awesome limited-edition “My Gender is Fuck You Mind Your Business” tote bag with a copy of the new album inside!
There are many more wonderful rewards for various contributions including tickets to a house show, personalized poems, and producer credit on his album! Check them all out at Kit Yan’s Kickstarter Campaign!
Symposium on LGBT Suicide Prevention: A Call to Action
Posted By QWOC+ Boston on June 14th, 2011
Founders Note to the QWOC+ Boston Community: I will be speaking at the breakout session, Creating Safe Spaces Across the LifeSpan, during the LGBT Suicide Prevention symposium, taking place THIS Saturday June 18th. If you’re familiar with the stats, then you know that LGBT youth of color are disproportionately impacted by suicide, and that my (other people of color) speaking at this event is important.
I wrote an article last Fall about my own experience in college, and have been speaking since then about the importance of our advocacy as adults when it comes to creating awareness around mental health, addressing bullying in schools, lack of diversity etc — all issues that can impact students who are at risk for attempting suicide. I plan to highlight some of the issues and questions I raised in this article during the symposium, along with other insights that have been shared with me from other young people. If you work with youth, have an experience from which you could contribute to the conversation yourself, are a parent, or simply someone who cares about this issue, I whole-heartedly encourage you to attend.
As people of color, it is our responsibility to figure out ways in which we can better support young people in creating safe spaces for them at school, at home, and in the world, so I do hope you’ll consider attending. There are scholarships available to attend if you cannot afford the registration fees. Do what you can to be there on Saturday, or at least forward this information on to your networks so we can maximize attendance.
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The Greater Boston Chapter of AFSP has designed this program to place LGBT Suicide Prevention on the state and national agenda and provide a framework for actions aimed at reducing suicidal behavior in these populations. This call to action seeks to address gaps in knowledge and prevention.
*To register: http://www.afsp.org/lgbtsymposium
* Scholarships available – contact Melanie at mvarady@afsp.org.
Symposium Agenda
Registration begins at 12:00pm
Program from 1:00pm-6:00pm
Keynote Speech:
Dr. Caitlin Ryan, Director, Family Acceptance Project
Dr. Ryan co-developed the Family Acceptance Project to promote family support, decrease risk and improve well-being for LGBT youth.
Breakout Session Topics
- Creating Safe Spaces across the Lifespan
- Why Words Matter in Media and Social Media
- Making Mental Health an LGBT National Priority
- The Interface of Stigma, Psychiatric Vulnerability and Depression and
Coming out as LGBT
- Suicide Prevention in Transgender Communities
Following the symposium, please join us for a reception and dinner to celebrate the Boston Chapter’s 20th Anniversary.
Background and Genesis of the Symposium
Despite four decades of research pointing to elevated rates of suicide attempts among LGBT people, national suicide prevention initiatives, including the 2001 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, have given scant attention to suicide risk in sexual minority persons. AFSP convened a 2007 conference to assess the status of data on the issues and examine the targeted interventions, prevention strategies or public health polices needed to reduce risk in these populations. The subsequent report on suicide and suicide risk appeared in as the lead article in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Homosexuality and served as the impetus for the conference.
Call for Performers/Artists of Color for Black History Month Celebration Event
Posted By QWOC+ Boston on January 14th, 2011
QWOC+ Boston is inviting local LGBTQI artists who identify as people of color – writers, spoken word, drag kings and queens, burlesque dancers, poets, musicians, visual and media artists — to submit their profiles, bios, and experience for performance consideration at our Pan-African History CelebrationThis event in solidarity with Black History month, which aims to highlight the diversity in the African Diaspora and is taking place on Saturday February 26th. Save the date!
Please send along any materials that will help us learn about your work and we will reach out to you if we foresee an opportunity for you to perform/be involved this year. You may use the guidelines below to submit an inquiry:
Send an email to outspoken@qwocboston.org with the following information:
- SUBJECT: Performer for Black History Celebration Event*
- Full Name + Stage Name (if applicable)
- Phone Number
- Link to online profile/website
- Some past performances
- Brief Bio or Summary of Work
- Please mention how you identify with or support the LGBTQ community of color
Live Music Bands Needed: We are also looking for one or two live music bands to book as entertainment for the evening.
MC Needed: Think you would make a great MC for the event? Please let us know by submitting the information above as well!
Collaborators Needed: We are interested in collaborating with local organizations or producers (of art, music, and theater events) to help make this event a success! If you’re interested in helping us prepare/plan this event please feel free to reach out to us as well!
Spread the word! We look forward to hearing from you.
