We Rise Up For Black Lives!

Dear Community,

QCC stands up against the brutal murders of Black people in the United States. What happened to George Floyd was murder. Period. What happened to Eric Garner was murder. What happened to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Monika Diamond, Oscar Grant, Tony McDade, and Nina Pop was murder. We are losing Black people and that very much includes Black trans women leaders because of the racism and systemic inequities that are pervasive within this nation.

Our country is in a state of turmoil, not because we are rising up in protest. BIPOC people in the US have lived in a state of turmoil for centuries. It is nothing new for us. Now we see more extreme disparities with COVID-19 and the continued violence and terror that police perpetrate against Black people and Black communities.

We shout out Black Lives Matter!

Yet we rise up. We march in the streets, because No Justice, No Peace. We build systems of mutual aid drawing on methods from the disability justice movement. We believe power is built through collaboration and alliance building with a broad range of communities and organizations who share our belief in social justice, against anti-Blackness and against police brutality.

We want to uplift work from just some of our communities.

Resources and writing for change:

• Black Lives Matter: A Global Network that builds power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe
• Black Futures Lab: Works with Black people to transform our communities, building Black political power and changing the way that power operates—locally, statewide, and nationally.
• Bail Funds: Organized by state
• Black & Gold: Define American hosts a conversation about what happens when Black and Asian folks show up for one another
• Blativity & Color of Change: Ongoing series on how we can build power and accountability in this movement
• Freedom Inc: A Black and Hmong organization in Madison, WI led by queer women of color
• TGI Justice Project: A group of transgender, gender variant and intersex people working to create a united family in the struggle for survival and freedom.

We center LGBTQ+ artistic voices and stories at QCC and acknowledge that these communities exist everywhere. It is the creative power of artists, storytellers, and visionaries that shifts culture and makes change. Join us as we say #BlackLivesMatter #ICantBreathe #NoMore #NoJusticeNoPeace.

In Solidarity,
Queer Cultural Center’s Staff and Board