Upcoming events
Classic Black Queer Film Night
Mohamed Camara’s Dakan (1997) is widely described as the first West African feature film that centers a same-gender loving relationship. It tells the story of a forbidden love. The film is in French with English subtitles. The film will be shown June 29th at 8pm EST (click here to add yourself to the calendar invite).
Dakan Movie Poster
July’s Selection will be Dee Rees' Pariah (2011) . Fill out this form to receive more information on future movie nights.
Da Black Queers Be Writing June’s Feedback Session
The third feedback session of the year will be held on Saturday, June 6th 4-5:30pm EST. If you would like to support other writers and hear amazing work- add yourself to the Google Cal Invite here.
You can also share this with any other Black and Queer writers even if they do not attend the co-work sessions.
NOVA CYPRESS BLACK’s Chirp
Come support NOVA CYPRESS BLACK’s CHIRP from your home or from in-person in NYC (mask required). Directed by Temidayo Amay and featuring TJ Chester as Remi.
Set in a studio apartment in South L.A., CHIRP follows a Black American T4T couple simply trying to celebrate their three-year anniversary on a terrible, no good, very bad day. When Remi surprises Naseego with a life-altering anniversary gift, what should be romantic instead detonates years of accumulated ideological differences. Loosely based on a true love, this intimate, humorous, & politically urgent two-hander explores what it means to sustain Black trans love when America won't stop sounding the alarm.
HIGH QUALITY RESPIRATORS PROVIDED & REQUIRED.
The Juneteenth reading (June 19th) is a Black & Trans Night; we ask that attendees honor this as a space centering a Black trans audience.
Content Awareness: The dialogue includes references to state violence & ICE; anti-Black racism & lynching; transphobia; family rejection; environmental disaster; & contains curse words.
Celebrate Pride supporting Black Queer Art!! Please share widely!
Shout out to You!!!
Black Queer & Trans Artists Spotlight
Ebbie Russell
(they/them)
Ebbie in a black long sleeve shirt and large black hat smiling with glasses
Ebbie Russell is a Black Trans non-binary multidisciplinary storyteller exploring themes of grief, kin, and longing. Their life-giving freedom dreams are Queer, Trans, Afrosurrealist/futurist, Black Feminist and abolitionist-minded.
They were Longlisted for Palette Poetry's 2025 Micro Chapbook Prize, their work appears in From Root to Seed: Black, Brown, and Indigenous Poets Write the Northeast and in the forthcoming UnChained Poets Society Anthology Vol 1.
As part of the Fortify Our Living Altars (FOLA) collective, they provide ongoing arts-based rest and play for Black QT communities as reprieve from atrocities our peoples have been living for centuries. FOLA centers compassion and collaborative dialogue and collective toolmaking.
Give them a follow on IG.
Got someone to nominate? Wanna share your work? No, really PLEASE nominate someone/ yourself.
HGVAC Announcements
BLOOM: A Black Trans Gathering
BLOOM: A Black Trans Gathering is a small group retreat for airborne-aware Black Trans creatives with ties to the U.S. South. We are defining airborne-aware as people who consistently incorporate airborne viruses mitigation practices into their life (i.e. masking using high-quality respirators in public spaces, regular testing for airborne viruses, prioritizing clean air/filtration, actively trying to prevent the spread of COVID and other airborne viruses, impacted by the ongoing COVID pandemic and/or LONG COVID, etc.).
Accommodations are free and groceries/snacks/meals will be provided.
There are four 5-day sessions with 3-4 guests at each.
Session 1- August 1-5 (Invite only)
Session 2- August 8-12
Session 3- August 15-19
Session 4- August 22-26
Applications close after 50 applications are received.
Opportunities
Open Calls, Grant & Community Events
Please join Building Transformative & Joyous Futures (BTJF) on Thursday, June 4th at @ 12pm PST / 3pm EST for a 2-hour training session on digital and physical safety fundamentals, tailored to keeping BIPOC trans and gender non-conforming people and their information safe. This session is ONLY offered to BIPOC trans & gender non-conforming led organizations, groups and individuals. This training has limited space. Zoom link will be sent out prior to training.
TJFP Building Our Own Table Webi-Nahh 🆕
Trans Justice Funding Project un-webinar brings together passionate individuals eager to learn, connect, and envision a future supporting the efforts and visions of trans justice.
Get In Formation: Resistance Lessons From Emerging Grassroots Organizing | Thursday, June 4, 1pm-2pm EST
Incorporated or Nah: Explorations In Multi-Entity Structures | Thursday, June 11, 1pm to 2pm EST
The Realm is making space online to write as a community, the first Friday of every month. Log on and work on your play alongside others (mics off, chat on!), or take inspiration from our provided prompt to exercise your in-the-moment creativity. Realm Writing Hour is free and open to anyone interested in writing for the stage.
Friday, June 5th at 1pm ET
The NBCC Emerging Critics Program fosters critical dialogue and enrichment within a small cohort of critics. This fellowship includes a mentorship program, with opportunities to publish a reviews during the course of the fellowship year. Applications are due by June 5 at midnight PST.
COVID Safe Art Collective offers a weekly creative hours for pro-mask, immunocompromised, and disabled adults every Sunday 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM CST / 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM EST / 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM PST.
Having difficulty navigating the chaos of the world while also trying to meet the demands of your job? It is hard to show up as an impactful BLACK trans or gender non-conforming leader while trying to maintain your mental health and navigate the mental health of others.
On June 11th @ 4pm EST /1pm PST, Building Transformative & Joyous Futures (BTJF) is collaborating with BEAM to bring you an Emotional Intelligence Leadership Training
The Garden Salon Writing Series hosted by Dallas 🆕
Ode to Fiction Mondays June 15th-July 13th at 7 pm EST 5 Weeks
Shame Tuesdays June 16th-July 21st at 7pm EST 6 Weeks
Erotica Wednesdays June 17th-July 22nd 7pm EST
Since the Solstice Thursdays June 18th- July 30th 7pm EST
Payment for the writing series is on a scale between $60- $125.
The CAG Mini Grant provides small, unrestricted funding to comic creators who are in need of additional resources. CAG will be distributing twenty $500 mini grants to applicants who are involved in making comics (this includes editors, colorists, and other collaborative roles). Applications are due on June 7th by noon EST.
A support group that centers masc trans and nonbinary disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent community. Accessibility: Virtual, ASL interpretation upon request, captions
June 10, 2026 6-7:30 PM PST ZOOM
The SOUL Directing Residency Program offers a demanding yet stimulating environment for a Black director to build exposure, establish New York City credentials, and, above all, refine technical and creative skills. Each cycle is at least 18 months.
The director will receive a minimum stipend of $7,500.00.
Access to scheduled office space, printing, and administrative support.
Two Complimentary tickets to National Black Theatre productions that season, as well as additional services and opportunities that NBT has to offer and may come across.
Play readings: NBT will support the resident director with 6 play readings over the course of the residency. As part of this support, NBT would hire actors to participate in the director's process.
This August, Benson Drive Productions is bringing three US-based artists who have never been to the Edinburgh Fringe before to the 2026 Festival! Each artist (selected via Open Call)
will receive travel to/from Scotland and accommodations in Edinburgh from August 3-30
a ticket budget to immerse themselves in the Fringe ecosystem
as well as a $3,000 commission to allow them to create their first Fringe piece throughout the month that will be presented as a Work in Progress showing during the final week of the Fringe.
Deadline to submit is Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 11:59 EDT
Announcing an open call for inquiries for our 2026 Small Grants Fund for U.S. public charity organizations or fiscally sponsored projects of such organizations, that support Black, African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian (BAMEMSA) communities. The maximum request for an inquiry is $25,000, with an historical average grant size of $20,000. Limited funding may be available for requests above $25,000. The RISE Together 2026 Small Grants Fund is open for applications are open until June 15, 2026 (5 pm Pacific Time).
The Block and Build Rapid Response and Defense Fund provides immediate, flexible resources to frontline organizations in the Southeast as they face rising authoritarian threats and incidents of hate or violence. This fund supports organizations in responding quickly to crises in ways that center the voices and leadership of directly impacted individuals. The fund prioritizes:
Centering impacted communities to address incidents of hate, violence, or regressive policies.
Fostering solidarity by strengthening community connections and collective action.
Efforts that center collective action and organizing as a primary strategy to build power.
The fund will offer small monthly grants of $500 – $3,000. The rolling deadline is the 15th of every month.
The Garden Salon Writing Series hosted by Dallas 🆕
Ode to Fiction Mondays June 15th-July 13th at 7 pm EST 5 Weeks
Shame Tuesdays June 16th-July 21st at 7pm EST 6 Weeks
Erotica Wednesdays June 17th-July 22nd 7pm EST
Since the Solstice Thursdays June 18th- July 30th 7pm EST
Payment for the writing series is on a scale between $60- $125.
Emergent Fund is a rolling, monthly rapid response and emergent organizing grant for movement and frontline communities responding to urgent and specific unanticipated crises or opportunities to build power.
GRANT DEADLINE: EVERY 3RD THURSDAY EACH MONTH (June 18th) AT 5:00 P.M. PST / 8:00 P.M. EST.
For the inaugural issue of twurl, our theme Finding Your Way Home is an invitation to return to a site of importance: geographic, psychic, familial, erotic and ancestral, while insisting that the journey may be as valuable as (or more valuable than) the destination.
For the inaugural issue, they invite a constellation of poetry, autotheory, fiction and photography that speaks to the multiplicity of Black gay life through the lens of place, movement and return.
Submissions due June 24th 9pm EST
The Center for Cultural Innovation is now accepting applications for the 2026 round of Investing in Artists: Tools & Equipment! This program awards $1,000–$5,000 grants to individual craft artists to purchase artistic tools and equipment that support their ability to make object-based work through the skillful manipulation of materials.
This round is open to craftspeople living in CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT, or VA.
Submit applications by June 26 @ 11:59 AM (morning) PDT!
The Lavender South is a project of the Campaign for Southern Equality – and an opportunity for queer and trans people in the South to tell their stories of resilience and resistance, joy and pain, during a time when their communities are under attack.
They are asking you to share your vision for our queer Southern future. What are you dreaming about, and what are you planning for? Submit your personal essay, poem, or art piece in response to the prompt. If your work is selected, you will receive a $150 stipend.
The deadline to submit is June 30th.
The Risk It Takes to Bloom is a passionate, powerful memoir by a trailblazing Black transgender activist, tracing her life of transformation and her work towards collective liberation. Join Parents of Trans Youth to discuss Raquel’s award winning memoir on June 30th at 8pm EST on Zoom.
ASAN’s Teighlor McGee Grassroots Mini Grant Program will give out grants of up to $6250 to people or groups. These grants are for self-advocates who are interested in changing the world. Mini grant projects should try to make the world better for people with disabilities. Mini grants are best for people or groups who have past experience doing advocacy.
We are especially interested in project proposals which are led by these groups. Or, that support advocacy for these groups:
Autistic people of color
Non-speaking autistic people (both full time and part time)
Autistic people who are LGBTQ+
Autistic people with intellectual disabilities.
Applications close July 31, 2026
A year long paid residency for Black trans organizers, cultural workers, and public truth tellers. All selected ambassadors must be present for a required in person summit in mid August. Dates to be confirmed.
A PAID INVESTMENT
$10,000 personal stipend
$10,000 event production budget
Selected ambassadors will:
Organize three to four signature events across the year, including Pride, Trans Day of Visibility, Trans Day of Remembrance, and community defined activations rooted in local need
Build and maintain partnerships with local organizations to strengthen Black trans community infrastructure
Collect community impact data and maintain a monthly expense log tied to program funding
Represent the work publicly through media, speaking, and community engagement
Applications open March 31 through June 30
Selections announced August 31
The Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists is an annual $10,000 grant awarded to provide critical support to Black trans women whose work has often been under-recognized in the visual art field. In order to further recognize finalists for their artistic achievements, Queer|Art is pleased to announce that the grant will also provide a $1,250 award to four distinguished finalists. Winning artists and finalists will receive additional professional development resources and further guidance to bolster their creative development in the field.
Applications are due by July 2, 2026
Accessible Virtual Pride 2026 is a fully online gathering 🏳️🌈 created by and for disabled queer and trans people, accomplices, and access-minded organizers. They center access from the start and multiple ways to participate. Let's celebrate us!
July 4 - Workshops on Zoom
July 5 - Live Stream Show on YouTube
Soft Publishing is looking for art and writing that explores the emotions of GRIEF and RAGE as it relates to being Disabled/Neurodivergent and Trans*. Send your poems, essays, short stories, comics, photography, visual art, or hybrid work that speaks to what GRIEF and RAGE means to you as a Trans* and Disabled creative.
Submissions are due July 19, 2026 at 11:59 PT.
For groups of 2 or more people working together towards a shared trans justice goal located in the United States or U.S. Territory. Groups should be run by and for trans people.
Cycle 1: January 23 – February 14, 2026Cycle 2: April 28 – May 16, 2026Cycle 3: July 28 – August 15, 2026
Torch Magazine is open to submissions from Black women writers. They are looking for Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Scripts (plays or screenplays).
Selected submissions will receive $150 and be showcased as a Friday Feature. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis year-round—no deadline!
Put it on your Schedule
“Da Black Queers Be Writing” Summer Sessions
We host free weekly co-working sessions. Each session is two hours. This is a tool to strengthen your writing practice with community. Folks are encouraged to come when they can for however long they can. There is no commitment to joining every session.
We had over 21 creatives join us over the Spring Sessions. The most consistent creative was Ebbie!!! They will be receiving a gift card to Bookshop as a congrats on their consistency. Who will get the gift card for the Summer sessions?
Summer Sessions will be held June 4th -August 3rd.
Every Sunday 5-7pm EST
2nd and 4th Mondays 9:30am-11:30am EST
1st, 3rd, & 5th Thursdays 6-8pm EST
Use this form to sign up form to sign up for the Summer Sessions.
Please share the link with Black Queer and/or Trans Writers in search of a writing community.
That’s it!
Happy Pride and Black Music Appreciation Month!! In honor of these things I am going to share my very random Black AF and Queer AF playlist. If you happen to know my TikTok, I will be dancing to Black LGBTQ musicians all month. You should do the same.
If you want to put some coins in Black Trans folk’s pockets: Donate to Denali Joie’s Gender-Affirming Care or support Jordann’s Journey to Stability.
If anything or anyone is trying to get you down- I invite you to remember what our transcestor said:
Pay it no mind!
Questions, comments, concerns? [email protected]