Grassroots organizations for youth of color centered around queer issues or intersecting with queer issues. These organizations, all based in US cities, take different approaches to creating safe spaces for queer people of color that are responsive to their intersecting identities and layered oppression. Oftentimes, this takes the form of educating youth about social justice issues and organizing techniques, teaching about sexual health, and connecting with a larger and often intergenerational queer and trans community. These forms of pedagogy outside of a school’s classroom can allow for more freedom to educate factually and a greater focus on the cultures and knowledges specifically of queer students of color. These organizations are often youth-led and focused on specific cities or neighborhoods. They provide evidence of the successes of a grassroots bottom-up activism model and show their communities and others that it can be done. Ideally, organizations like these would exist in every community in the United States where queer youth of color exist. Although this is not a complete list of all grassroots youth of color-focused queer groups, there is a lot of work to be done.

East Coast:

New Haven, CT:

LGBTQ Youth Kickback

LGBTQ Youth Kickback is a youth-led space of education and empowerment focused on arts-based workshops and event in New Haven. In its mission it aims to “build a safe, intersectional community across border of geography, class, age, gender, sexuality, and privilege.” It has hosted events such as workshops on verbal-self defense, discussions of Ferguson, improv, and a partnership with the UndocuQueer movement. Focused on peer mentoring, leadership development, and civic advocacy, LGBTQ Youth Kickback is staffed by volunteers. It is located along bus routes and across the street from Co-op high school, and in some ways is a response to inactive Gay-Straight Alliance members and is focused on community building among queer young people in the New Haven area. Here’s a video of a project by LGBTQ Youth Kickback.

New York City:

Audre Lorde Project’s Safe OUTside the System (SOS) Collective

SOS Collective is an “anti-violence program led by and for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans, and Gender Non Conforming people of color.” In promoting community-based strategies rather than relying on the police, it aims to challenge police violence. Its members have designed a Safe Party Planning Toolkit Zine to allow queer people of color in New York City to hold parties that are spaces where safety is prioritized, violence is prevented and de-escalated, community members are encouraged to intervene, and survivors are supported. The SOS Collective works to educate local organizations about how to stop violence without relying on law enforcement, and supports survivors of police and hate violence in Central Brooklyn. It has direct implications for youth who are members of the communities it works with in preventing them from getting involved in the criminal justice system.

bklyn boihood

bklyn boihood aims “to create spaces where black, brown queer and trans bois* and our communities can cultivate stories, dreams and creative work.” The group focuses on creating queer and trans black and brown communities, with a commitment to both community elders and the next generation. It encourages LGBTQ bois and transmit to redefine masculinity, it creates safe spaces guided by trainings in de-escalation and communication, it focuses on self-love and harm reduction, and aims to produce new media and events online and offline to increase visibility. It also has a mentorship program with black trans youth. Here’s a video interview with bklyn boihood founder Ryann Holmes.

FIERCE NYC

FIERCE NYC is a membership-based group focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth of color in New York City founded in 2000. Responding to a lack of LGBTQ youth of color representation in the media, FIERCE teaches media production skills so that youth can create their own independent media and shape discussions about justice. With events such as NYC Ballroom Symposium which unites NYC House and Ball members, leadership training for members to want to be activists and community organizers, as well as “wellness” events like free fitness programs, workshops about healthy relationships, and resume and cooking classes, FIERCE focuses on organizing queer youth of color and providing them with care, skills and instruction to help them as they move through their lives.

Make the Road NY

Make the Road NY is a Bushwick community organization promotes political opportunity and economic rights for immigrant New Yorkers, a model which integrates “workers’ rights, tenant rights, LGBTQ justice, youth power and policing, public schools and education justice, immigration justice, and climate – with an array of wraparound services that create a space of safety and support for entire families.” Its Youth Power Project offers Know Your Rights trainings and political education trainings to inform youth on the root causes of inequality. It holds weekly meetings about policing in schools and on the streets allowing students to share their experiences and work toward police reform bills.

Peter Cicchino Youth Project (PCYP)

PCYP provides legal services, advocacy, case management, and community education to support homeless and street-involved young people in New York City. Since 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, PCYP focuses on serving these young people to interrupt cycles of poverty and criminalization that bring discrimination, abuse, and oppression. PCYP operates legal clinics in “LGBTQQ-affirming spaces where homeless youth congregate to access food, showers, laundry, medical care, social services, and community.” PCYP focuses on removing barriers to legal services and providing free and affirming services. It also engages in advocacy and litigation “to improve the systems that impact our clients.” Here is their oral history project capturing the voices of LGBTQ youth in the juvenile justice system.

Q-Wave

Q-Wave is an organization of queer women and trans people who are Asian and Pacific Islanders focused on grassroots organizing and leadership development in the NYC area. Their activities are social, educational, political, and focused on visibility and empowerment. Although Q-Wave focuses on adult programming, it does do work for queer youth. Q-Wave volunteers translate and record “multi-language materials to educate and support Asian parents of LGBTQ Children.”

Streetwise and Safe (SAS)

Streetwise and Safe is a NYC organization that “focuses on LGBTQ youth of color’s experiences of profiling, policing, and criminalization.” They conduct “know your rights” workshops specifically for LGBTQ youth of color about rights in the criminal legal system and provides strategies to reduce harm in interactions with police. SAS empowers LGBTQ youth of color to speak for themselves, to act collectively to advance the rights of their community, and to participate in policy discussions as full participants. They support homelessness rights and sex workers rights, and value community over policing. Here’s a video SAS made to inform trans and queer people of color in NY about their rights.

 

Philadelphia, PA:

Galaei

Galaei is a queer Latin@ social justice group in North Philadelphia focused on grassroots organizing, sexual empowerment, and leadership and economic development in a multiracial multicultural space of queer Latinidad. The youth program of Galaei includes individual coaching, group support, and community engagement in order to empower and develop the leadership of queer latin@ youth. It educates about sexual health, employment, trauma, and conflict resolution and creates dialogue about how to make an impact in their community through organizing.

 

West Coast:

Seattle, WA:

Seattle Young People’s Project (SYPP)

Seattle Young People’s Project (SYPP) is a youth-led community organization built on anti-racist and intersectional feminist values starting in 1992. It is supported by a part-time staff of “young and adult Black women and femmes.” Although SYPP doesn’t focus exclusively on queer young people, it trains students as activists and organizers to effect change: opening a youth art gallery, protesting for multiculturalism in Seattle schools, rallying against “The Becca Bill” which denies rights to homeless youth. Recently, they held a movie screening of “MAJOR!” about the life and activism of Miss Major Griffin-Cracy, a black transwoman active in Stonewall riots. SYPP also teams up with Gay City, Seattle’s LGBTQ center on events. It has an educational branch called Project Liberation in which youth facilitate workshops on organizing, undoing racism and sexism, and anti-oppression for schools, organizations, and foundations. Its focus on social justice leads it to define the following terms prominently on its website: empowerment, organizing, solidarity, oppression, adults, institutional racism, homophobia, heterosexism, sexism, transphobia, classism, and ableism.

South:

New Orleans, LA:

BreakOUT!

BreakOUT! is an organization seeking to end the criminalization of LGBTQ youth in New Orleans. It builds “on the rich cultural tradition of resistance in the South to build the power of LGBTQ youth ages 13-25 and directly impacted by the criminal justice system through youth organizing, healing justice, and leadership development programs.” It offers gender and sexuality workshops for youth and young adults as well as cultural competency trainings for adults. Members can participate in “Building Our Power Institute” which is a paid organizing and political education program, Healing as Resistance Together intergenerational LGBTQ community nights, and a HiSET program with leadership training for LGBTQ youth of color pushed out of schools. This is their report about policing by and for queer and trans youth of color in New Orleans.

Southwest:

Denver, CO:

Buried Seedz of Resistance

BSEEDZ is a youth-led project in Denver “working to build community power to break cycles of violence affecting LGBTQ young people” as part of the Colorado Anti-Violence Program. Its mission comes out of a need for spaces to center experience, knowledge, and leadership of queer youth of color. BSEEDZ uses community organizing strategies, arts, media, and direct action to begin dialogue, educate, and empower youth. It includes Buried Seedz Radio/Radio Semillas Enterradas, a queer and trans media group and podcast and Rainbow Warriors, a film project for young queer and two-spirit people of color. Here is a video made by Buried Seedz about Teddy Yaotl, a young queer Xicano.

-image citations available on References page-

-all information taken from organization online resources, click links for more-

-Please contact [email protected] to suggest an organization to include on this page-