To be Black & Queer: An Ode to Afrofuturism
Is there anything more invigorating than the freedom of choice? To walk through the pixies and stardust into the fullness of you is a testament to the queer experience, rightfully so. We are still in the throws of understanding our struggle as a community, but also blossoming in real-time because of the access we continue to achieve because of our demanding spirit. Realizing the fullness of yourself and the power of that has been a collective experience. The process of redefining our reality has called upon us to embrace vulnerability and lead with our imagination to etch out a bit of truth in a concrete mountain of expectation.
To be Black and queer is the most heightened form of vulnerability.
To be Black and queer is to be an agent of divinity.
To be Black and queer is to be a futurist tied to the wisdom of the ancient past.
Bayard Rustin, (1912 – 1987), an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights.
Afrofuturism is a “cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and philosophy of history that explores the developing intersection of African diaspora culture with technology.” Concepts as big as that tend to break my brain so for my consumption I’ve stripped it down. My view of Afrofuturism is to simply be rooted in choice, flourishing invulnerability, and defining joy through personal vision.
Black trans model Jari Jones for Calvin Klein’s 2020 Pride Campaign. Photo: RYAN MCGINLEY/CALVIN KLEIN
Black queers have always been the architects of progress and the beacon of self-expression and creativity. From Bayard Rustin to Pauli Murray it has always been within us to imagine a future where our autonomy was completely our own. Will.I.Am may be 3000 and late, but we’ve never been behind. We are the trendsetters. We are pop culture. We can coerce a narrative that wants to exclude us into being the narrative that bows before us. Black Queers are defiant in their joy because it is as much our right as it is our compass. Black imagination is a spirit that can dream beyond the limitations of its shackles. It is in this spirit that we get to decide who we are and what we will be.
Reverend Pauli Murray in 1978. Pauli Murray Papers, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
I look at being a black queer as Afrofuturism personified in the sense that it is in constant evolution. Queerness is a living, breathing, enveloping of the soul’s need to be authentic. When combined with our black identity we are put into a position outside the bounds of societal norms, we exist in a state that knows no bounds. We are better for living without limitations because we become more aligned with our purpose and become the validators for those who need us. If not for black queers the world would lack the consciousness to understand authoritative truth. If not for black queers the beauty of a present future would escape us all.
Nelsan Ellis, who achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series True Blood (2008–2014). He past away in 2017 at age 39 due to complications from heart failure. His brilliance lives on with us. May he rest in power.
Black History Month is the time of the year we honor the great contribution, sacrifice, resiliency, and poise of the black community. It is important that we carve out the time to recognize our abilities and the joy that is being black. For my fellow black queers let’s use this time to cultivate our gifts and lean into the harmony around us. Remember who you are and how dynamic your presence is to those within your orbit. Let us use this time to be in conversation with ourselves about our desires and to give ourselves permission to dream. We can identify our truest intentions as we lean further into designing a life that is filled with ease. But most importantly, let us remember that our queerness is the epicenter of truth. A truth worth living, sharing, and reminding the world of what the future holds.
Aaron Philip, a Black trans model with cerebral palsy, who was signed to Elite NYC at 17
Dress By Gucci, Fishnet Top (Worn Underneath) By Kozaburo, Necklace By Arielle De Pinto Photo: MATTHEW TAMMARO
What’s coming next for the world is vast and unknown but the more you honor your dreams the more grounded in your reality you will be. What matters most is that you create an existence that holds you with the tenderest of care. Believe so wildly in what it means to be you that it forces a paradigm shift of what is feasible. By simply existing and validating yourself you are your ancestor’s wildest dreams. Our responsibility is to join the ranks of the elders, be a testament of choice, and support those behind us. We are the future right now and we always have been, just look at the past.
There is no progress without us. There is no future that is not Black.
