I’m Tiffany Martin (she/her), Black Services Manager at The Center. In celebration of Black History Month, I am honored to share more about Black Services at The Center, and invite you to our upcoming community event, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Movie Night, on February 20 at 5:30pm in The Center Auditorium to learn about Black LGBTQ+ icon Ma Rainey and her music’s influence!
As we honor Black History Month, we are called to celebrate the resilience, leadership, and contributions of Black communities from both past and present, while also reflecting on how systems of inequity continue to impact Black lives today. Within LGBTQ+ spaces, this reflection is especially important. Though we share experiences of marginalization, our LGBTQ+ community is not immune to anti-Blackness. Creating truly inclusive and affirming spaces requires ongoing self-reflection, learning, and a willingness to address harm when it shows up, which is what we aim to do at The Center.
This month invites us to listen deeply to Black voices, center lived experiences, and let that insight guide how we show up for one another throughout the year. At Black Services at The Center, we are committed to expanding opportunities for support, connection, learning, and joy for our Black LGBTQ+ community. One way we are doing this is by hosting both Movie Nights and Courageous Conversations. Our Movie Nights are opportunities to learn together, while our Courageous Conversations are intentional spaces where we can discuss issues impacting our community, share our experiences, and collectively address systems of inequity. We’ve begun this work with recent gatherings, including our screening of MAJOR! and celebration of life honoring Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, as well as our screening of The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.
Most recently, we partnered with Women’s Services and Project TRANS at The Center for our first Courageous Conversation combined with a Movie Night, screening Come See Me in the Good Light honoring the life of activist poet Andrea Gibson. Together, we reflected on what it means to unite in care, equity, and action, centering BIPOC LGBTQ+ voices while inviting white allies to show up with accountability and solidarity. We will continue to provide more Movie Nights and Courageous Conversations moving forward.
These spaces, along with community celebrations like the recent CREAM Ball hosted at The Center, are only possible because of the care, collaboration, and generosity of our community. We are deeply grateful to International Westcoast Mother Queen Staxx Ebony for her partnership and support with the CREAM Ball, and to the University Heights Library, who went above and beyond at our Andrea Gibson movie night. Their support made a meaningful impact and helped bring these affirming spaces to life.
We invite you to continue this journey with us at our upcoming Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Movie Night on February 20 at 5:30pm in The Center Auditorium. Ma Rainey, the “Mother of Blues,” was an openly bisexual trailblazer whose legacy continues to resonate. We will screen the film and open space for reflection, as needed by attendees. This is a free community event, and snacks will be provided. You can RSVP on our website.
As we move forward, we invite you to join us in cultivating spaces rooted in care, accountability, joy, and collective liberation, where we can learn together and continue building the community we deserve!
In community,
Tiffany Martin (she/her)
Black Services Manager