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About us

BQIC is a grassroots community organization in Central Ohio that works towards the liberation of Black LGBTQIA+ people from all walks of life through direct action, community organizing, education on our issues, and creating spaces to uplift our voices.

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***NOTE: This meeting is at the Driving Park Library Branch, not our usual spot at the Parsons Library. Welcome to 2020, fam! We are so excited to step into a new decade with y'all. Come on out to the first Member Meeting of the year so we can start planning for what's ahead as a collective! We'll make time to discuss campaigns we can work on this year, our recurring events, the 3rd annual Community Pride, collectivizing political ed within BQIC through Each One Teach One, and more! There are also updates to share from the @cbusfreedomcoalition on ways you can be involved moving forward. Starting in February, we will move to a biweekly meeting schedule! We will start meeting the first Wednesday of the month at 6:00pm - 8:00pm and the third Sunday of the month at 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Upcoming BQIC Member Meetings (all at the Parsons Library Branch): 2/5 @ 6:00pm 2/16 @ 2:00pm 3/4 @ 6:00pm 3/15 @ 2:00pm 4/1 @ 6:00pm 4/19 @ 2:00pm **BQIC Member Meetings are only for those who identify as Black and LGBTQIA+

Peep some footage from last night’s Speak Up! We had a packed house and lots of amazing talent was shared on the mic! Thank you to @communitysaint for being our featured poet, thank you to DJ @aleha_solano for holding it down o. the decks, thank you to @artoutsidethelines for hosting us, and thank you to everyone who came out to support the event! See you next month for the next Speak Up on February 11th, same time, same place ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿❤️ We will update with how much we raised for our emergency fund soon! #BQIC #DIY #spokenword #asseenincbus #BlackLivesMatter #BlackTransLivesMatter

We are so excited for the first Speak Up! Spoken Word of 2020! Come out to Art Outside the Lines on Tuesday January 14th at 8:00PM to share your talents on the mic! $5 suggested donation for entry, all are welcome to attend but LGBTQIA+ people of color take priority within the space. Let us know if you need any accommodations like ASL interpretation, transportation, etc. Flyer art done by @sokaleche 💐 Meet our featured poet, Carter Norris! They are a black queer poet and artist from Columbus, Ohio. They started writing at fifteen and their poems cover topics such as relationships, family matters and mental illness. They enjoy painting, doing makeup and surrounding themselves with community. Our DJ for Tuesday will be none other than the inimitable DJ Aloha! Come through and let her sounds move you throughout the night! DJ Aloha does not scowl and looks mean while she DJs. She does not pretend to know everything and she will be nice to you and your friends. She is grateful to be doing music for a living and she knows that the reason people go to parties is to shake their ass and have fun. If you want to act cool and not have any fun then please do not book her. In anticipation of Trans Prisoner Day of Solidarity on January 22nd, we will also have a limited number of Certain Days calendars available for suggested donation of $15-20!

We're kicking off 2020 in Black Power Book Club by finishing Assata: An Autobigoraphy! This month, we'll be discussing Chapter 16 - Post Script before we move on to our next book (TBA SOON!) Link to PDF of Assata, we can also email/DM: https://libcom.org/files/assataauto.pdf Last month, we watched "Eyes of the Rainbow,' the biographical documentary about Assata Shakur's life. This month, read up and come ready to speak your mind on Tuesday in the Black Power Book Club! Even if you don’t finish the reading, the conversation will still be an insightful one! *This space is exclusively for people who identify as Black and LGBTQIA+*

The official application for our emergency fund is finally live on our website! If you are or if you know a Black LGBTQIA+ person in the Greater Columbus area experiencing crisis/financial hardship, head to bqic.net/emergency-fund/ or click the link in our bio to fill out the quick form to request money from the BQIC emergency fund! #mutualaid

BQIC 2019 statement: We are so proud of our community and all that we’ve been able to accomplish together this year. We wanted to take a moment and reflect on what we’ve done and what we plan to focus on in 2020. 2019 was a difficult year for many of those living in Columbus because we lost two powerhouses of people and organizers: Amber Evans and Ruben Castilla Herrera. Those two paved the way for a lot of change to happen in Ohio, and their work will live on even in their physical absence. Our co-founder, Ariana Steele, stepped down to take time to heal and address their needs. It was incredibly difficult to adjust to say the least. Their work and dedication to our community will always be uplifted. As a community, we also mourned the senseless, violent losses of Black trans women and people worldwide. We will continue our work to defend and celebrate the lives of our Black queer and trans family until the world is no longer a hostile place for us to live. In 2019 we began doing work alongside other community organizers in the wake of the police killing of Julius Tate Jr, from which the Columbus Freedom Coalition (CFC) was established. The @cbusfreedomcoalition is a grassroots organization working to end state violence and oppression. CFC is a home for all radical organizers and we are proud to be a part of it. Follow them and support their work! #Justice4Julius We also hosted our 2nd annual Columbus Community Pride last June! The community really came together on this one.We only had 2 months to raise money and organize! We raised over $18,000 which allowed us to execute five fun Community Pride events: Speak Up: Community Pride Spoken Word, Back Bash Queer Club Night, “Free CeCe” documentary screening, Skate Against State Violence, and the @columbuscommunitypride Festival. All were a dope time and we thank everyone for their work in organizing, for attending the events, and supporting us however you could. (Continued statement in comments)

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