Black LGBTQIA+

Black LGBTQIA+ Resource Page

The black* student population at UCSB makes up one of the smallest racial demographics. According to the UCSB Office of Budget and Planning from the 2018-2019 academic year, 5% of the student population was made up of individuals that identify as black* or African American. For the undergraduates, there were 1,010 students meaning 5% of the total undergraduate population. And for graduates there were 75, making up about 4% of the graduate population.

Departments

These are various offices and resources available on and off-campus to students. For a full list of resources available please visit the RCSGD main website.

AdCRC (African Diasporic Cultural Resource Center)

This office focuses on helping black* students on campus. They hold events, networking opportunities between organizations, departments, and faculty, and offer space available to hold events or meetings.
Location: 1st floor of the SRB(Student Resource Building)
Phone/Email: (805)-893-4758, eop@sa.ucsb.edu
Hours:M-Th 8am-Midnight, and F 8am-6pm

MultiCultural Center

This center offers various events including lectures, films and videos, panel discussions, readings, art exhibitions, and music, dance and dramatic performances, collaborations, and space in an effort to create cultural awareness.
Location: UCEN, Room 1504
Phone: (805)-893-8411
Hours: M-Th 8a-10pm. F 8am-5pm

Department of Black Studies

This office offers any information about black studies courses and advising about the black studies major and minor. They also hold various events throughout the year.
Location: 3rd floor of South Hall, Room 3631
Phone/website: (805)-893-8045, https://www.blackstudies.ucsb.edu/home
Hours: M-F 8am-12pm, 1pm-5pm

Office of Black Student Development

This office supports black students at UCSB, with advising, events, collaborations, and initiatives.
Location: 2nd floor of the SRB(Student Resource Building)
Email: obsd@sa.ucsb.edu

Center for Black Studies Research

This office organizes and administers interdisciplinary research among faculty and students on the histories and cultures of Africans and their descendants. The Center offers opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to get involved in research activities. Students are invited to attend events and colloquia or join the center’s staff and faculty on new, exciting research.
Location: 4th floor of South Hall, Room 4603
Phone, Email: (805)-893-3914, cbsr-assistant@ucsb.edu
Website: https://www.cbsr.ucsb.edu/

Coffee with a Black Guy (CWABG)

Coffee with a Black Guy (CWABG) is an innovative social impact movement launched in July 2016 by Santa Barbara-resident James Joyce III. In these community conversations, Joyce facilitates candid cross-cultural dialogue to help counteract much of the racial tumult going on in the world, particularly the U.S.
Website: https://www.cwabg.com/

Santa Barbara Young Black Professionals (SBYBP)

This organization works to connect young professionals and offer networking opportunities, community services, and educational workshops.
Website: https://sbybp.wildapricot.org/
Email: connect.sbybp@gmail.com

African American Women in Santa Barbara County (AAWSBC)

This nonprofit organization works primarily to connect and support black women in SB county, but also works to support the balck community as a whole.
Website: http://www.aawsbc.com/home/; https://www.facebook.com/AAWSBC/

El Centro SB

An activist-led grassroots community space located on the lower west side of Santa Barbara that centers people working towards the liberation and uplifting of people of color including but not limited to womxn, youth, indigenous, black, latinx, economically underserved, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Location: 629 Coronel Place, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/elcentrosb/home?authuser=0
Email: elcentrosb@gmail.com

Juneteenth

This organization holds community events to celebrate Juneteenth to honor black history, freedom,artists, performers, and organizations.
Website: https://www.juneteenthsb.com/

Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara

This organization works to foster positive relationships between the many diverse groups in the Santa Barbara community and the surrounding areas; to sponsor programs and events which exemplify the teachings of Dr. King; and to observe, and celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.
Website: https://www.mlksb.org/
Phone: (805)-259-5782
Email: info@mlksb.org

Pacific Pride Foundation

This organization proudly provides services to the HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ communities of Santa Barbara County. All of our programs are free or low-cost at our locations in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria.
Location: 608 Anacapa Street, Suite A, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Website: https://pacificpridefoundation.org/
Phone: (805)-963-3636

Clubs and Programs

This list offers information about clubs and programs at UCSB available to black students. The availability of these resources may vary year to year. For more information about meeting times and contact information visit https://shoreline.ucsb.edu/home_login or https://academics.sa.ucsb.edu/programs/black-resource-committee.

Black Resource Committee (BRC)

This committee is a campus-wide taskforce that complements the Black Student Union (BSU) by organizing faculty, senior administrators, staff, undergraduate and graduate student committee members to identify opportunities and institutional deficits regarding enrollment, retention, and graduation for Black students and improving campus culture.
Website: https://academics.sa.ucsb.edu/programs/black-resource-committee/about-the-brc

Black/African American Scholars Hall

The Black Scholars Hall is an inclusive Living-Learning Community dedicated to students within the Afrikan diaspora. This floor provides mentorship which fosters a community-building environment. Residents have the opportunity to participate in bonding events organized by the current Resident Assistant, allowing students to create friendships that will last a lifetime.
Website: https://www.housing.ucsb.edu/residence-halls/living-learning-communities

Black Student Engagement Program (BSEP)

The program aims to connect Black students with campus resources and to provide mentorship and academic support with the goal of facilitating an environment wherein students can thrive holistically in the university and beyond. This program includes mentors, advising, and peer study sessions.
Website: https://academics.sa.ucsb.edu/programs/black-resource-committee/bsep

McNair Scholars Program

This is a two-year program that offers seminars, graduate school preparation and faculty-mentored undergraduate research designed to encourage talented eligible undergraduates who are first-generation and/or low-income to pursue Ph.D. programs.
Website: https://www.mcnair.ucsb.edu/
Phone: (805)-893-3615

Cultural Mentorship Program (CMP)

This program offers an experience for black scholars that includes building community, leadership development, assisting residents, and connecting with other students.
Website: https://www.housing.ucsb.edu/blog/cultural-mentorship-programs-ucsb

Black Quare

This organization works to provide space, community, and support to students at the intersection of being black* and LGBTQIA+ through events, collaborations, and advocacy.
Contact: blackquare.org.ucsb@gmail.com

Black Student Union (BSU)

This organization works to build a space for all black students and is the largest black student organization on campus. They also work closely with the BRC and all other black student clubs, departments, and programs.
Meeting: Tuesdays @5pm, in the Flying A Room 2nd floor of the UCEN

National Society of Black Engineers and Scientists (NSBE)

This organization works to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers and scientists who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

Website: http://nsbeucsb.weebly.com/

Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)

The Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA) is an interdisciplinary graduate student organization designed to provide academic support and social resources support that meet the needs of Black (of the African Diaspora) graduate students at the University of California Santa Barbara. BGSA supports and participates in scholarly activities that are intellectually stimulating and contribute to building the academic resources of its members. The BGSA also offers a valuable social network that builds on the organization's commitment to mentorship, research, and service.

Instagram: ucsb_bgsa

Website: https://bgsaucsb.wordpress.com/

East African Student Association (EASA)

This organization offers a cultural resource place to exchange current affairs and discuss new developments in the Horn of Africa; & a place to share and express our tradition. Founded as a student-based organization that focuses on the further academic, social, & cultural advancement of East African students on campus.
Facebook: easa.ucsb

Men of Excellence (MOX)

This organization works to provide a safe space on campus for upstanding men of color to come together and advance both as individuals and a collective by stimulating leadership development, educational enrichment, cultural progression, and community building.
Website: https://www.ucsbmox.com/about

Black Pioneers Renaissance Organization (BPRO)

This organization offers a Black men's support group on campus- a group of men who desire to challenge the status quo and make a positive change in our community. They have the vision to reach out to UCSB's broader community through meaningful collaborations with organizations from diverse parts of the social spectrum.
Website: http://bproucsb.weebly.com/

Obsidian Pre-Law Association

This organization works to emphasize the socio-economic, political, and cultural differences in the law and corporate professions for students who identify within the African diaspora. We aim to provide mentorship, professional development, and academic support to help in the overall preparedness for the law school application process and transition for Black students at UCSB.

Muslim Students Associaton (MSA)

This organization works to provide to all who wish to attend, dedicated to increasing understanding of Islam and Muslims. A forum for Muslim students to meet and spend time together. A group devoted to encouraging each other towards good (as individuals, as a society, practically and spiritually) and educating our student body on the diversity and beliefs in the Islamic religion.
Facebook: ucsbmsa

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (Nu Nu Chapter)

This sorority serves the black community and is one of three all-black sororities on campus. They hold various events and fundraisers open to students and rush multiple times a year.
Website: http://osl.sa.ucsb.edu/fraternities-sororities/chapters/National-PanHellenic-Council

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (Kappa Omega Chapter)

Theta Nu Kappa Multicultural and Academic Fraternity

This fraternity offers a space for students of all cultural and racial backgrounds within greek life.
Website: https://thetanukappa.org/

Online/ Virtual Resources

These resources are a collection of articles, videos, and stories with the aim of providing information and support to anyone at the intersection of black, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, or any person from the African diaspora) and being LGBTQIA+. Or anyone interacting with this community as a professor, counselor, etc, or anyone who would like to know more about the various experiences and challenges within this intersectional community. Some of these resources focus on the Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC) community as a whole.

Mental Health Resources

BEAM - Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective - A collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities.

Videos

What is the definition of microaggression? - This video uses various media examples to show the different types of microaggressions and how they can appear.

How microaggressions are like mosquito bites • Same Difference - This video uses a metaphor to explain microaggressions, and how these microaggressions can lead to larger problems.

Black Pride: Queer people of colour on how to be an ally - This video interviews various QTPOC and they give different tips on how to be an ally for both others within the community and those outside of the community.

Celebrating My Black & Queer Identities - This video offers tips on how to reconcile both POC and LGBT+ without having to choose between which identity is represented, and instead of celebrating and valuing both.

Grindr Users Talk About Sexual Racism | Kindr Ep. 1 - This video interviews QTPOC about their experience with racism on dating apps like Grindr, how this racism was shown, and the effect this racism had on them. It also looks at the larger implications of these actions.

Using Dating Apps As A QPOC - This video interviews QPOC about how they have navigated different dating apps and social media and the effect or experience in relation to being both a POC and LGBTQIA+.

Trans women of color terrified of being targets for violence ask 'am I next?': Part 1 | ABC News - This video speaks of the violence against black trans women looking at the story of Muhlaysia Booker, and how the media is changing. Trigger warning: This video shows violence and speaks about sexual assault.

Resistance While Black, Queer, and Trans | The Library | them.- This video talks about legal and prison legislation that discriminates against trans women and QTPOC and how these issues are not addressed in the mainstream LGBT+ and Black Lives Matter movements.

WHEN POC IS NOT ENOUGH: ANTI-BLACKNESS IN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY - This video speaks about how antiblackness appears in all spaces including P.O.C. and Q.T.P.O.C. spaces. It also touches on the commodification and exploitation of black bodies, without the presence of black bodies.

No Homo: Hip-Hop & Its Fear of the Gay Rapper | Complex News Presents - This video looks at the history of homophobia in hip-hop and rap culture, and the context that has led to the development of this issue. It also looks at how this homophobic legacy has continued. Trigger warning: This video uses strong language.

Queer & Muslim: Nothing to Reconcile | Blair Imani | TEDxBoulder - This video speaks of how being Muslim and queer, and the legacy of homophobia that stemmed from colonization.

Untold Facts S3 E1- Queer Women’s Narrative - This video looks at black queerness throughout the African diaspora specifically Nigeria and area that has very homophobic laws and society.

Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church - Part 1- This video looks at the historical and modern significance of Christianity and the struggles that arise from dealing with homophobia from family and community because of religious intolerance.

Exploring Queer Identity With South Africa's Born-Free Generation And LGBTQI Activists - Episode 1 - This video looks at the stories of queer black men in South Africa, how they are censored for their sexuality, and the ways gender identity is perceived and norms enforced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNBYSwVuwLY - This video looks at the history behind African oral traditions, the meaning of Quare studies, and how to use poetry to affirm Black LGBTQIA+ identities in different venues.

How Black Men Face Inequalities From White Men In The LGBTQ Community | Black Coffee - This video looks at the racism within the LGBTQIA+ community, and how HIV stigma was used to target specific racial groups.

Queerness On The Front Lines Of #BlackLivesMatter | Originals | MSNBC - This video looks at how black LGBTQIA+ were included in the origins of the Black Lives Matter, but the reasons that caused it to be slowly pushed out of the mainstream narrative.

Navigating Sikhi as a Black, Queer, Ex Christian - This video follows the story of a black queer person’s experience with navigating religion and finding a way to express multiple identities simultaneously.

Black and Queer Around the World: What Does Solidarity Look Like? - This video looks at the black and queer politics after Trump became president, and what solidarity and socialism could look like in the U.S., and also other parts of the world.

Creating Your Own Space To Be Black And Gay - This video talks about how to be LGBTQIA+ but still participating and accepted in Black culture.

What LGBTQ students want from their faculty - This video allows LGBTQIA+ college students including QTPOC to give advice to professors on what they want to see change on campus to better their experience in higher education.

'Ask Me': What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know - This video allows LGBTQIA+ college students including QTPOC to tell their experience in classes and institutions that were not accommodating and inclusive to their identities, and they h=give tips how these situations can be avoided.

Educational Justice for LGBTQ Students of Color - This video looks at experiences of Black LGBTQIA+ in the educational system, and the trauma that happens to have one or more marginalized identities.

Homophobia in Black Greek Letter Orgs - This video shows a queer student experience in a black fraternity, and how the social change forces greek life to combat the homophobia within them.

Your Ignorance Is Showing If You Believe in a 'Gay Agenda' - This video addresses hysteria that is spread around gay men and how various gay black men have navigate both their sexuality and race.

Do Gender Laws Affect Us? (Homophobia in the Black Community Part 1 of 4) | ESSENCE Live - This video is a table talk conversation on the issues within the black community involving gender, sexuality, and oppression politics.

Trans Agenda: Queerphobia in the Black Community - This video looks at transphobia and homophobia within the black community and the reasons behind these isms.

What It’s Like To Be Trans with Eisha Love | them. - This video interviews a black trans woman and asks her common questions people may have about her experience.

Shea Diamond On Being Trans: 'My Existence Was A Rebellion' | Perspectives - This video looks closely at how struggles faced by black trans people, especially women, make every day a form of resistance.

Black Trans* Lives Matter | D-L Stewart | TEDxCSU - This video looks at how society would look if black trans people were fully protected or giving importance in the Black community and society as a whole.

Trans Women Open Up About Their #MeToo Sexual Assault Experiences | them. - This video looks at how various transwomen, including black women, are not given space in #MeToo movements and other conversations about interpersonal violence.

Trans Love In The Black Community: Living Color | NBC News - This video looks at relationships between people that identify as trans* and black, and how they navigate their relationships.

Articles

15 things LGBTQ people of colour want you to know - This article focuses on the struggles QTPOC folks may face, like racism, dealing with white fragility, microaggressions, tokenization, navigating work and health and relationships, religion, and colorism.

NEW ANALYSIS SHOWS STARTLING LEVELS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLACK TRANSGENDER PEOPLE - This article looks at the specific issues that face black transgender individuals, and brings in specific findings from academic studies.

11 students explain what being queer, black, and proud means to them - This article looks at the stories of Black college students, as they speak on their intersectional identities as well as common misconceptions.

How White LGBT Spaces Erase Queer People of Colour - This article talks about ways mainstream LGBTQ+ communities can erase or exclude QTPOC.

4 Unique Struggles That Queer and Trans People of Color Have to Deal With - This article looks at four specific issues that affect QTPOC and how these struggles can manifest.

Transgender African-Americans’ Open Wound: ‘We’re Considered a Joke’ - This article speaks about transphobia in the black community. It also talks about how this behavior is excused and ignored.

ATTACK ON THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY IS AN ATTACK ON RACIAL JUSTICE - This article looks at ways POC movements can fight against racism within their own communities.

9 queer black women share advice for their teenage selves - This article asks black queer women to share advice that they would have shared with their younger self.

Privilege, Power, and Pride: Intersectionality within the LGBT Community - This article about privilege in the LGBTQ community that is written from the point of view of a QTPOC author who acknowledges his own privileges while discussing how other identities are said to be accepted but, in practice, are generally not.

DIVIDING FACTORS: COLORISM IN THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY - This article speaks about how colorism can appear in the LGBT+ community and engaging with how this can be combated.

Here’s What I Need as a Queer Black Student - This article speaks of struggles of black students and how educators can make all spaces feel inclusive even if they aren’t solely about being a black or LGBTQIA+ space.

Black LGBTQ History: Teachers Must Do a Better Job - This article looks at how black education can continue in classes past Black History Month, and how to bring in all black history, not just the history that is popularized.

Approaches for Advising and Supporting Black Queer and Gender Nonconforming Students - This article looks at the microaggressions that occur towards Black students on PWI( Predominantly White Institutions) and how schools can serve those at the intersection of black* and LGBTQIA+.

Supporting Queer College Students of Color - This article looks at the way QTPOC can be more visible and comfortable on campus. On the national, state, and institutional levels.

Understanding and Addressing the Social Determinants of Health for Black LGBTA People: A Way Forward for Health Centers - This article uses case experiences to explore issues that black LGBTQIA+ people experience within the realm of healthcare.

Research Brief: Black LGBTQ Youth Mental Health - This article uses the data collected from various studies to show disparities in mental health for black LGBTQIA+ youth, and also comparing this data to the LGBTQIA+ youth as a whole.

Protections for LGBTQ People with Behavioral Health Needs - This article looks at the shortcomings within health care in dealing with QTPOC and the specific considerations that need to be taken when dealing with this community.

Practice Guidelines for LGB Clients - This article offers information on how psychologists and/or other mental health professionals can incorporate information involving various identities including QTPOC in order to fully serve these communities.

Learning to love myself as a Black queer man in a Black Greek Letter Organization - This article looks at a college student’s experience being a black queer man within a black fraternity, and the different struggles they encountered in dealing with multiple identities in a nonwelcoming space.

Gay Men in Black Fraternities - This article uses the story of two previous fraternity members’ wedding to shine a light on homophobia and femophobia in black greek life.

Finding Myself and My Academic Power as a Black Queer Student - This article tells the experience of a college student who identifies as black, queer, and non-binary and their tips to navigating a PWI.

Recommendations for Supporting Trans and Queer Students of Color - This is a comprehensive guide for people on college campuses or working in higher education to make spaces outside cultural and LGBTQIA+ centers, still inclusive to QTPOC.

“Quaring” Spirituality: The Spiritual Counterstories and Spaces of Black Gay and Bisexual Male College Students - This article looks at the history and meaning of Quare theory and how it can be incorporated in higher education.

Our #MeToo moment: When will Black queer survivors of sexual assault get the help we deserve? - This article looks closer at how black queer people are affected by sexual assault but are usually left out of the conservation of healing, justice, or protections.

Re-Imagining Masculinities: How Black Queer Feminism Can Liberate Black People From the Toxicity of Patriarchal Masculinity - This article looks at how restrictive gender norms within the patriarchy and masculinity affect all parts of the black community.

Triple-Consciousness: The Souls of Intersectional Folx - This article looks at the experience of various QTPOC on college campuses and how their multiple identities create unique challenges.

Stop Pretending to Be Shocked at Homophobia in the Black Community - This article calls out the need to address the prevalent homophobia in the black community, and for it to stop being ignored or treated as a new or uncommon phenomenon.

OPINION: Recognize homophobia exists in the black community - This article looks closer at the struggles of having parts of your identity that seem at odds with one another.

Why Can't We Talk About Homophobia in the Black Community? - This article looks closely at how homophobia appears in the black community versus other racial groups.

Expanding Black Trans Safety: Open Letter to Our Beloved Community - This article is a letter to the Black community on why it is important to and how to support black transgender women.

The Trans Agenda: Queerphobia in the Black Community - This article looks at how homophobia and transphobia can put added trauma on black LGBTQIA+, but how this part of the community is finding power and strength in their experiences.

Remixing the Closet - This article looks at the DL culture, both how it is stigmatized and how it is used for liberation and freedom for queer men.

The Wades are showing us that they are the family of our future - This article looks at how the aftermath of Zaya Wade coming out showed the transphobia in the Black community.