A leader who inspires me in the Black community is Martin Luther King Jr. — he inspired me from the day that I learned who he was. When I was still living in my home country I first heard the "I Have a Dream" speech. I didn’t know or understand the reason for that speech until I moved to the U.S. and started doing some research about it, and found out more about MLK’s life.

I learned my first real lesson on what racism was when I arrived in the United States in May 2017. My first-hand experience was being shackled by white U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from the airport and being taken to an ICE detention center — with my nose and mouth covered as well. When the nurse at the detention facility asked them why they covered my nose and mouth, their response was: “He is coming from Africa and he could be coming with Ebola and other diseases.” I didn’t understand why the officer would make such comments or judge me solely based on ethnicity/origin.

After learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and hearing his "I Have a Dream" speech over and over while I was in detention, it really opened my eyes to the world that we live in. I was also able to understand that racism existed in the United States and how our ancestors have fought for us to get to where we are today — and from that moment on, I was destined to follow my heart, to continue to live my truth as a Black gay man, to always stand up for what I saw as right, even if I stood alone. MLK has been and always will be one of my role models.

What is one Black-led nonprofits that you admire?

I admire the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP) — it was the first Black, queer, and trans migrant-led organization that I came across in the United States, in early 2018 at the National LGBTQ Task Force's Creating Change Conference. At that conference, they allowed me to fully be me and to be vulnerable without judging me. One thing I admire about the organization is that they center Black leadership, and all the members identify as Black and as migrants. It is one of the spaces where I am allowed to freely be myself.

How do you work to achieve equity at the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project?

LGBTQIA+ immigrants often face unique challenges due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some flee persecution in their home countries or have experienced discrimination and trauma in the United States, etc. While advocacy and legal services organizations are fighting and demanding justice for Black people, and fighting against policy proposals that affect Black people, the majority use a hetero-normative narrative to center their advocacy. While compelling, the focus of the mainstream narrative means that Black LGBTQIA+, GNC, and HIV+ migrants lack a voice to advocate for resources specific to their needs.

Our members at the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project — especially Black members — experience racism, anti-Blackness, housing insecurity and homelessness, misogyny, xenophobia, discrimination, lack of resources, the killing of Black trans people, transphobia, and more. In order to address these issues we launched a Political Education series to highlight the experiences of LGBTQ+ immigrants and ways we can work to challenge the system. Some of the topics we covered are "Incarceration and Capitalism," "Shifting the Narratives around Immigration,” “Black LGBTQI+ Migration,” “Trans Identity,'' “Decolonization,” etc.

Our leadership structure reflects our desire to center and organize across Black, queer and trans identities, and currently 70% of our board members identify as Black queer migrants. We have also joined forces with other Black trans organizers, and queer and trans immigrant-led organizations across New York City to organize multiple marches and protests to demand justice for all trans people murdered by police violence in the U.S., and to demand that the Biden administration prioritize and protect LGBTQ+ immigrants and asylum seekers. We have continued to center the voices of our members in our work and movement, most importantly the voices of our Black members, because we recognize the multiple oppressions that Black people face in the U.S.

Learn how we are supporting the work of our partners at the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP) through our Immigrant Rights Fund, and read more about QDEP's work​ on their website.

Black Philanthropy Month (BPM), observed every August, is a global celebration and concerted campaign to elevate African-descent giving. Created by Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland and the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network (PAWPNet), BPM launched in 2011 to commemorate the United Nations Year and Decade of People of African Descent. The theme for this year’s Black Philanthropy Month is “TENacity: Making Equity Real”.