By: Dawnelle Blake

On Saturday, June 21, Mx. Juneteenth was held outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The event’s goal was to bring together Pride Month and Juneteenth, two monumental celebrations both rooted from oppression, but celebrating resilience and joy.

The event featured a long row of booths set up, occupied by small black businesses, community organizations. Boothes varied from selling candles and prints to advocating for safe abortion procedures, registering to vote, and advocating for specific groups. One booth had a rainbow spread of vinyls by black artists such as Little Richard, Janelle Monae, Tyler the Creator, Doechii, and Prince, known for their queerness or their unconventional gender expression. The rainbow also had non-queer artists like Lauryn Hill and Chaka Khan, celebrating their contribution to music, especially traditionally black genres such as funk, soul, r&b and hip-hop.

I spoke with Khris, the founder of “Black Transmen of Ohio”, one of the many organizations with a booth set up. Khris came with the purpose of bringing “visibility and community building for black trans men” because of the lack of representation for black trans men in queer and black spaces. The extra visibility is especially crucial because of the gender assigned bathroom controversy and what Khris describes as “these monsters they have created” as a result of the ongoing dispute over bathroom assignment. “That’s not who we are, we’re human beings who are just trying to survive like anybody else”. Khris also offered advice for black queer kids who felt they could not coexist within a black body and a queer experience saying, “Your community is out there. It just takes a little bit more effort to find them. For instance, the reason why I started an organization was because I didn't look like me. But I was like, you know what? I know I'm not the only one out here like me." And since then, since on this journey, I think I've been touched and talked to at least 200 black transgender men, aging from 16 all the way to 75. So we're out here, you just gotta go out here and look for communities there. We're here with open arms and we love them.”

The event was buzzing with music, conversation, and community, as many gathered around the stage to listen to choirs, black youth dance groups, poets, and performers expressed the meaning of freedom, resilience, and celebration. The “Progress Pride Flag” —a pride flag featuring rainbow colors as well as brown stripes for communities of color, and a black stripe to recognize those lost in the AIDS epidemic—billowed in the wind over the event.

Also present was Ward 12 councilwoman Rebecca Maurer, buzzing about the event as a volunteer. Notably, Councilwoman Maurer is the first queer woman elected to city council in Ohio. Similarly to Khris, she found the intersectionality of her identity and position important because, “Representation matters, right? When I was growing up, I definitely didn't see out queer people in elected office.” As important as the representation is, Councilwoman Maurer made her gratitude known to those who paved the way before her to be able to just exist a councilwoman who happened to also be queer, “ I'm also really grateful for the people who came before me because I didn't have to run as like an LGBT, like that I wasn't running on an LGBT platform. like I was running on to fix the potholes platform and I just happened to be a queer woman too.” Still, her presence at an event also served to celebrate Juneteenth might still leave some puzzled. When asked about how she would explain the merging of these celebrations she answered, “I think what we know is that solidarity and intersectionality is what's going to save us. You know, I'm also a white woman, volunteering at this event. And, you know, that's people might ask like, 'Hey, why is a white woman at this event too, right?’ But the thing is, like, we all have to be in this together. Solidarity is what's going to save us. And this isn't today about me, but it is a day that I can support and help out behind the scenes. And black and queer liberation are intertwined.”

As the event continued, more people began filling the venue despite the sweltering heat and shining sun. Most booths at this point were being bombarded by event attendees. The attendees were made up of families with their young ones taking in the celebration as well as black queer couples and friend groups. People sat at benches enthralled by the performances, recording and cheering, and some retreated inside of the Rock Hall to cool off for a second.

One booth featured a vibrant rainbow table cloth that read ‘UNITE & FIGHT FOR LGBTQ LIBERATION’. On the table was black radical literature, Pan-African literature, and black revolutionary books. This booth was home to PSL or The Party of Socialism and Liberation. Ameera, a black trans person and a representative for the Party of Socialism and Liberation Cleveland Chapter, described their involvement with the party and causes as a “love for the values it gives different liberation struggles”, and even if it is not specifically socialist, “We're here for liberation, we're here for, you know, for like Palestinian, black liberation. You know, it really resonates with this group that really believes that everybody’s struggle is our struggle too, and for Juneteenth to be liberation day for African Americans, and for June being Pride Month, all those things are very relevant.” Ameera also delved deeper into what an event like this means to them and the party, “Being black and trans myself. So I think it's awesome that we could do opportunities like this. This is actually my second time tabling at Juneteenth. So, you know, I think that us being able to come out a bit like this, really just shows our commitment to really being involved with the community.”

So far, intersectionality, solidarity, and liberation have been the values and shared principles of everyone present at Mx. Juneteenth. It’s more than obvious, from the speeches and poems presented that reflect these sentiments, the various symbols of cross cultural awareness and advocacy, and the diverse community attending the event. The event was littered with queer flags, Juneteenth colors, black power fists and Pride decoration.

Ry, the director of marketing for Mx. Juneteenth, spoke to the importance of working an event like this and how they got involved, “I was a festival attendee back in 2021 and this was right at the time that I was becoming good friends with the co organizer, Avery. Just instantly, being in this space, I felt at home, I felt welcomed in a way that I've never felt welcomed. And that's something that in my experience, I haven't had a lot of in not only just black centric celebrations like a Juneteenth event, but just in a lot of places. And so to instantly feel that love was an amazing experience, and I knew that I wanted to get help providing that for other people.” Ry, also being black and non-binary spoke to the collaboration of both black liberation and queer liberation explaining, “Those struggles are interconnected. One doesn't move without the other, and I think a lot of times people frame the black struggle in a cisgender, patriarchal lens, but obviously there are so many of us and there are so many different expressions of who we are as, you know, black people and as queer people. And I think one of the key parts of being a queer person is just how our identities are naturally resistant to the way that the structures around us are. So those two things align, I think, purposely in that way. And we just need to make more space for that.”

Mx. Juneteenth is a free and annual event where more information can be located on their Instagram, Facebook, and website. Other events are also featured on the Mx. Juneteenth website. RSVP for the event can be done through the Mx. Juneteenth website.