Meet some of the BlaqOUT Conference planning crew!
These are some of the important people
that are helping to plan the
5th BlaqOUT Conference 2018
April 27-28, 2018
@UC Riverside
The following quotes are their responses to the question
"What does the BlaqOUT Conference mean to you?"
Name: Toi Thibodeaux
Position: Professional Staff
Affiliation: UC Riverside
"The BlaqOUT Conference to me is all about Empowerment, Visibility, Support, Education, Advocacy, Community."
Name: Sanisha Meador
Year: UCR Alum
Affiliation: UC Riverside
"BlaqOUT has become this place where I can just be, I can learn new topics, and mingle with other blaqqueer folks. It has become home. These are the reasons I keep attending and the reasons why I continue to be on the committee. I want to ensure that BlaqOUT can continue and get better with each passing year."
Name: Jei
Position: Undergraduate Student
Affiliation: UC Riverside
"BlaqOUT is a way to traverse through my identity as both a gay man and a multiracial Black man. It allows me to view and access a community I didn't know it was possible to have."
Name: Khalil
Position: Undergraduate Student
Affiliation: UC Riverside
"The BlaqOUT conference is an opportunity for queer people of African descent to come together to network and build a community. It is a safe space where we can be ourselves and discuss issues and topics that affect our community every day."
Name: Nancy Tubbs
Position: Professional Staff
Affiliation: UC Riverside
"The BlaqOUT Conference to me is about creating courageous spaces."
Name: Megan Rush
Position: Professional Staff
Affiliation: UC Riverside
"The BlaqOUT Conference to me is an amazing opportunity for many students, who often do not have spaces like these, to meet and create community.”
Name: Gabriel Maldonado
Position: Executive Director/CEO
Affiliation: TruEvolution, Inc.
“BlaqOut is not just a conference or a space for organizing community, but it is an intentional act of self-determination for the Black LGBTQ to co-create spaces that organize, educate, mobilize, and offer healing to our community."
