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LGBTQ+ history has never been one story told by one community. It is a collection of experiences shaped by race, sexuality, gender, culture, faith and the determination to live authentically in a world that hasn't always made room for differences. From the early fight for civil rights to the cultural contributions of Black LGBTQ+ pioneers, the history we celebrate today was built by generations of people who refused to disappear simply because society wasn't ready to acknowle

This election season, direct democracy is on the front lines of LGBTQ+ equality. Voters in seven states face critical ballot measures that will determine the future of civil rights, youth well-being, healthcare autonomy, and marriage equality in their communities. ​While advocates in some states are fighting to anchor comprehensive protections directly into state constitutions, anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives in other states threaten to roll back essential rights for transgender y

Let's talk about something that deserves more conversation within our own community. We spend a great deal of time encouraging the world to understand and respect LGBTQ+ people, but how often do we sit among ourselves and discuss what all these identities actually mean? Better yet, how often do we acknowledge that even those of us who belong to the community don't always understand every experience represented within it? That was the foundation of this week's INBLK convers

We have two questions: Are you an organization supportive of the LGBTQ+ community? And are you INBLK? If those questions speak to you, we want you paying attention. We are bringing together people and organizations ready to show up, exchange ideas, and explore what we can build when Black LGBTQ+ and Ally voices are included in the

night on INBLK, we talked about something almost everybody has a relationship with, whether we realize how deep that relationship is or not. Music. Not just what sounds good. Not just what makes us dance. We talked about what music does to our minds, our emotions, our children, our culture, and even the way we see ourselves. Peach opened the show and welcomed everyone to LGBTQ+ INBLK, but because she was losing her voice, she handed the hosting duties over to Zae for t

October is LGBTQ+ History Month, and the week of October 11–17 reminds us that visibility, equality and community were never handed to us without a struggle. From the courage of coming out to the organizing power of Black LGBTQ+ activists, this week represents generations of people who refused to let society write their stories for them. Long before Pride became a celebration recognized around the world, LGBTQ+ people were building movements, challenging institutions, crea

is a difference between spreading love and allowing people to take advantage of it. On this week's episode of INBLK, presented by I Am Me Inc., the conversation got personal as guest host DELEQÚA, singer, entertainer, and community advocate, joined Peach, Donna, Zae, Dre, and fellow panelists for a candid discussion about love, light, friendships, emotional maturity, and the importance of protecting your peace.

Before the hashtags, before Pride became part of mainstream culture, and long before being openly LGBTQ+ could build somebody a public platform, there was James Baldwin. A brilliant Black man from Harlem who used his words to make America uncomfortable in the best possible way. Baldwin wrote about race, sexuality, religion, masculinity, love and the complicated experience of being Black in a country that often expected Black people to survive quietly. He did not write to make

Trans Women vs. Cisgender Women: Is the Divide Real?

September 26: Visibility Changed the Conversation

September 25: Before the World Celebrated Us, We Celebrated Each Other

LGBTQ+ INBLK Recap: When Love Isn’t Enough

September 18: Before We Could Google Ourselves, We Had to Find Each Other

🏳️‍🌈 THIS DAY IN LGBTQ+ HISTORY Some people make history standing behind a microphone. Others make history writing the music the person holding the microphone performs. September 17 belongs to one of those creative forces. Billy Strayhorn was a Black gay composer, pianist, lyricist and arranger whose music became deeply connected to the sound of one of America's greatest jazz orchestras. Yet for many years, the name most people recognized wasn't Strayhorn's. It was Duke Ell

September 16: We Didn't Wait for Acceptance — We Built Community

An I AM ME Inc. LGBTQ+ INBLK Recap Season Three of LGBTQ+ INBLK opened with a conversation that was bigger than one artist, one murder case or one era of music. Hosted by Peach, the panel used Tupac Shakur’s legacy as the starting point for a direct and sometimes heated discussion about Black culture, visibility, loyalty and the complicated relationship between hip-hop and the Black LGBTQ+ community. The episode, “Justice for Tupac: We Show Up for Hip-Hop, But Does Hip-Hop Sh

🏳️‍🌈 THIS DAY IN LGBTQ+ HISTORY Some people make history by marching. Some make it through politics. Others make history simply by refusing to stay quiet when the world would rather not hear what they have to say. September 14 is about two LGBTQ+ men from different generations who understood the power of speaking up: Jim Egan and David Wojnarowicz. One challenged the way gay people were being portrayed long before Stonewall. The other used art, photography and writing to fo

Sometimes LGBTQ+ history isn't found on a protest line with a sign in hand. Sometimes it is found behind a desk, with a pen, an idea, an education and enough influence to change how an entire generation sees itself. September 13 reminds us that queer people were not simply participating in history; we were helping create the culture. One of the most important examples is Alain Locke, the Black philosopher, educator, writer and cultural critic whose ideas became deeply

There is something powerful about looking back at LGBTQ+ history and realizing how recently some of our freedoms were considered controversial. September 12 is one of those dates. It connects music, Hollywood, HIV/AIDS, and the fight for marriage equality, but underneath each story is something deeper: the freedom to live authentically and have that life respected.

Long before LGBTQ+ people had YouTube channels, podcasts, livestreams, social media, and independent platforms like INBLK, authentic LGBTQ+ voices were rarely welcomed onto television. Doctors spoke about us. Politicians debated us. Churches judged us. The media analyzed us. Society questioned whether something was wrong with us. Yet LGBTQ+ people were seldom given the microphone to define their own lives, identities, relationships, and experiences.