Newsletter - M4BL

Welcome to The Tea, a newsletter from the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) to celebrate and uplift the lives and experiences of Black queer, non-binary, and TGNCI (trans, gender-nonconforming, and intersex) people in the United States and globally. Across our movement, we’ve seen everything from Black LGBTQIA people making history in politics, to upswings in anti-trans policies and state-sanctioned violence. The time of exploiting and harming Black queer and TGNCI folks is over—and the time to protect and celebrate the contributions of our communities is now. And The Tea is only the beginning!

The Tea September ’24 Newsletter

In this special issue of The Tea, we will highlight the issues impacting young Black trans folks. The future of our communities is intertwined with their resilience and strength. Even as hostile politicians push anti-trans legislation and institutions deny crucial support, young Black trans people are standing firm in their identities, advocating for their rights, and leading movements with unapologetic courage.

The Tea June ’24 Newsletter

As we celebrate Pride Month, let’s reflect and draw inspiration from its radical and rebellious origins. Pride started as a riot, and the fight continues today. Black trans people are under attack globally, making it crucial for us to unite our struggles, share our stories, and support each other through sharing resources, learning and unlearning, healing our transphobia, and practicing self-care. This Pride, we are reflecting on the current state of Black TGNCIQ (transgender, gender-nonconforming, intersex, and queer) folks nationwide and calling each other and our allies to action. In the spirit of Marsha P. Johnson, remember: “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.”

The Tea March ’24 Newsletter

On this Trans Day of Visibility, we unite in envisioning the world we’re striving for—one that embraces, safeguards, and exalts the existence of Black trans, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary individuals with boundless love and affirmation. The journey of recent years has been marked by the powerful essence of “Black Transcendence” (shout out to Jay-Marie Hill), the pursuit of queer liberation, a profound self-care movement, an unprecedented surge in visibility for Black trans, gender-nonconforming, intersex, and queer (TGNCIQ) folks, the recognition of Black trans movement pioneers, and a revolutionary wave of creativity.

The Tea December ’23 Newsletter

Peace, family! Welcome to the last issue of The Tea for the year! For this special edition, we celebrate and uplift our young and thriving Black LGBTQIA+ sibs. We truly believe the future is in great hands: Black queer and trans kids are changing the world for the better. Even in the face of hostile politicians taking away their right to play sports, school systems denying the celebration of queer history, and their loss of access to gender-affirming care and support—young folks are staying grounded in their identities, prioritizing their self-care, telling their own stories, and organizing to fight back. Young queer and trans Black folks have always been at the forefront of political movements, presented new ideologies and beliefs, and fought for the futures of everyone.

The Tea August ’23 Newsletter

Read on to learn more about what Queer Black August means and how we’re honoring our Black queer political prisoners; watch a short documentary about an anti-racist activist and Afro-Latine Non-Binary Queer feminist writer, organizer, and performer who works for the liberation of all Black lives; meet a Black trans woman who is creating safe spaces for Black TGNCIQ gun survivors; and lastly, check out our What We’re Vibing To section – one of our previous guest writers released a life-changing book(!), plus we are sharing the music and visuals of a super-talented non-binary artist. We hope you enjoy this issue. Thank you for reading!

The Tea June ’23 Issue

Each year, we put out a call to our community to Submit Your Brilliance. We receive an overwhelming response, which is further proof that our community is full of talent, authentic expression, and the desire to be an inspiration to others.

The Tea April ’23 Issue

For this edition of The Tea, we asked the Black Hive to uplift the queer and trans members leading on climate work and to shed light on how climate change is a Black queer issue! In this issue, you’ll hear directly from members and learn about how you can be involved in the fight for climate justice for all Black folks! Special shout-out to Aya de Leon, who curated and introduced the issue below!

The Tea March ’23 Issue

We explore what it means to “find home” in this world. So many of our Black queer and trans youth have been displaced because of their identities. “Research has shown that those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ+) have a 120% higher risk of experiencing some form of (houselessness). These statistics are even worse for Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) LGBTQ+ populations (dealing with) racial inequities and discrimination.”

The Tea Feb ’23 Issue

For this edition of The Tea, we wanted to continue to combine our tradition of honoring Black futures with a celebration of love. Though V Day can feel commercialized and corny sometimes (no shade if you observe it—read on), we love love and any opportunity to spread it, talk about it, unpack it, feel it, and celebrate it. Love is the foundation of Black queer liberation, and in this issue, we want to give a snapshot of what that means for many of us. We specifically chose not to focus on romantic love and partnership. Romance culture can often make us feel like we aren’t enough if we don’t have that specific type of love in our lives. Some of us are uncoupled, single, asexual, or aromantic, and not looking for romantic partners—and it’s all valid and doesn’t make us less valuable.

The Tea Dec ’22 Issue

For this edition of The Tea, we are highlighting some of our favorite pieces of the year. We hope you revisit a piece you loved, connect with the story of another Black queer or trans person, and feel celebrated and affirmed in your existence!

The Tea Oct ’22 Issue

Peace family! Welcome back to The Tea! We are so excited to share this issue with you. At M4BL, we believe the future is in great hands: Black queer and trans kids are changing the world for the better. Even in the face of hostile politicians taking away their rights to play sports, school systems denying the celebration of queer history, and losing access to gender-affirming care and support, young folks are staying grounded in their identities, telling their stories, and organizing to fight back.

The Tea June ’22 Issue

This is our first Pride issue of The Tea, and we are so excited to feature you…our beautiful and talented community members. In April, we put out a call asking folks to share their artwork, stories, poems, songs, and more—and this is a collection featuring some of what you all sent us!

The Tea May ’22 Issue

In this issue, we are raising awareness about the reproductive rights of Black TGNCIQ (transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming, and queer) people; uplifting the life of one of our trans sisters who was murdered due to patriarchy and transphobia; sharing a few tips on how to celebrate Mother’s Day inclusively; and, of course, putting you on to What We Are Vibin’ To this month! Thanks for reading!

The Tea Apr ’22 Issue

In this issue, we are: uplifting three dope transgender, gender-nonconformig, intersex, queer (TGNCIQ) folks working to help us heal; sharing an interview that covers reproductive justice, sexual violence, gender-expansive identities, and what consent looks like within our communities; hearing from a guest writer about The Healing Practice of Kink; calling you in to participate in our first-ever Pride community issue of The Tea in June; and of course, putting you on to What We Are Vibin’ To this month! Thanks for reading!

The Tea Aug ’21 Issue

Welcome to the Tea is a newsletter from the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) to celebrate and uplift the lives and experiences of Black queer, trans, gender-noncomforming, and intersex (TGNCI) people in the United States and globally everywhere. Opt in and we will put you on to the brilliance and depth within the Black queer and TGNCI community.

The Tea Sept ’21 Issue

In this month’s issue, we are uplifting one of the base-building queer organizers in the M4BL ecosystem; talking about what’s happening in Georgia prisons; holding space to acknowledge the passing of another one of our Black trans sisters, and putting you on to what we are vibing to this month. Thank you for reading!

The Tea Feb ’22 Issue

In this issue, we are uplifting our TGNCIQ ecosystem members in Minneapolis, introducing you to an innovative and experimental arts and culture collective in New York City, sharing the story of a Black queer woman who needs our support, and putting you on to What We Are Vibin’ To this month!

The Tea Jan ’22 Issue

In this issue, we include a dedication to one of our nation’s unsung heroes, we break down what Roe v. Wade has to do with Black queer liberation, and we put you on to What We Are Vibin’ To this month! We also really want to hear from you! Every month, we slide in your inbox with news from our ecosystem, honoring our TGNCI heroes, sharing what we’ve been vibin’ to, and more—but we’d like to get to know more about what you wanna see when you open The Tea. Throughout this issue, there are a few questions to get you thinking about what you want to read about in The Tea this year. Share your feedback, and let’s keep building fam!

The Tea Nov ’21 Issue

Peace, family! Welcome to The Tea! This is our last issue for 2021. (Don’t miss us too much.) We will be back with another issue at the top of the year. Thanks for reading, sharing, and offering us your feedback. We appreciate you! As always, this month has been eventful in the Black queer and TGNCI (transgender, gender-nonconforming, and intersex) community. We’ve been making our leadership known, organizing in the streets to defund police departments and invest in public safety that works, protesting mega-media companies to demand that we be treated with respect, and so much more.

The Tea Oct ’21 Issue

What a wild month it’s been. We have a lot to share as we close out LGBTQIA History Month. That includes honoring a living icon who has been fighting for trans rights for over 50 years, sharing an opportunity to help save a sacred space in D.C., and celebrating the lives and mourning the passing of our kinfolk, among other things. But before we jump in, here are some things that pissed us off and broke our hearts. As always, thank you for reading.