The QTPOC Project: Representation Matters began as a grant-funded initiative of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project with support from the Southern Equality Fund. The grant project began in December 2017 and concluded in the summer of 2018.
QTPOC History Youth Brigade interns – 2017-2018
Mission Statement
The QTPOC (Queer/Trans People of Color) Project: Representation Matters was established as a conscious effort to unearth histories of people of color in the Southwest Virginia region. We aim to lift up the elders in our communities to tell their stories while empowering younger generations to appreciate these stories and histories. The QTPOC Project opens doors for dialogues to happen across race, class, gender, sexuality, generation, religion, etc. This project celebrates and affirms the lives and contributions of those who bravely share their stories for everyone to learn from.
Past Events
The Black LGBTQIA+ Experience, Sunday, April 22, 2018, 3pm-6pm @ Roanoke Diversity Center, 806 Jamison Avenue SE, Roanoke. For more info on this event, click here.
Participants and project leaders at “The Black LGBTQIA+ Experience” panel and social event @ the Roanoke Diversity Center, April 2018.
Participants and project leaders at “The Black LGBTQIA+ Experience” panel and social event @ the Roanoke Diversity Center, April 2018.
The Roanoke Times later published a groundbreaking article about Roanoke’s Black LGBTQ community and the work of The QTPOC Project: Representation Matters. Several members of the QTPOC Project spoke with the Times about their lives and their involvement in the ongoing project. Check it out at the link here:
“Once Hidden, Black LGBT Community in Southwest Virginia Finds Its Voice,” The Roanoke Times, September 29, 2019.