EMPOWERMENT SUMMIT 2023 EMPOWERMENT
MANIFESTO
At BlaqOut our definition of equity in society is for everyone in our community to flourish. Our methodology is to take full responsibility and do the best and most we can to embrace each other instead of point fingers. Instead of demanding that somebody else “fix it”, we recognize that the challenges any member of our community faces is our opportunity to live from the depth of our love.
We simply refuse to leave any of our people to suffer in the silence of obscurity. Not everyone is going to care about us. That’s life. Distractions and detractors only fuel our determination to be what we came here to be for each other. We define our community and with each project seek to lift that community up to exist as one healthy, united family of able bodies and souls.
Together we might never find all the solutions but we will give it all we’ve got. As an organization, we are exploring various means of sustainability, including social enterprise to reinforce self-sufficiency but with the wisdom we need not do this in isolation. The successful models of change we create can be exported and utilized to address challenges in other communities who can deploy insights we’ve gathered to fuel their efforts towards progress and transformation. We exist to confirm that our lives matter.
We are not gathered here to convince or persuade anyone to get it. A capacity to love and put that love into action is the defining characteristic of our true allies who we invite to support us in fulfilling our mission.
The light we shine on the brave lives who graciously opened themselves by baring their innermost truths as respondents for our survey show us where we can do more. Our findings reveal the specific areas where the need for a shift in approach and consciousness is most critical. Our findings are a directive for those who are truly determined to serve this multi-faceted community made up of unique individuals who require support as we all do.
They don’t want a hand out. They want to contribute to the world and we want to reinforce their value as members of the greater community at large who stand to benefit from their presence and talents. It is in a spirit of appreciation and love that we welcome all who have gathered here today. We hope that your presence is a sign.
More than a sign we hope your presence here is confirmation that you are able, interested and willing to not only learn something but to leave here to determined to do something to contribute to our mission.
Thank you.
EVENT PROGRAM
Lunch and Registration
Attendees are asked to go directly to the lunch buffet upon registration.
Exhititors Available
Please visit the resource tables of Empowerment Summit exhibitors, located in the Kansas City Room.
Welcome
Kathryn Evans, Rooted Strategy
Elevating Our Voices
Video presentation and local hot takes
The Journey
Tusday Dudley, BlaqOut Chief of Staff
In Memoriam
Daniel Driffin, HIV Vaccine Trials Network
DeMarc Hickson, Ph.D., Us Helping Us
Honoring Our Heroes, Sheroes, and Theyroes
D. Rashaan Gilmore, BlaqOut Founder/President and CEO
Lawrence Crawford, BlaqOut Board Member
Hate Beyond Our Borders
A special message from Turinawe Samson, Universal Love Alliance
Keynote
George M. Johnson
Personal Reflections
D. Rashaan Gilmore, BlaqOut Founder/President and CEO
Banned But Not Broken
Dialog among healthcare and social justice advocates
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MASTER OF CEREMONIES
GODFREY RIDDLE
Godfrey Riddle, MPA (he/him): artist, nonprofit executive, and serial social entrepreneur is driven to create inspiring communities where people reach their full potential. As a visionary servant leader, Godfrey has created and managed lines of business for nonprofit organizations that have generated over $19.4 million since 2014.
Godfrey was Director of Resource Development with ArtsKC where he and his team raised support for its programs and services designed to “advance lives through the arts.” He also helped found ArtsKC’s six-week Creative Leaders program to train rising stars as adaptive, anti-racist arts leaders and appoint them to arts nonprofit and civic boards.
Godfrey founded Civic Saint in October 2020 as a protest brand offering affirming apparel and accessories to advance social justice through donations to advocate organizations. Today, informed by his life as a Black, gay man and cancer survivor whose late parents struggled with homeownership, Civic Saint has pioneered a process that employs the advantages of earthen building systems, prefab manufacturing, and technology to sustainably produce artful, artist-led affordable housing and adaptive communities for revitalization and wealth creation.
Godfrey is an Ambassador for American Cancer Society and Board Member of BlaqOut which works to improve healthcare access and social outcomes for Black queer people in Kansas City. Past honors include 2023 Power of Diversity ACE Award, INK Magazine “30 under 30”, Foreign Language Area Studies Fellow, and Fulbright National Finalist. Meet Godfrey in Season 1, Episode 5 of “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” streaming on PeacockTV.
“American history is truly the greatest fable ever written.”
George M. Johnson
GEORGE
M. JOHNSON
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
GEORGE M. JOHNSON
George M. Johnson is an award-winning Black non-binary writer, author, and executive producer located in the LA area. They are the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult memoir “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” which discusses their adolescence growing up as a young Black queer boy in New Jersey through a series of powerful essays. The book was optioned for television by Gabrielle Union.
As a former journalist, George has written for major outlets including Teen Vogue, Entertainment Tonight, NBC, and Buzzfeed. In 2019, they were awarded the Salute to Excellence Award by the National Association of Black Journalists for their Vice Magazine article “When Racism Anchors Your Health.”
Their second memoir “We Are Not Broken” was released in September 2021. It received the Carter G. Woodson Award, which recognizes books that “accurately and sensitively depict the experience of one or more historically marginalized racial/ethnic groups in the United States.” The book was also honored by the International Literacy Association in the young adult nonfiction category of the 2022 Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Awards.
In 2021, George wrote and executive produced the dramatic reading of “All Boys Aren’t Blue” starring Jenifer Lewis and Dyllon Burnside, which received a 2022 Special Recognition Award from GLAAD.
George is also a proud HBCU alum twice over, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated.
RESILIENCE
RESILIENCE RESILIENCE RESILIENCE
BlaqOut provides Kansas City’s Black LGBTQ+ community and its allies with outlets to not only respond to adversity but to recover from it — and even thrive.
ACCESS
ACCESS ACCESS ACCESS
BlaqOut increases access to equitable healthcare and safe space for Kansas City’s Black LGBTQ+ community and its allies through no-cost programs and services.
VISIBILITY
VISIBILITY VISIBILITY VISIBILITY
BlaqOut creates opportunities for the innate gifts, multi-dimensional talents, and visions of the Black, L GBTQ+ community to be celebrated and shared.
SAFETY
SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY
BlaqOut provides Black LGBTQ+ people and their allies a welcoming environment free of stigma and discrimination and mobilizes them around a shared sense of community.
SELF-DETERMINATION
SELF-DETERMINATION
SELF-DETERMINATION
SELF-DETERMINATION
BlaqOut cultivates the power of our collective to invent solutions for ourselves. We are the agents of our own liberation. We cannot wait for anybody else to save us, and we don’t need anybody else to lead us.
“People did not to be led; they given the skills, and opportunity themselves.”
not really need needed to be
to lead
Ella Bakerskills, information opportunity
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Your Partner in Health and Empowerment. Together, we can create positive change.
Health Forward Foundation is building and supporting inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities. Learn more about Kansas City’s health equity movement at HealthForward.org.
Time to go.
At Universal Love Alliance we change the lives of Ugandan minorities through comprehensive educational programs that teach unconditional tolerance, practical life skills, HIV prevention, care giving, and youth outreach.
Creating Hope for Ending AIDS
Our goal is simple: Develop a safe, effective vaccine as rapidly as possible for the prevention of HIV globally.
Learn more about our mission at hvtn.org.
Help us bring positive social and cultural change in Uganda!
Rent Our Space!
Rent a venue that feels safe, affirming, and welcoming! Centrally located at 36th and Main, the BlaqBox is the perfect event space for your next event.
LEARN MORE
ABOUT US
At BlaqOut our definition of equity in society is for everyone in our cBlaqOut has solidified a place as a disruptive innovator in the field of HIV testing and prevention, telehealth, and PrEP/PEP access since our founding in 2017. By focusing on improving healthcare access and wellness outcomes for the most marginalized, BlaqOut has created new pathways to better care for our core membership, Kansas City’s Black, LGBTQ+ community and is now able to serve everyone in need of our easily accessible, no-cost services.
MISSION STATEMENT
BlaqOut’s mission is to create a community where Black people of queer and trans experience and their allies are connected and supported, have access to safe spaces, and enjoy sufficient resources to help them thrive.
WE BELIEVE
We believe that to turn the tide against the HIV epidemic and improve overall health outcomes, grassroots and indigenously-led efforts originating from those most-affected must be given the opportunity to succeed. It is essential that we begin to deploy revolutionary, evidencedbased, and out-of-the-box models to effectively support Black LGBTQ+ people, especially those living with HIV. We recognize how stigma, discrimination and medical mistrust act as tremendous barriers to good health for many Black LGBTQ+ people. And we want to do something about it.
OUR APPROACH
BlaqOut has adopted a holistic approach that aims to look at all aspects of the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people. Accordingly, in all of our activities a conscious effort is made not to problematize the Black LGBTQ+ community by having a singular focus on disease (HIV/ AIDS). We approach Black LGBTQ+ people and their lives with a solution-oriented focus that raises awareness of the myriad health issues impacting our community and offers participants the opportunity to begin developing realistic strategies to combat these issues effectively.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on our progress and a behind-the-scenes look into the world of BlaqOut. Our handle is the same across all social platforms: @blaqoutkc. Learn more about us at our website blaqout.org or email us at hello@blaqout.org.
PARTNER WITH US
We are always interested in exploring new collaborative possibilities that are rooted in equity, mutuality, and sustainability. We would love to learn your organization’s ideas on how we can partner to further benefit the Black LGBTQ+ community. As the first stage of our vetting process, please email BlaqOut’s Community Engagement and Special Projects Manager John Holder with your ideas at heyjohn@blaqout.org. Organizations that meet our topline criteria will be invited to submit in the second stage of our evaluation.
Let’s improve health outcomes for Black LGBTQ+ people together!
DONATE TODAY
Help us make the change we want to see in our community. Together, with your help, we can do it!
Please consider taking your support to the next level with a convenient, automatic monthly gift. Become a monthly donor and ensure that our essential work is supported with your secure, monthly donation. All donors who contribute $25.00 or more annually receive a complimentary gift from the founder of BlaqOut, Inc.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!
BlaqOut, Inc., is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to BlaqOut, Inc., are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Tax identification number: 82-1144166 © 2023 BlaqOut, Inc. All rights reserved.
AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM. WE ARE THE SOLUTION.
GET INVOLVED
ACKNLOWLEDGEMENTS
Sponsors
Boca Pharmacy Group
Health Forward Foundation
HIV Vaccine Trials Network
KU Medical Center’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
and the Center for African American Health
Our Spot KC
REACH Healthcare Foundation
Uzazi Village
BlaqOut Board of Directors
Lawrence Crawford Seth Hunter, Ph.D.
Devin Hursey Fawn Lies
Godfrey Riddle
Partner Organizations
Jewish Family Services
The Kansas City Defender
Operation Liberation
Our Spot KC
Uzazi Village
Design and Copy
Messenger Ink
EMPOWERMENT
