For QueerWOC: The Podcast co-hosts Nikeeta Slade and Montique Mceachern, having a space for community-building is not only vital but what they continue to advocate for in Syracuse.

Now, the two will host a kickback targeted for queer people of color this Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Cafe Sankofa Cooperative as part of a series of events throughout the weekend — which are open to the public.  The kickback, which aims to be a meet-and-greet for the QueerWOC: The Podcast listeners and co-hosts is also a place where people can engage with one another without needing to teach a 101 class on queer people of color, said Mceachern.

Originally starting in 2016 as an extension from a blog,  QueerWOC: The Podcast, the biweekly show was a solo project Mceachern began where immediately she began talking about queer culture and identity politics as major themes she said. Later on, Slade joined the podcast show.

While the kickback serves to bring together queer people of color together, Slade and Mceachern said they see this event as a means to tackle metronormativity — the idea that only queer communities or identities only exist in metropolitan areas and not in rural or suburban areas.

While  large metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Atlanta host events similar to Slades and Mceachern are common, the two believe just because they live in less populated Syracuse, doesn’t there is no demand for community-building events,  said Mceachern.

“There so many of us in these rural places or smaller cities,  and there is nothing that is really poppin’ in the Rust (Belt) though,” said Mceachern.

 

Montique Mceachern (left) and Nikeeta Slade are the co-host for QueerWOC: The Podcast, they will be hosting a kickback this Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.     Courtesy of QueerWOC: The Podcast

But while large cities may have more resources and events than smaller ones, Slade said rural areas like Syracuse have advantages like Syracuse’s “gorgeous summers” and being more affordable than other cities, the two said.

It’s the same affordability that helped start up the kickback, said Mceachern, adding that they particularly wanted to host at Cafe Sankofa Cooperative because it’s affordability and one of the few complexes accessible for black people, Mceachern. For this reason, while the event is free Mceachern hopes people donate to the space.

“I just people to know what’s there and all the magic that happens there,” Mceachern said. “That also feels important when we talk about community.”

The relationship between queer, people of color and community members, is what makes cities like Syracuse different then big cities, Mceachern said, adding that  unlike bustling locations smaller cities rely on these kinds of relationships to create the space for people to come together.

While the two only expected about 15-25 to RSVP they were shocked when they received more than double the RSVP alone, but is a testament Syracuse’s demand for more communal space, said Slade. And while the two said they don’t know exactly what will come of the kickback, they want people to know that there is a community in Syracuse that is numerous and alive, said Mceachern.

“It’s not just the fact that we’re bad b*tches but it’s about the fact that how much queer people, people of color, non-binary folks and marginalized people, are really hungry for community,” said Slade.

Published on August 29, 2019 at 12:33 am

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