Juneteenth. A time for reflection, meditating on the future, and celebration. We did exactly that during our June Meetup. DJ Oluwafemi kicked off the night by giving us a taste of the specially curated playlist he made for our first ever dance party. Then we jumped right into the core purpose of our gathering: sharing our history and connecting with each other.
Our hosts Lili Stiefel and Ariel Bastida reminded us to sit in reverence for both the women that birthed us and the land we live on. With our moment of silence, we honored the lives of people who are typically left out of the narrative for Juneteenth, and we dedicated this moment to the lives, work, and liberation of Black trans folx.
We chose to send this month’s donations to The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), which has a perfect score from Charity Navigator. EJI is the creator of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people.
We reiterated the Community Guidelines to create a safe space and to facilitate conversation where everyone can grow and feel seen and heard.