Queeribbean Crossings: Solidarity as Resistance
Date and Time: Thursday, December 5, 2024, from 9 am - 5 pm
Location: Queens College (Student Union Building) - 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY 11367
Volunteering Opportunity Available: Sign up Now!
On Thursday, December 5, Caribbean Equality Project will host its 3rd Annual Queeribbean Crossings conference, "Solidarity as Resistance," in recognition of 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence and Human Rights Day, a partnership with the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium. The FREE one-day community conference is a knowledge-sharing space that centers on critical reflections and collaborative discussions on transnational cross-racial solidarities and multicultural artistic expressions through a diasporic Afro and Indo-Caribbean LGBTQ+ lens. Queeribbean Crossings will feature international keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, a health and immigration resource fair, and a closing cultural & drag showcase.
Panel: Gender Liberation: Reproductive Justice and Legislative Reform Through Action and Education
Tiffany Jade Munroe (she/her), Trans Justice Coordinator, Caribbean Equality Project
Yanery Cruz (she/her), Director of Advocacy and Programs, New York Transgender Advocacy Group
Mateo Guerrero (he/him), Trans Justice and Leadership Program Manager, Make the Road NY
Shivana Jorawar (she/her), Co-Director, Jahajee
Chanel J. Lopez (she/her), Deputy Director Of LGBTQ+ Affairs, Office of the NYS Governor Kathy Hochul
Ace Sutherland (they/them), Board Secretary, Caribbean Equality Project
Panel Overview
This session examines the urgent need for reproductive justice in the United States, the Caribbean, and its diaspora, focusing on advocacy, legislative reform, and community-driven education. Building on the Caribbean Equality Project and community partner’s collective organizing, this panel highlights how reproductive justice intersects with gender liberation and the fight for inclusive legal frameworks in Caribbean communities in New York City and beyond. This is further impacted by attacks on reproductive justice by the Trump administration that have made access to healthcare limited and often inaccessible for queer and trans community members.
Speakers will discuss the history of collectively mobilizing Black and Brown communities to confront issues of gendered violence, inequality, and legislative barriers, using grassroots organizing as a tool for change, particularly for women, trans people, and those with the capacity to carry children. This conversation emphasizes the role of educational initiatives in challenging stigma and advocating for safe, accessible reproductive health care for all, including the passing of the Equal Rights Amendments in New York State. Through community action and cross-generational learning, the panel will explore pathways to reshape policy and cultural attitudes toward reproductive rights, creating spaces that honor bodily autonomy and gender freedom across marginalized communities.
Conference Program Schedule:
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Registration & Breakfast
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Opening Remarks, Conference Overview, Land Acknowledgment, and Queens College Welcome
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM: Keynote Speaker, Rajiv Mohabir
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM: Screening of “Caribbean Queen” Short Film
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM: Beyond Decriminalization: Storytelling as a Tool of Solidarity for Collective Future Building Panel
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch & Resource Fair
2:00 PM - 2:30 pm: International Keynote Speaker, Daryl A. Phillip
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM: Breakout Workshops & Panels
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: DJ and Social Networking
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Drag & Cultural Showcase
Queeribbean Crossings takes a transnational approach to building solidarity. The term “transnational” here explores how queer and trans diasporic Caribbean struggle is not contained within one geography or history but forces us to contend with issues and struggles outside of the places we call home. A transnational framework to queer Caribbean liberation will think not only about the relationships between the queer Caribbean and the US diaspora, but also other adjacent political struggles and histories that we, as queer and trans Caribbean communities, may or may not experience. To truly seek collective liberation, we must think both within and outside ourselves, our histories, and our personal struggles. A transnational practice of solidarity allows us to connect queer and trans Caribbean emancipation efforts with various intersectional struggles. The name “Queeribbean Crossings” represents a commitment to a feminist and anti-colonial approach to thinking transnationally in our social justice work and solidarity movements. Our emphasis on the transnational here is largely indebted to the work of Trinidadian queer feminist scholar, M. Jacqui Alexander, who first gives us the language of “crossing” in her ground-breaking 2005 text Pedagogies of Crossing: Meditations on Feminism, Sexual Politics, Memory, and the Sacred.
Launched in 2022, Queeribbean Crossings focused on confronting gendered and racialized violence to foster cross-racial solidarity, healing, and community-driven solutions to hate violence. The conference is grounded in multiple expressions of queer and trans Caribbean ways of knowing that include, but are not limited to, community organizing, art, and aesthetic practices, among many others. Yearly, the conference brings together community members, academics, creatives, and students of all levels and backgrounds to engage in community conversations related to issues of im/migration, gender-based violence, human rights, contemporary issues LGBTQIA+ people of color through a culturally responsive and racial justice lens.
As you prepare to share space with us at the Queeribbean Crossings conference, we invite you to reflect on the following questions:
What is solidarity for marginalized queer and trans Caribbean communities, and how do we build it for ourselves and our political comrades?
How does solidarity become an act of resistance? Why is such an act necessary in our contemporary LGBTQ+ liberation moment?
How does queer and trans solidarity center both our local communities and those who we may never come to meet or whose struggles we may never experience?
How do we transform coalition from a noun - or simply a word we use/say - to an everyday practice of solidarity as resistance?
Please join us on December 5, 2024, for an extraordinary one-day Queeribbean Crossings conference featuring conversations, performances, and community engagement!
Volunteer at Queeribbean Crossings!
We are looking for volunteers to support the conference. Please complete the Volunteer form, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.
This event is made possible through the generous support of Queens College, LaGuardia Community College, and the New York City Council LGBT and Queer Caucus.
Host and Presenters
Sponsors and Community Partners
