About
Community, the foundation of who we are as people. As Black gay men, we are forced to forge our own communities, extended families built out of the need for connection. Revelations is a collection of our stories. As we reveal the unknown about our stories, I hope they inspire and empower other queer artists to tell their stories.
Joseph Beam said, “Visibility is Survival.”
Sharing these stories is only the beginning. There are more stories that need to be revealed, heard, and felt.
For many years before its incorporation into the fight for queer rights, the Pink Triangle was used to be the symbol of shame and dehumanization, buy Nazi soldier during the holocaust. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates over 100,000 Gay men were arrest and between 5,000 and 15,000 were placed in concentration camps.
The symbol was reclaimed in 1973 by German gay rights organization, Homosexuelle Aktion Westberlin (HAW). The triangle took on a new meaning when it was used to bring attention to the AIDS epidemic in New York in the 1980s. As the use of the triangle has varied the history and meaning have stayed intact.
The publication pays homage to the many lost souls in the Holocaust and after. Their stories are our stories, by sharing our stories they live on.
Project
Collaborators
Kevin Mandla Harris
An actor, singer, poet, and future social worker, Kevin hopes to find ways to improve the mental health and wellbeing of Black and Queer people. Originally from East St. Louis, Kevin currently lives in the beautiful city of Chicago, IL.
Tyler Kahlil
Chicago-based artivist who focuses on the liberation of black and brown queer folx through storytelling, activism, and poetry. He is currently working on a self-entitled project that will highlight his struggle with mental health and self-expression.
Martez Rhyine
Chicago-based photographer and visual artist.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 & 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦.”
Cordaro Santiago
raised in the South Suburbs of Chicago Heights and is a Bloom Township Alumni. Cordaro is a bestselling author on Amazon with his book; “I Will Never be Number One in his Life: The story of dating downlow men”. Cordaro also manages his own podcast discussing political and trending topic issues called Daro’s Daring Thoughts with weekly episodes on Apple podcast and Spotify.
Jonathan Williams
Recording artist, singer, and performer in the Springfield area. Recently released new single "Poetry" available wherever you stream music.
Christian
Tumbling expert and cheer fanatic. Christian is a State champion designer in Illinois.
WIll C.
Will is working as an assignment editor in Chicago, Illinois. He is a graduate from the University of Missouri-Columbia where he studied Communication and Geography while obtaining a minor in Atmospheric Science. In his spare time, he enjoys photography, traveling and volunteering
Darrow
Darrow is a sophomore at UIC. He exuberates Black Boy Joy and love for his friends and family around him.
Bri'Yon Watts
Bri’Yon (he/him) loves acting and peer directing as well as writing poetry.
Josiah Griggs
Visual artist from the South Suburbs of Chicago. His art pushes the envelope of realism and psycadelic.
Takharin Jones
Native of Fort Wayne, Indiana currently living in Indianapolis, IN for the year. Takharin is currently a case manager in Family and Children social services.
Curator
Joshua X Miller (He/They) is an artistic omnivore, he is a devoted life learner and has dedicated himself to finding the stories that need to be told and telling them. He brings life to the stories and projects that he is part of. He is currently a graduate student studying Digital Media and Storytelling at Loyola University Chicago. Though performing is his first love, he has found new joy in sharing stories that are not told. He dreams of being a producer can content creator, creating influential material. He currently works as a teaching artist and hopes to continue to teach through his art.
