The Sexual Minorities Archives and Sexual Minorities Education Foundation stand in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter protests within the Pioneer Valley and throughout the country following the murders of Iyanna Dior, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all black and brown folks that white supremacy and police brutality have murdered in the present and across history. We call for justice, an end to white supremacy, and an end to police brutality.

The Sexual Minorities Archives holds that black and brown folks’ lives, stories, and histories matter and deserve to be told, made visible, and amplified across generations. Our queer and trans history is impossible to tell without naming the contributions of black and brown queer and trans activists, artists, writers, and thinkers such as Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Storme DeLarverie, and countless others, whose contributions to our queer history all too often go unrecognized in this racist society that seeks to erase black and brown queer/trans lives. We are dedicated to telling and making visible these stories now and into the future.

The SMA embodies archival justice by prioritizing LGBTQ people of color materials in subject files, books and periodicals cataloging that utilizes readily-found methods that elevate visibility and use. We strive to be anti-racist as a grassroots, community archives and organization, and we warmly welcome the participation of people of color as student interns, community volunteers, and on our board of directors. We remember that Stonewall – an event all too often whitewashed and sanitized – started as a riot against police violence much like the riots today, led by black/brown trans folks: Storme DeLarverie, Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major, Sylvia Rivera, and others. Those who stand against the protests now stand on the wrong side of history. We will not rest until there is justice, peace, and a world that sees that #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackTransLivesMatter.

Please support Black Lives Matter and Showing Up for Racial Justice.