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GLAAD Digital Series "Neon" Hopes to Increase Black Queer Visibility

"'Neon' comes at a time when it’s absolutely critical to showcase diverse, fair, and accurate representations of black LGBTQ people within the media.”

It was only a matter of time, but GLAAD is getting in the digital series game. This week, it launched Neon, a new project highlighting black LGBTQ lives.

"We hope to help shift the narratives of underrepresented communities in media, especially for the black LGBTQ community and their allies," says DaShawn Usher, GLAAD's programs officer, communities of color, and producer of Neon. "With an increase in violence and murders of black trans women, LGBTQ youth suicides, and a decrease in LGBTQ acceptance, Neon comes at a time when it’s absolutely critical to showcase diverse, fair, and accurate representations of black LGBTQ people within the media.”

Neon's programming will include "Black History Month: Legacy Series," a photo and video collection profiling seven LGBTQ people from multiple disciplines whose work pays tribute to the legacy of a historical figure; "Making a Barbershop Feel Like Home for Black LGBTQ People," a video about making traditional safe spaces like barbershops and beauty salons more inclusive; and "#GOALS," a video series in which young millennials sit down with a professional who has their dream job.

GLAAD

Poet Roya Marsha, the subject of Neon's first episode.

“It’s important to me that queer people across the African diaspora can see themselves and hear their stories," says Major Nesby, Neon’s co-creator and contributing producer. "There are so many opportunities to be represented in the media, and yet in 2020 I still don’t feel represented or seen in traditional media. Neon now has the chance to tell these diverse and collective stories.”

Check out the first episode of Neon below, in which poet Roya Marsha discusses her connection to the legacy of writer Audre Lorde.

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