“I am 100% Black and I am 100% Queer”: Imani Bryant on the Power of Being "As Queer As It Is Black”
Activist and organizer, Imani Bryant. Photo courtesy of Imani Bryant.
By Jaimee A. Swift
Queer non-binary student-activist Imani Bryant (they/them/she/her) has made it plain and clear they will not choose between their queerness and Blackness.
Imani Bryant’s interview is a part of ‘Voices in Movement’ February 2020 theme, ‘#MakingBlackQueerHistory: Black LGBTQ+ Women and Non-Binary Student Activism at HBCUs.’ To read the descriptor, please click here.
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Imani Bryant (they/them/she/hers) is a junior political science major and sociology minor at Howard University, where they serve as the Vice President of Internal Affairs of CASCADE, the Coalition of Activist Students Celebrating the Acceptance of Diversity and Equality (previously BLAGOSAH, the Bisexual, Lesbian, Allied, and Gay Organization of Students at Howard University, and the Lambda Student Alliance, the first openly and longest LGBTQ+ organization at Howard and at any HBCU) Howard’s official undergraduate LGBTQ+ student organization. As a former member of HU Resist, the student-group that took over Howard’s administration building in 2018 in efforts to address structural issues such as adequate housing, financial aid and administrative transparency, and homophobia on campus, Bryant is also a consultant for a racial equity firm in Atlanta, CommunityBuild Ventures, a “solution-focused firm committed to eliminating racial disparities by developing powerful, impactful, and racial equity driven leaders and organizations.”
Bryant spoke with me about the challenges and benefits of being a queer non-binary student at Howard; continuing the legacy of the queer radical tradition at Howard; what a Black radical means to them; and Black radicals they admire.
As a queer, non-binary student at Howard, what are the challenges and benefits to your experience so far?
Imani Bryant (IB): “Definitely one of the challenges has been recognition. This past year, we have gotten a lot more recognition than ever before, especially with CASCADE. turning 40 and all the activism we have done on campus. However, my first two years at Howard were really hard because I did not feel heard or seen. A lot of that I attribute to being a freshman and being a part of such a large class; I am a part of #HU21 and we are over 2,000 strong. It is also just seeing a lot of issues get pushed aside in the name of ‘being Black first’, which is something I noticed at Howard. Oftentimes, it seems like I am not allowed to have other identities––I have to be Black and that is it. That is why I push back on a lot of things because I am Black and all these other identities at the same time.”
“It is really beautiful to find community and find family within Howard.”
“I also had issues with having to teach professors and other students about my identity and the identities of other queer students on campus, which is something I should not have to do. I had a lot of problems with that this semester. A professor misgendered someone the whole semester. There is still so much ignorance and whether it is willful or people are simply not understanding or not, being exposed to some of the ideas we talk about is important. I know that “they/them” pronouns are really new for a lot of people, so I try to give people grace but at a certain point, it becomes more than just an issue of not knowing. I should not have to teach people––especially professors––on how to treat us.”
“One of the benefits is that I get to share my identity with so many other people and I get to be in an inspiration to underclassmen who are struggling. I have this habit of adopting underclassmen that I relate to. There are two freshmen right now that I have taken under my wing because I see a lot of people struggling with identity and going back home to unsupportive and non-affirming households. I try to be the person they can turn to in moments like that. It is really beautiful to find community and find family within Howard. Even though Howard has its faults, I would have not gone anywhere else because I found so much love and support––even though there is a lot of ignorance and a lot of pushback.”
CASCADE has an inaugural conference titled, “As Queer As It Is Black.” What does it mean to you to be “as queer as you are Black”, especially being a student at an HBCU?
IB: “When I first heard of the slogan, it came from the mind of our previous CASCADE president, Justin Calhoun. It explains the idea of having intersecting identities in a way that I don’t think people have ever heard before. When you have multiple identities––which we all do––you are all of those things at the same time. For me, being “as queer as it is Black” means that I am 100% Black and I am 100% queer––this is who I am. There is no going around that or ignoring that. There is no putting one thing aside to focus on another side. I have to do my work and have my activism represent all aspects of me because I cannot separate my identity––I cannot say today I am going to be Black, and the next day I am going to be queer. I am both at the same time, always.”
“For me, being ‘as queer as it is Black’ means that I am 100% Black and I am 100% queer––this is who I am. There is no going around that or ignoring that. There is no putting one thing aside to focus on another side.”
When I think about the formidable queer legacy and radical tradition at Howard, I think about scholar-activists such as Lucy Diggs Slowe, Alain Locke, and Cheryl Clarke. How does it feel to be a part of that legacy?
IB: “CASCADE turned 40 in 2019. We celebrate our birth as an organization as the starting of the Lambda Student Alliance, which started in October 1979. To know I am a part of that legacy and I am continuing that legacy is something I cannot describe. It is amazing I get to be a part of this long legacy and that one day, someone is going to look back at the work I did and say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I get to be a part of Imani’s legacy or Michael’s legacy or Alexis’ legacy.’ I get to do this work and help the people I love and also contribute to the future in a way I never conceived as possible in my lifetime because growing up, I thought all the activism was finished and I did not have to do any of that. As I got older, I realized all of this is on-going.”
“To know I am a part of that legacy and I am continuing that legacy is something I cannot describe.”
Why do you think LGBTQ+ student representation is important at HBCUs? In the future, where would you like to see LGBTQ+ student representation at Howard?
IB: “At Howard, we are really blessed to have CASCADE. We have an office, we have graduate student organizations, and we have an alumni association. For HBCUs broadly, I would like for all HBCUs to have that. I want every HBCU to have a LGBTQ+ resource center; a prominent LGBTQ+ organization; and a legacy for people to follow. Just recently, I was at the Human Rights Campaign’s HBCU Summit and I met so many people who are literally founding their university’s LGBTQ+ organizations this year. While it is beautiful to see them do this, I wish they didn’t have to. I wish they had the resources we did––and I do not think we have that many resources. Just having an organization you can join, that you do not need to create, having a physical space you can go to, and be able to relax, unwind, and be safe from homophobia and transphobia, I would like that for all HBCUs. For the future, I want us to all be able to have our own LGBTQ+ specific dorms and a resource center, as a place to be free and not have to worry about hate crossing our way.”
“It means having the knowledge and the foresight and the thought to think outside the system we currently live in and to imagine a world that is better. People often try to think inside of the system we live in and try to improve it in little ways to make life easier. From my perspective, being truly radical means imagining outside of that––it is believing in a future where we do not have to live under an oppressive white supremacist capitalist system.”
What does a Black Radical mean to you?
IB: “It means having the knowledge and the foresight and the thought to think outside the system we currently live in and to imagine a world that is better. People often try to think inside of the system we live in and try to improve it in little ways to make life easier. From my perspective, being truly radical means imagining outside of that––it is believing in a future where we do not have to live under an oppressive white supremacist capitalist system.”
Who are some Black Radicals you admire and inspire you?
IB: “My go to is always Angela Davis. I have loved her since I first heard about her my junior year of high school. I watched the documentary, “The Black Power Mixtape” and just hearing her speak has inspired me in so many ways. The fact she is still writing and fighting is completely inspiring to me. Also, Assata Shakur, of course. Her escaping is something I am completely fascinated by. Fannie Lou Hamer. I am just really inspired by a lot of the women who were radical and loud during the Civil Rights and the Black Power movements.”
You can follow CASCADE on Twitter @cascadehu.