Student-activist Sydney Stephens. Photo courtesy of Sydney Stephens.

By Jaimee A. Swift

Sydney Stephens (she/her/hers) wants LGBTQ+ students at HBCUs to know their lives, their politics, their activism, and their humanity matters.

Sydney Stephen’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.

Sydney Stephens, a junior biology and Spanish double major and chemistry minor at Howard University, is very busy––busy catalyzing positive change on campus. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, she is the Vice President of Women of Revolt, a femme-identifying community service organization founded at Howard that focuses on educating youth, enriching the community, and empowering women. She is also the Public Relations Coordinator and one of the charting members of Out in STEM or OSTEM, the Howard University chapter of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, which aims to empower LGBTQ+ Howard University students in STEM.

Stephens is also a member 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). She is also a member of the Bunche Brigade, a group of students who volunteer with Howard University’s Ralph J. Bunche Center, a center for international study, affairs, and global education, to increase the number of students on campus who study abroad.

Stephens spoke with me about their experiences as a pansexual/queer student on Howard’s campus; the work of Women of Revolt; on the future of LGBTQ+ inclusion at HBCUs; and advice she would give to other LGBTQ+ students at HBCUs.

What has your experience been like as a queer student-activist at Howard? Are there benefits and challenges to your experience?

Sydney Stephens (SS): “I think one of the harder things is that you are not on the forefront of people’s minds and people’s thoughts. We see movements and things happening all the time on campus but I think people tend to forget queer folk and leave them out of their mission and in the things they are doing. It is very frustrating. With some student-leaders on campus, during election season, they will make promises to be more inclusive and then after their campaigns end, you don’t see any follow through. It is tiring to see your community also being used as a token or any extra thing to get brownie points with other people but you don’t ever actually see people doing things for your community and your peers. It is a little bit frustrating and disheartening but I do believe Howard does have a strong community of people and a very strong LGBTQ+ community. It is very powerful. I just know so many good people within our community and it has been life changing. Seeing all the great leaders on campus who are queer and who are actually working to make the campus a safe space and making it better for students of all gender identities and sexualities, is a great thing to see. It makes me want to do more and stand up and do better for myself and for my community. That is my favorite thing about being queer on campus: I am able to be apart of this community and seeing all the great things my peers are doing.”

“That is my favorite thing about being queer on campus: I am able to be apart of this community and seeing all the great things my peers are doing.”

You are the Vice President of Women of Revolt. What is Women of Revolt and how does the organization aid in ensuring LGBTQ+ representation at Howard University?

SS: “Women of Revolt is an organization for women and non-binary feminine aligned people. Our main mission is focused around the three pillars of educating youth, building community, and empowering women. In general, we speak up and out about marginalized people, marginalized Black people, and bring awareness to issues, discuss them, and have events on campus. A lot of the things we do in regards to the LGBTQ+ community is we educate. I feel a lot of issues do stem from ignorance on campus. A lot of people will come from communities that don’t know because their parents never talked to them about sexual identity or gender.”

“That is definitely not an excuse because we are in 2020 now and we have the internet. We have endless resources but I do think it is helpful and it is nice to be a resource for people if you want to give that energy and time because you are not required to explain yourself to anybody. At Women of Revolt, we try to educate by having events. Even on our social media, we post a lot of information about community, how to be a good ally, and how to ask people their pronouns. We also support queer student organizations and queer community on campus and the work they do.”

Why do you think LGBTQ+ student representation and activism is important at HBCUs?

SS: “It is important because the statement ‘no one is free until we all are truly free’ is so true. When you are advocating for the Black community in terms of the equity, you can’t forget about queer people, differently-abled Black people, trans people, or people who are not economically stable. You have to keep in mind all these intersectionalities and how all these different things play a part in oppressing people. I don’t think Black liberation can happen and we will not be able to truly mobilize around the things we deserve until we acknowledge all the different intersectionalities within the Black community.”

“With queer Black student activists, we are reminding everyone, ‘Yes, I am Black, I am queer, and I am not going to put my Blackness before my queerness or my queerness before my Blackness. I am Black and queer at the same time.’ Those voices are so important and need to be heard.”

“I don’t think Black liberation can happen and we will not be able to truly mobilize around the things we deserve until we acknowledge all the different intersectionalities within the Black community.”

In the future, where would you like to see Howard University be in terms of LGBTQ+ inclusivity and justice on campus?

SS: “I think Howard has taken a lot of initial correct baby steps in the right direction but I don’t think they are fully followed through. For example, we have the option to live in gender neutral housing. They say we are going to have more gender neutral bathrooms on campus, but they actually haven’t followed through with it. I know people who have applied for gender neutral housing and they just get placed wherever. When they go to housing and ask what’s going on, the response they get is, ‘Well, oh sorry that doesn’t exist. We just put you in a room with a personal bathroom or something like that.’ I actually would like to see Howard follow through with these initiatives and make sure they protect their students. Homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny are dangerous and they put the livelihoods of people at risk everyday. I think Howard needs to acknowledge this and take it a step further to protect students from transphobia and homophobia.”

“Homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny are dangerous and they put the livelihoods of people at risk everyday.”

“They also need to hold students who perpetuate transphobia and homophobia accountable. They need to make students feel safe and have safe spaces to go to. We have the CASCADE office on campus, which is a great safe space but the whole campus should be a safe space. People should feel comfortable being their true and authentic selves anywhere on campus. They should be comfortable being openly gay on The Yard with their significant other and be comfortable doing whatever a heteronormative, cisgender couple would be comfortable doing in the middle of The Yard. I would love to see Howard cultivating a safe space and making sure students are held accountable for their actions. I would love to see Howard actually listen to students’ concerns, particularly queer students concerns, without dismissing them.”

What advice would you give to other LGBTQ+ student-activists at Howard and at other HBCUs?

SS: “I would say find your people. I know that is easier said than done, but I think that is the most transformative thing ever. Having a good and strong support system around you and having people respect you for who you are is powerful. Having a support system to acknowledge your truth and supporting your truth while living it is powerful. Do not be discouraged as you try to find your community because it may not happen right away. For others, it might but do not be discouraged. Continue to be yourself and know who you are is valid. You are valid. You do not need other people to approve you and your decisions for them to be valid.”

“Having a good and strong support system around you and having people respect you for who you are is powerful. Having a support system to acknowledge your truth and supporting your truth while living it is powerful.”

What does a ‘Black Woman Radical’ mean to you?

SS: “Honestly, I would say most Black women are radicals for just existing because this world is constantly trying to tear and break us down. I think of a Black woman who lives in her truth and is unapologetic about it.”

Who are Black Women Radicals you admire?

SS: “Angela Davis. I would also say Nina Simone just because I feel like the art she created and the life she lived––I don’t know, she just speaks to me. I also would say my Mom.”

You can follow Women of Revolt on Twitter and Instagram @RevoltHU and @revolthu.

You can follow Out in STEM or OSTEM on Twitter @OSTEMHowardU

You can follow CASCADE on Twitter @cascadehu.

“You Are Valid”: Student-Activist Sydney Stephens Speaks