TKO Youth Ambassadors: Reclaiming Spaces

If you missed the open mic this past Saturday, you missed a reclaiming of power among Black queer & trans youth. You missed the amazing talent and the beauty of this amazing space. These are the moments we remember and hold 🌻❤️

Below is a repost from 1977 Books Instagram:

Feeling so grateful and grounded in the vision of queer and trans people in Alabama. Today the bookstore was home to first, Smart Justice Organizing School and then to TKO’s Open Mic. When we are talking about movement and the power of community and cultural organizing, please never forget that queer and trans people are often at the forefront of creating those movement spaces. People like Dillon Nettles and TC Caldwell. People like Bayard Rustin and Marsha P. Johnson. During the events hosted at the bookstore today, we talked about Montgomery’s now-closed gay bars, often the only spaces that Queer and trans people have for building a connection. And during SJOS, when we brainstormed how to bring people together, I thought about how @ignitekindred brought me into movement by creating space similar to the way that TKO carves out space for Black trans and queer youth. As queer and trans people, we deserve these sacred movement spaces, we deserve shelter, we deserve a political home. And if you are in need of a space like this, you can always join us at 1977 Books. Here you can be home.