My ongoing series, The Task: An Exploration of Black Queer Healing (2022-present), explores the impacts of socialization in religious spaces on the identities of Black queer people. The first contributions to this series stemmed from my conversations with my cousin, Aaron, who passed away in 2021. In his last days, we had countless intimate conversations about how our shared experiences of queerphobia in church and community impacted our understanding of our identities, our ability to embrace them, and our sense of belonging.

As a Black, queer person, my very being and existence are incompatible with the boxes that colonialism and capitalism force us into. As a result, many of us contort ourselves into them for survival. Black queer and gender-expansive people often experience specific alienation and harm in both Black and queer spaces. In my experience, one of those spaces is the Black church.  Evangelical Christianity laid the groundwork for my identity formation in childhood and adolescence. The church was one of my first communities. There, I learned the importance of collective care, discovered my love for music, and had my first transcendent experiences. The church is also where I, and other queer folks, despite constantly hearing, “God created you in His image,” learned that God hated us entirely or could only accept or tolerate us in pieces and parts. 

One of Aaron’s last requests of me was, “Keep doing your work.” The Task is a space for us to tell our stories and truths. I recognize that our vulnerability carves out space for healing, not just for ourselves but for others. This project has helped me process his death, reconcile my queer identity with my religious upbringing, and provide a space for others to do the same. The purpose of highlighting these stories is to share how we process our experiences, seek and obtain safety, and find healing and community.

I began capturing long form interviews and portraits of friends at New York City Pride in 2022, exploring our understandings of queerness and our queer identities, our journeys with religion and spirituality, self-acceptance, healing, and finding community. Full transcripts of these conversations accompany portraits in various moments and settings. The Task is an affirming love letter to Black queer people who are learning to honor their experiences and authentically connect with themselves, their communities, and the divine.