{B/qKC} is a decentralized community archival project challenging institutional practices within the framework and study of midwestern Black queer history.

B/qKC} was founded as a community-led archive on March 1st, 2024, operating on the principles of accessible storytelling, repair of our historical record, and intergenerational power building–all within the framework and study of Midwestern Black queer history.

Core Goals

Initially ideated as a series of research articles "liberating" Black queer materials from its local institutions and libraries, {B/qKC}'s mission has evolved into a full-fledged archive with five core goals.

1. INTERGENERATIONAL CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY BUILDING We aim to develop a platform that bridges generational gaps: fostering stronger relationships between Black queer elders and younger generations, digitally and physically. Relationships will always come to us first before labor.

2. ACCESSIBLE, OPEN-ACCESS ARCHIVING We aim to build and maintain an intuitive, open-access digital archive stewarded by the people–always ensuring the archive is an accessible tool and not a product for profiteering.

3. DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE We aim to teach any and all communities about the significance of this archive's materials, and the overall importance of radical memory work.

4. PRESERVATION OF AT-RISK MATERIALS We aim to create digital snapshots of Black queer historical materials, ensuring a record of Black queer midwestern histories can be saved, maintained, and reproduced physically–ensuring long-term sustainability of our stories.

5. PERMANENT AND DECENTRALIZED PRESENCE We aim for Black queer stories to occupy public spaces physically and digitally to ensure permanence of our stories, while simultaneously increasing Black queer visibility.