Community of Change: The Intersection and Impact of Black LGBTQ+ Men

Facilitated by multi-disciplinary artist and community leader Jermaine Nakia Lee, join the Gantt Center and Levine Museum of the New South's first community-led conversation in honor of the Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth. exhibition.

Along with Lee, co-facilitators are Nate Turner, owner of Your Custom Catering & Events and vocational school educator and Chandler "Chan" Robinson (Chan the Musical Mystic), CMS educator, martial artist and mystic artist.

Community of Change conversations place its participants at the forefront, allowing the discussion to take shape based on the contributions of each facilitator. The audience will be seated at round tables with small groups, in order to have rich discussions around topics and experiences.

The Community of Change series explores themes presented in Men of Change to create space for difficult conversations that both enlighten and galvanize.

Inspired by "Men of Change" Bayard Rustin, Alvin Ailey, Kehinde Wiley, James Baldwin, and others, this conversation will explore the following questions:

• How does this intersection influence who these men were and how they presented themselves, which ultimately influenced their impact?
• How did these "Men of Change" inspire their generation as well as those before and after them?

The conversation will move beyond the men presented in the exhibition into a wider discussion of the experiences of Black LGBTQ+ men, and how this adds to the multi-layered Black experience. Among other topics, we will collectively explore:

• Complexities and multi-dimensions of what it means to be a Black man
• The spectrum of identities and vulnerabilities including Black queer experiences and perspectives compared to white queer experiences
• The history of Charlotte Black Pride
• The difference in generational experiences of men in the intersection
• What is true progress?
• What is true celebration and remembering?
• What can we do on an individual level to uplift, support, learn from, and promote inclusion? Uplift and share about other men in the LGBTQ+ Community

Please join Community of Change to contribute your much-needed perspective in an experience meant to strengthen our collective connection.

Important note: By attending this program, you consent to be recorded for both live streaming and permanent archival on the Gantt Center's and Levine Museum of the New South's online platforms, YouTube and Facebook.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Free admission to the Men of Change exhibition at The Harvey B. Gantt Center and Levine Museum of the New South is made possible by generous support from Wells Fargo.