Today we’d like to introduce you to Queer Black Women Alliance
Hi Queer Black Women Alliance , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Arijah Rashid Bio: Arijah Rashid was born in Austin, Texas, and is a combat navy veteran with over 10 years of experience in executive and cyber security administration; and legislative administration while working at the Texas Capitol during the 87th legislative session. Advocacy and equity have always held a special place in her heart as she served as a Suicide Prevention Advocate, Sexual Assault Prevention Advocate, and Multicultural Committee President at different duty stations throughout her military career. She is the recipient of two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and a Flag Letter of Commendation.
She is also the Founder and Executive Board Director of the Queer Black Women Alliance (QBWA) non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide a safe space for building healthy friendships and community, through social gatherings and community outreach. QBWA encourages overall wellness by providing mental health counseling resources and supporting women in pursuing entrepreneurship and higher education through grants. She started the organization out of her living room in 2021, which was originally a community outreach program where she would fund and host social events for the queer black community in Austin. As a native black Austinite, she realized her city looked a lot different than it had seven years prior when she had left for the military, and that the black population was leaving Austin due to the lack of racial diversity, despite the City of Austin growing rapidly. She had just recently discovered she was queer and was looking community. After having a successful community outreach program for almost two years, she decided she wanted to make a more lasting impact on her community that extended past social events and asked other fellow queer black women if they wanted to start a nonprofit organization together. Under her leadership, QBWA was the recipient of a Best of Austin Award given by the Austin Chronicle in 2023, a BlaQ Award, and a Human Rights Campaign certificate for their contributions to the Austin community. One of her most notable accomplishments is her creation of an At-Risk Youth Mentorship Program within QBWA to help at-risk youth involved in the juvenile detention center and she is currently a mentor herself.
Additionally, she is an aspiring criminal prosecutor with a Bachelor of Arts in Government from The University of Texas at Austin and is currently in law school at Texas Tech University School of Law expecting to graduate in 2027. Her greatest career aspiration is to become a district court judge. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, shooting at the gun range, community organizing, boxing, traveling abroad, and binge-watching good television series. She is a dedicated philanthropist and community organizer invested in empowering others to become the best versions of themselves and eradicating inequities in society.
Marlene: I found out about the QBWA through a friend a little over a year ago. We attended a “1st Wednesdays” event, Hadassa being one of the first members I’d meet at the bowling alley; we spoke about our interests which naturally transitioned into me bringing up Brazilian JuJitsu. She expressed that the QBWA had been wanting to host a self defense class but had no instructor and the rest is history.
Nekaybaw:
I’m originally from Georgia and moved to Texas to be closer to my dad and go to grad school. During my final year at Texas A&M I had to finish my practicum at the Texas State Capitol, where I met Arijah.
I found out about the group after Arijah and I started hanging out. We would meet and discuss what we wanted out of life in Austin. Ari was adamant about creating a safe social group for queer Black women. Starting in 2021 she started a groupchat to bring people together. When I joined the groupchat I would start to host different events like the monthly hikes, our mental health circles, and some virtual movie nights. For about a year after joining the chat Arijah thought it would be best to take our efforts and create a space that can give back to the community. She came to me and a few other long term group members to see if we wanted to establish Queer Black Women’s Alliance into a nonprofit. As a nonprofit we were able to give away mini-grants to black women wanting to continue their education and establish their business, we hosted larger health related events like our Mental Health Retreat, and create partnerships with other organizations to better provide for our members.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Arijah Rashid: It hasn’t been a smooth road, I’ve learned since I started this nonprofit that not all community organizers and philanthropists have genuine intentions, I was unpleasantly surprised to learn that some organizers do the work for clout and attention and to pad their resumes but not because they truly believe in liberation of their people, that was one of the hardest things I had to accept while doing this work, that some activism is strictly performative and I have to learn as I navigate the philanthropy space who is actually here to do the work and who I should stay away from. I hate inauthenticity and moving with people with ulterior motives, it’s the anti-thesis of my organization and who I am as a human being. Also, in the beginning, funding was a big issue. We don’t have 501c3 status and that process is very cumbersome and time-consuming, people think that it happens overnight and that’s such a misconception. So, a lot of our events were funded by us queer black women board members who believe in the mission, also, none of the staff is paid, we truly do this work because we want to and because we feel it’s necessary for the survival and liberation of our people. Often, we talk about how queer black joy saves lives and that is such an understatement, the power of community is tremendous, it’s healing in so many ways. Mutual aid and collective action in our space has literally prevented people from experiencing homelessness and allowed them to escape violence, etc. What we do has a profound impact on people and I’m eternally grateful for all who join the community and come with the desire to be a part of, as opposed to leach off of. Also, in the beginning, there was a learning curve with navigating other people’s interpersonal relationships. I made this originally as a community outreach program to just make friends, I wasn’t aware of the immense responsibility that came with the space I was creating and also the dynamic shift that would take place in how I was perceived by others, all of sudden, people had very high expectations of me and expected me to lead and make decisions about personal conflicts they were having in the group and it was all a lot to take at first. I thought I’d create the group and it would just be like a space that sort of ran itself so to speak, but then as it began to grow and grow I had to change the way I was involved in the group, I was no longer just a member who made a group for friends, I was a leader and I had to step into that role and I made some mistakes along the way but I eventually found my footing and grew and evolved as a person in many ways.
Marlene: It hasn’t necessarily been hard but I wouldn’t say it’s easy. Outside of hosting the hikes, self defense classes, collaborating with other orgs like Pride in Black and curating events – I still have a full time job, coach and train Brazilian JuJitsu, alongside finding the time to be an artist. I wouldn’t trade any of it though! I love what I do and I love this community.
Nekaybaw:
While the road has not been easy to establish this organization, the impact we have made is great. The hardest parts about starting the organization have been finding funding, establishing a brand, and understanding Texas’ legal processes. One of the biggest complications is that the organization was run by Queer Black Women for Queer Black Women, so at times it was hard to show up for the community when we were also undergoing our own personal struggles.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Arijah Rashid: I’m currently a full-time law student at Texas Tech Law, I’m also the 1L Student Bar Association President and 1L Prosecution Law Association Representative at my school. I’m incredibly excited to take my lived experience and bring it to the legal world once I begin practicing law. Often, people point out the injustices in the criminal legal system and attempt to remedy them by becoming criminal defense attorneys. However, I’d argue, it’s incredibly dangerous and counterproductive to leave prosecution to people that you believe are racist, discriminatory, incredibly privileged and have a very narrow life experience and understanding of others. Also, prosecutors have an immense amount of power in a criminal case when it comes to deciding which cases to try and which ones to dismiss, etc. I’m excited to fill that role one day because I know that I possess honor, and integrity, and I’m an objective and critical thinker. I’m also firm, balanced, and fair, and I can understand people’s lived experiences in a way others I’ve seen in those roles simply can’t.
Marlene: I’m a community builder, activist, and artist. I specialize in tech during day and am THAT girl by night.
Nekaybaw: I am a community member, builder, and leader. I enjoy trying new things, because I enjoy challenging myself. I am a creative, visionary, dynamic person wanting to create space for others who want to build a community.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Marlene: We are all we’ve got.
Look after each other and help your neighbors.
Be the change you want to see.
Arijah Rashid: In the political climate were in currently, we’re constantly being inundated with information, and we’re at a point where we’ve lost objective reasoning and factual truth because it’s constantly being hijacked by people with their own agendas pushing forth their own ideology to serve that end. I want to encourage people to be critical thinkers, when you come across anything in the media, ask yourself several questions.
1) Who has something to gain by showing me this piece of news?
2) Is this news objectively true? Search for unbiased information, if its a legal case, go read the case for yourself, don’t rely on a news organization’s interpretation, come to your own conclusions. Also, read opinions of people who you vehemently disagree with, Aristotle once said, “the true mark of intelligence is the ability to entertain a thought without accepting it” it will help you develop your opinion and see holes in your opinion that you may need to research more about.
3) Ask yourself, have I seen this scenario play out in history before and what was the outcome then?
4) Always remember to love each other fiercely, we are truly all we have, look out for one another, you don’t have to have alot of money or power to care about your community. You can do so with small acts, maybe helping the elderly lady across the street cut her grass because you see her lawn is overgrown or maybe take your close friend to a medical appointment because they don’t have a vehicle, we can all make a difference in small ways, don’t ever discount your impact on humanity.
5) Lastly, “1 Peter 4:8: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins”.
Nekaybaw:
The only constant in life is change. Be open to how things shift and move around. Be observant but know that you can’t control the outcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://queerblackwomenalliance.org
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/shoot4marz/ and https://www.instagram.com/msrashidsimpact_
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlene-feliz/
Image Credits
Raianna, Janey Bee Photography
Greta Díaz
Marlene Feliz
Elayna Spratley
