QBlack club offers new space for queer and Black students at Penn

Two Penn students founded QBlack this fall as a space for queer Black students on Penn’s campus.

College juniors Ngozi Agoh and Sassou Djato initially founded QBlack this fall after they said they noticed a lack of spaces for queer Black students at Penn. They launched the club with a board of seven people. 

“There’s plenty of Black spaces on campus, and there’s plenty of queer spaces on campus, but there’s not really any dedicated to both,” College and Wharton junior and QBlack marketing chair Yared Zegeye said. 

Zegeye added that QBlack aims to create a sense of camaraderie among queer Black students at Penn. He hopes that the organization will serve as a safe space for these students. 

“I want this club to be not just a club, but an institution that makes [queer Black students] know that they’re visible, that they’re loved, that they have a community to come home to, [and] somebody that they can confide in,” Zegeye said. 

QBlack recently hosted a social at the end of September as their first event. In the future, the club's leaders said they hope to collaborate with the LGBT Center and Makuu: The Black Cultural Center for a Black queer dinner. Zegeye said that staff at both Makuu and the LGBT Center have been very supportive of QBlack. 

Next semester, QBlack also hopes to work with other Black student organizations such as Monolith to host an arts night, such as a paint and sip event. They are also looking to host a queer brunch event and sex education and kink workshop. 

Agoh said that QBlack’s priorities this year include facilitating an environment where queer Black students can be the majority in the space. 

“Our main goal is having somewhere safe for us where we’re not the minority in the room,” she said. “We can go to any other Black event or Black club and most of the time we’ll be the minority in the room, but at least in this space our identity can be at the forefront.” 

The club is open to all undergraduate and graduate students who identify as queer and Black, Agoh said. College first-year and QBlack's Freshman Liaison Truth Woods added that they also hope to welcome newcomers and underclassmen at Penn who have not formed relationships yet. 

“Hearing about the purpose of the club as a social organization for queer Black students on campus, and coming in as a freshman knowing that was a space I would definitely want to be part of was my motivation in saying yes and being eager to join,” Woods said. 

Agoh added that the leaders are excited to watch QBlack grow and see its continued success when she comes back to campus as an alumna. 

“I’m looking forward to coming back as an alumni and it’s something that is still thriving,” Agoh said. “Something that’s still relevant in the next five to 10 years.” 

Zegeye echoed these sentiments, saying that he is proud to be a starting member of the group. 

“Realistically, I know we can have some fun this year, and it’ll be nice, but I’m so excited to see what it’s going to become in three or four years when it’s a well-established club,” he said. “I’m honored to be part of the group starting it, but it’s really the legacy that I’m excited to see.”