The name says it all: The Black Queer AF Media Tour will stop by four Southern cities to present the Blackest, queerest entertainment show around. It’s presented by the Normal Anomaly Initiative, which has been organizing Black Queer AF events for Houston’s African-American LGBTQ communities for several years.

#BQAFMediaTour with @dearblackgaymen and @relentlessafpod FIRST STOP is ATLANTA at #SOS2024 presented by @...

Posted by The Normal Anomaly Inc. on Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Kicking off August 15 in Atlanta, each stop on the Black Queer AF Media Tour features local and national talent, music, live podcasts—including episodes of Dear Black Gay Men and Relentless AF—and screenings of the series They’re Not Coming to Save Us.

In addition to addressing culturally relevant topics, the events highlight HIV education, awareness and stigma.

According to a press release, the first leg of the tour, titled Act I, will include:

  • Atlanta, GA: August 15, 2024, 8:30 p.m. 
    • The BQAF Media Tour will premiere in tandem with the Saving Ourselves Symposium at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel and Convention Center at 2450 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339.

  • New Orleans, LA: September 12–15, 2024
  • Montgomery, AL: October 18–20, 2024 
    • Montgomery Pride United at  635 Madison Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104, for a multi-night celebration. 

  • Dallas, TX: November 7, 2024, 7 p.m. 
    • BQAF Media Tour will conclude Act I at Marty’s Live Dallas at 4207 Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX 75219.

Here’s a look at a recent Black Queer AF event in Houston:

The next leg of the tour—Act II—will take the excitement to Tennessee, South Florida, Houston and other locations in 2025.

Launched in 2016 in Houston, the Normal Anomaly Initiative “centers Black, queer plus persons to overcome barriers, end stigma and problematic narratives to actualize a new normal,” according to its mission statement.

Jordan J. Edwards, of the Normal Anomaly Initiative, recently shared his HIV experience in a POZ Story titled “Creating Safe Space.” The program director at the BQ+ Center for Liberation of the Normal Anomaly Initiative, Edwards wrote:

“As a Black queer man raised in a religious household in the South, I spent most of my life prioritizing being loved by others over loving myself. I felt that to be loved by my family, my community and God, I had to hide parts of myself. I was ashamed of my sensitive side, not realizing my empathy was a gift. Many men carry this same burden and fear being vulnerable.

“When I began to understand my sexuality, I continued to search for love externally, and in 2013, I was diagnosed with HIV. This journey has not been easy, but it has helped me to begin to shed the pressures of living with shame or living for others. It gave space for me to start a new relationship with myself and see that I am loved, accepted and in community as my truest version of myself. Now, I create safe space and advocate for everyone to live authentically. I have turned my Achilles’ heel, my sensitivity, into my superpower.”

A major SHOUT-OUT and CONGRATULATIONS to our very own Jordan Jeraud Edwards , who was invited to The White House’s...

Posted by The Normal Anomaly Inc. on Thursday, August 1, 2024