Los Angeles LGBT Center kicked off Black History Month with Grammy winner Big Freedia

In commemoration of Black History Month, the Los Angeles LGBT Center hosted The Future is Black: Renaissance on Saturday, February 4, honoring Grammy-winner Big Freedia.

Last Saturday, the Los Angeles LGBT Center commemorated The Future is Black: Renaissance honoring the Grammy-winning musician Big Freedia. The cultural event included an award presented to Big Freedia by youth from the Center, panel discussions hosted by Tre’vell Anderson and jarrett hill of the podcast FANTI, an interactive portrait studio, and a “mini-ball” after-party.

The newly-minted Grammy winner for Best Dance Recording, Big Freedia was on hand to accept the Center’s Bayard Rustin Award for her fearless advocacy of the LGBTQ+ community. She sat down with content creator and activist, AmbersCloset (Amber Whittington) for a moving keynote conversation exploring her journey through the entertainment industry, her advocacy, and the role she played in Renaissance, the groundbreaking album by Beyoncé.

“To the Los Angeles LGBT Center, thank you so much for this honor and for this award. We all have a mission in life, and when you know your purpose, you use your purpose to do what God has called you to do; I bring all types of people together through music and through the power of ass,” professed Big Freedia. “I’m grateful to be doing things for our community and opening other spaces [like the first Black-owned hotel in New Orleans]. We have to get together and we all have to push each other. Tonight’s award is dedicated in honor of my gay mother, Marktavia the Great, she will be missed so much.”

“The Future Is Black is a celebration that honors Black queer love, joy, and liberation,” said Gerald Garth, the DE&I Director for the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “We are thrilled to welcome Big Freedia to the Center, and to celebrate with our community.”

Attendees were also entertained by a conversation straight from FANTI podcast hosts, Tre’vell Anderson and jarrett hill. The Future is Black showcased a panel called America Has a Problem, surveying the city’s progress in the years since the protests and civil unrest of 2020. Panelists included Capri Maddox, who was appointed as the city’s first-ever Executive Director of the Los Angeles Civil + Human Rights & Equity Department (LA Civil Rights).

The event closed out with a mini-ball reception headlined by DJ Lancia and iconic guest judges from the Los Angeles ballroom scene. 

About the Los Angeles LGBT Center

Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.