Black and Pink is a national LGBTQIA+ organization that works to liberate and work alongside system-impacted LGBTQIA+ individuals as well as those who have been impacted by HIV/AIDS. The organization started in 2005, they are based in Omaha, NE and are working with many chapters across the country to assist queer individuals. Black and Pink is also an abolitionist organization and works to end the current incarceration system in the United States.

According to The Sentencing Project, an organization to focuses on prison statistics and advocating for “humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment”, based on studies from 2020 and 2021 there are 33.3% of adult women in prison who identify as LGBTQIA+, and 5.5% of  adult men. When it comes to those between the ages of 13 to 17, it’s around 20%.

 Of those who are LGBTQIA+ in the prison system, 85% are people of color. LGBTQIA+ individuals also experience higher rates of sexual harassment and assault while in custody than their straight peers. Compared to the general population, there is a higher rate of queer individuals in prison than free.

A study done between Black and Pink and Lambda Legal – another national organization focusing on the civil rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals who are incarcerated by offering legal services to them – has found that roughly 20% of queer individuals in the prison system are currently living with HIV/AIDS.

We spoke with Andrew Alemán, the Deputy Director of People Power and National Partnerships with Black and Pink. Alemán spoke on their work with folks in prison, whom he called their ‘Inside Members’, 18,000 imprisoned individuals that they send newsletters to and help connect to pen pals, as well as advocacy where they help them connect to legal help or assistance inside.

Black and Pink also has a focus on community care. They provide case management and direct help across the country and in Nebraska specifically, where they help with services like finding housing; gender-affirming care; name changes; and helping them find resources. In 2020, Black and Pink built their first Lydon House in Omaha, which has had around a dozen individuals, three (3) at a time, that they have been able to place there. Lydon House is cost-free living for LGBTQIA+ folks who have been released from prison, which not only has fully stocked pantry and toiletries items available for residents but gives them a $250 move-in stipend.

Their newest project, Alemán told us, is called Opportunity Campus. Black and Pink has purchased an abandoned church in North O, connected to a series of duplexes, which would provide housing to young LGBTQIA+ folks who have been impacted by the legal system. The housing would be for those 19-24, with the full campus being available for 14-24. Opportunity Campus would have multiple wraparound services; which are mental health services designed to support young people and their families by working with their home, school, and community as a whole; a drop-in center with food, showers, and laundry services for those who need it, programs for young people, and programs for parents and the community to be able to be connected. This is projected to be a $3.5 million project; currently they are working towards finishing the housing space in the duplexes and have raised 34% of their $300,000 mini-goal.

To donate to Black and Pink, you can go to blackandpink.org/DONATE. You can also contribute directly to their Opportunity Campus as well. If you would like to become a penpal to an individual that is incarcerated, you can go toblackandpinkpenpals.org. For volunteering, they also have card writing events and mail processing events, which you can find out more about by contacting Black and Pink at admin@blackandpink.org.

If you would like to find out more about Black and Pink, you can go to their website at blackandpink.org. You can contact them via email at admin@blackandpink.org. You also can check out their Facebook at Black & Pink National, their Twitter at @BLACKandPINKorg, or their Instagram @blackandpinkorg.