Featured, Roddenberry Fellowship
Meet a Fellow: Frank Leon Roberts
August 14, 2019
Meet Frank, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow
Frank Leon Roberts is an activist, professor, political organizer and founder of The Baldwin Hansberry Project. The proud son of two formerly incarcerated parents, he is currently on the faculty at New York University, where his course on the black lives matter movement has been widely acknowledged as the first college course of its kind. Frank is the founder of Black Lives Matter Syllabus— the nationally acclaimed, open-access curriculum that provides resources for teaching BLM in classroom and community settings.
The Baldwin Hansberry Project is a grassroots mobilization initiative with a threefold purpose: combating homophobia in black communities; combating racism in LGBTQ communities and training a new generation of black LGBTQ activists. This work attempts to solve the following problem: at present, there are very few initiatives in the United States that focus specifically on the intersectional needs of black LGBT people. Mainstream black organizations whose work centers on racial justice activism often exclude LGBTQ experiences; and similarly; LGBTQ organizations throughout the country have continued to struggle with how to advocate for a queer activist agenda that addresses the unique experiences of black and brown people.
“The Baldwin Hansberry Project is a grassroots mobilization initiative that seeks to train, identify, and elevate the next generation of black LGBTQ activists in the United States. This work attempts to solve the following problem: at present, there are very few initiatives in the United States that focus specifically on the intersectional needs of black LGBT people.”
During the Fellowship
The Baldwin Hansberry Project measurable 2019 goals will include the creation of a database of activists and initiatives across the country that are aligned with BHP’s goals; the creation of a series of issue-oriented awareness campaign; the creation of a series of leadership development workshops for young black queer activists in each of the four major geographical regions of the US (north, south, east, west coast); and the creation of an open-access public education course (to be offered in Harlem) entitled “James Baldwin Now.”
“The long term vision of the Baldwin Hansberry Project (BHP) is two-fold. First, BHP wants to help shift the way the world talks about racial justice work and LGBT activism. More specifically, we want to give the world a new language for thinking about liberation in an intersectional paradigm. Secondly, the Baldwin Hansberry Project wants to help identify and produce the next generation of black LGBT activists.”
Ways to get involved:
Follow on Social: Follow the Baldwin Hansberry Project on Facebook at facebook.com/BaldwinHansberryProject.
