Healing Movements: African LGBTI Organizing for Diasporic Wellbeing

Dr SM Rodriguez, Project Lead

Funded by the LSE Engagement and Partnerships Development Fund the Department of Gender Studies Research Infrastructure and Investment Fund.

This project focuses on empowering Black Queer communities across Africa and the Caribbean through healing justice—a framework that addresses trauma, systemic exclusions, and health disparities experienced by marginalized LGBTI communities. The initiative will connect community organizers from regions with shared legacies of colonialism and criminalization, fostering transnational solidarity and knowledge exchange.

The core activity is a two-day convening in Johannesburg, where 25 participants from Africa and the Caribbean will collaborate to workshop healing justice. The key output is the Healing Justice toolkit, a comprehensive resource for grassroots organizations to improve LGBTI regional wellness.

This project aims to empower Black Queer communities across Africa and the Diaspora by sharing practical knowledge and building health networks that will help sustain movements against anti-gay oppression.

The project’s key aim is to build sustainable health infrastructures in various communities by providing practical tools and resources for trauma-informed care, conflict resolution, and LGBTI-friendly healthcare access.

By the project’s end, participants will not only have gained critical knowledge and strategies for enhancing community wellness but will also be equipped with an open-access toolkit to implement within their local contexts. They will receive ongoing support with an Action Guide by Black Queer Movements.

This project ultimately seeks to increase the capacity of Black Queer movements to address their communities’ health needs while creating lasting networks of support.

Healing Movements: African LGBTI Organizing for Diasporic Wellbeing

Project aims

Project team

Project funding