Kingston Pride 2024: Kel Martin, Sexual & Gender Diversity Advisor at the Yellow House organized our participation at the Community Fair this year, engaging visitors to our booth in a community art project. Check out the recap of our day, including a photo of the art created on our Instagram. | Black Block Party for Emancipation Day in Kingson: Tianna Edwards, EDI Coordinator at the Yellow House co-chaired a City of Kingston Working Group to plan events for Emancipation Day in Kingston for the second year in a row. A highlight of this planning was the Black Block party which featured Black business owners and entrepreneurs. We created a Black Business Booklet highlighting Black student entrepreneurs as well as some of our Black at Queen's programming – check it out here. | |
Learn more about each event from the Yellow House student staff perspective below! | |
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Reflecting on this summer as an EDII Programs Developer, I was honoured to be a part of the numerous educational content and events this June. The work I have developed and created this summer for Yellow House has redefined what Pride Month means to me and have given me the space and time to find power in my own queer identity.
Researching and reminiscing on the queer trailblazers and icons that have paved the way for queer existence and excellence, served as a monumental reminder for me to continue the legacy of these pioneers in modern contexts and spaces I encounter.
Furthermore, the legacy of these leaders was shown and felt at Pride Parades throughout the country, but especially in the electric energy I felt at the Kingston Pride Parade this year. Invigorated by the queer joy and freedom exuded by 2SLGBTQIA+ members in every beautiful shape and color, it became so important to me to connect with the community I have worked all summer to create programs for. Each conversation, handshake, and even smile, has truly changed me for good and will forever inform my work, both in and out of the Yellow House office. - Aaronsaul
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 | The second annual Black block party was for sure better than the last. Firstly, we were lucky to have nearly perfect weather, not too hot and not too windy, making it easy to walk around the front of city hall to see all that the Block party had to offer. It was so uplifting to see all the black businesses Kingston had to offer. Kingston is a hotspot for homemade unique products from local small businesses, and it's part of what I love about this city. The Black businesses at the party take this principal to another level, showing unique tote bag designs, empowering art, and products catered to Black people. Like Chere-Mere day spa, which provides hair extensions for braiding, or another vendor selling homemade lotions, perfumes and fragrant bug repellent. On top of that, the block party had live musicians, local Kingstonians getting on stage to treat us to original music and fantastic covers, coating the party in a gorgeous soundscape and letting us see some fantastic Kingston-born talents. I can’t wait to see what happens next year, and truly recommend the Black Block party to be an event that everyone attends if they plan on spending a summer in Kingston. - Neza | | |
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Yellow House Welcome! Come and play lawn games, grab a tasty snack and learn about all of the great programs and events we have to offer this year.
When?:September 20, 11-2pm Where: Lawn in front of University Club
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The Black Welcome! The Black Welcome gathers Black students, staff, faculty and community members to connect over good cultural food and music. Expect delicious food by JERKEbago, an opportunity to get your portrait taken by King-David and music by DJ Zari. This gathering will give a glimpse of the Black @ Queen’s programming, illustrated through printed materials and the presence of folks who will be involved in programming for this academic year.
When?: September 27
Due to the lower capacity of Rose Innovation Hub, guests will register for a 5 pm OR 7 pm arrival time. Dress to impress! Register. | |
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Queer Walking Tours! Read and view archival images that highlight 2SLGBTQ+ relevant historic spaces, and important spaces today. We hope you enjoy learning about queer history at Queen’s! This tour takes ~60 minutes to complete and involves mainly walking on city sidewalks.
When?: September 12 & 13 Where: Departing from Rideau building at 12 and 2 each day There are 9 stops Don’t forget your water, sunscreen and good shoes
Check out the Queer Walking tours booklet.
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Each summer student shares their insight on the programs
they've built for this academic year.
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Kizzy
Hello! My name is Kizzy and I am a 5th-year student majoring in Political Science and Sociology. At the Yellow House, I serve as the EDII Programs Developer for Sexual and Gender Diversity. This summer, I focused on our “On The House” Free Community Closet initiative. This program provides BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ students with access to free clothing and accessories. It also hosts events centered around sustainability, upcycling, and clothing repair. As someone who loves fashion, assembling outfits and exploring new ways to refresh my wardrobe, working on On The House has been a fulfilling way to channel my passion. I'm particularly excited about our upcoming rework events and fashion walks, as well as the opportunity to help people express their identities through clothing!
In addition to On The House, I’m also involved with Afro Prism, a program dedicated to creating a supportive space for Black Queer students. Afro Prism offers a range of engaging events and discussions on the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality. I’m looking forward to our exciting events, including a fun-filled bowling night!
I'm extremely grateful for the Yellow House and my amazing coworkers and peers who contribute to programs like these. Like them, I am committed to helping equity-deserving students find community and feel safe at Queen’s.
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Rukkie's Programs
My name is Rukevwe (Rukkie) Inikori, and I am currently in my third year of Health Sciences at Queen’s, working as a Black Inclusion Initiatives Student Assistant. Over the summer, I had the privilege of helping develop programs aimed at fostering Black student inclusion at Queen’s, particularly through a new initiative called “Black @ Queen’s.” I’m incredibly excited about Black @ Queen’s because, as a member of the Black community, I understand how essential and overdue this initiative is. I am thrilled to see the launch of the Black @ Queen’s web page under the Yellow House website. Having a centralized resource hub for Black students is crucial for promoting representation and accessibility—things that were initially lacking when I first started at Queen’s. It’s beautiful to finally feel seen and to witness change towards making Queen’s a space where Black students feel included. What excites me most is the potential to build a strong, unified Black community at Queen’s. I am eager to learn from other members of the community and watch this project grow into something even more impactful, where Black students at Queen’s know their worth and feel empowered to succeed with the support systems available to them. I can’t wait for students to experience this transformative initiative!
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Aaron
Hey, everybody! My name is Aaronsaul Negre (he/him), and I am now in my second year at Queen’s with the Faculty of Arts and Science. Working as the EDII Programs Developer focusing on 2SLGBTQIA+ Student Well-being at Yellow House this summer has been an absolute honor and privilege. Whether it be creating the audio feature for the newly developed Queer Walking Tours, organizing Yellow House media and events during Pride Month, or updating the resource guide for queer students, I have been able to learn so much about myself and the community around me. I am excited for students to engage with these events and connect with the incredibly diverse queer community at Queen’s, and equip them with the tools to let the joy in their queerness be shown in the spaces and faces they encounter. I hope this work I have done over the summer empowers queer, Queen’s students in their identity as much as it has empowered me. It has also been beyond exciting jumping from project-to-project, program-to-program; lending a helping hand to the passion of my peers. From helping organize the ‘On the House’ community closet to helping film the ‘Roots & Recipes’ cooking videos, I am constantly inspired by the work of my fellow program developers who have pushed me to produce meaningful programming like them.
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Aabha
My name is Aabha Chindarkar, and I am a Sociology and Film and Media Medial student going into her final year. I work at the Yellow House as a Programs Developer for BIPoc and Queer students. With studying sociology and film, I have always been interested in creating inclusive spaces that foster connection and community, studying film has also made me realize how media can help us feel connected and represented. All the programs I have created or further developed have been designed with the hope of building communities and offering support. The Roots and Recipes program aims to help BIPoc students explore and reconnect with cultural foods that are hard to access in Kingston. The Queer Walking Tours educates Queer and BIPoc students about Queen’s activist history and also emphasizes that marginalized communities have always been at this university and will always have a space here. The Movie Nights and The Yellow House Intersectional Readings and Media Resources for Imagining Better Futures both provide media resources that can help develop and nurture marginalized identities and offer support and representation to these groups. The Activist Coffee House has a series of panels and guest speakers who talk about their activist work and the different spheres of activism. Overall, all the programs I have worked on this summer have been incredible learning opportunities and that I hope that they will be equally enlightening and exciting for the students this upcoming school year.
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My name is Uwineza Mugabe, and I'm a master's student in the gender studies department here at Queen's. Through the pandemic, the shifts between online and offline learning and generally finding my place here at queens I've grown a passion for promoting the hidden services here at Queen’s. This year I was blessed with the opportunity to use my art as a way of promoting the Yellow House through the Black @ Queen’s logo. While designing the logo, I consulted with Black students throughout the Queen’s community. We wanted to create an image that portrayed joyous blackness and wanted to used imagery that emphasized the principles of community building, while keeping the attraction broad. I chose to build the logo around a tree because trees tend to have a lot of positive connotations; roots can connect to families or friends which grow into a smiling face to symbolize black joy. The whole design gathers into the bright leaves of the tree meant to form an afro. All this ends with a golden crown, which I hope to use to represent Black excellence, and to also represent this program’s affiliation with Queen’s University. | |
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Meet Jana Amer
The Current VPRO for the residence society, working to improve residence living for all the students living on campus, and the current social issues commissioner (internal) for the AMS. Jana Amer is a hard-working excellent student who spends a lot of her free time promoting ideals to make student life great on queens and committing to advocacy work for the benefit of others. Check out our Instagram to learn more!
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM! CLICK THE INSTA ICON.
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