Museum of Latin American Art hosts discussion of drag in BIPOC and AAPI spaces

Drag performers came together at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) to close out Pride month, hosting a discussion on drag and how to create safe and inclusive spaces for the BIPOC and AAPI communities. 

“I do what I do, so others can do it too,” said Foxie Adjuia, one of three panelists for the  Symposium on Empowerment in Pride Spaces. “I’m in transpersonal disciplines, and I’m going to be utilizing drag as a way to impact my community in a positive way,” added Adjuia, a drag performer on The Boulet Brothers’ TV series, “Dragula.” 

The symposium was dedicated toward building community, resilience and acceptance through an interactive drag performance with Adjuia, Robbie Osa and Mahalia Nakita. 

During the discussion, Adjuia, Osa and Nakita asked questions to respond themselves and ask input from the audience. On the question of how to utilize Pride as a form of liberation and keep it in alignment with the civil rights movement of the LGBTQ+ community, Adjuia said that Pride is about chosen family and about unchaining ourselves from the hegemony that a lot of queer and Black, Indigenous and People of Color get indoctrinated into. 

“[Pride] is an act of liberation in and of itself and it’s an act of self-actualization,” Adjuia said. 

Adjuia opened up about how it hasn’t always been easy to embrace Pride and overcome the adversity that comes with this identity. “What really got me through the darkness was my community and their act of Pride, connection with each other and uplifting energy.” 

They performed their speech about community connection and added that they believe that Pride is not just about partying, but about embracing the struggle that started with the 1969 Stonewall Riots. This was a pivotal point in LGBTQ+ history. 

Using the spirit of Pride to overcome adversity  

“LGBTQ+ awareness is a challenge for a lot of students, especially if they don’t understand how to judge certain situations because they are special ed,” said Yuri Jimenez, special education teacher. “So I have to create conversations and lessons to create that space where everyone feels accepted.” Attendees of the event responded to the questions, drawing from their own experiences. 

“[BIPOC Drag Queens] get that double combo of being racially profiled as Latino and gay,” said Osa, a drag performer and behavior analyst. “I found that drag is a platform to dismantle those stereotypes.”

Osa is an alumni of California State University, Long Beach, who now dedicates her time toward building inclusive and accepting spaces in education. She uses drag as a form of art that relays political and meaningful messages. 

“Tolerance comes with strings attached, and acceptance means fully [embracing] who you are, your faults and loving you unconditionally,” said Osa. 

Promoting equality and inclusion

“We are all part of different groups within the [BIPOC] community and each community needs a little bit of representation [in Pride spaces],” said Nakita. 

“As a therapist, I’m always making sure that I am creating affirming spaces for whatever identities walk through my door, and making sure that I am educated and can provide them with resources and support,” said Jennifer Jiries, who is a queer therapist and social worker based in Long Beach. “We heal in community, so we need to have spaces that actually support healing and connection.”