Blaq / Blaqueer

BlaQ (also written BlaQueer) is a term used by people of Black or African descent within LGBTQ+ communities to name an identity that sits at the intersection of Blackness and queerness. It reflects the idea that being Black and queer is not simply the sum of two identities but a distinct experience shaped by both anti-Black and anti-queer social structures, along with its own history, culture, joy, and resilience. The word reclaims "queer" with intentional spelling and appears in organizing, scholarship, art, and community spaces. Campus and community glossaries, such as the UC Davis LGBTQIA Resource Center, list it as a way to center Black queer experience rather than folding it into a broader, whiter LGBTQ+ narrative.