SUPPORT JAMAICAN QUEERS DURING COVID
SUPPORT JAMAICAN QUEER ARTISTS & LBT WOMEN DURING COVID
Connek JA in partnership with We Change Jamaica , Yardy World , and RAGGA NYC , is raising funds to aid lesbian, bisexual, and trans (LBT) women, queer artists during Covid and bring the Connek 2022 trip to life. For this campaign we are marrying two missions to support and celebrate queer artists and LBT women living in Jamaica. The We Change Jamaica mission is to combat economic injustice and marginalization by gaining economic independence for LBT Jamaican women especially during this time of economic struggle that has only worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Connek JA mission is to make space where queer Jamaican artist and creatives along with our allies—can feel safe and aid queer Jamaicans with resources through our yearly Connek trip, year-round events and commissioned projects.
Through crowdsourcing our extended communities we aim to raise $20,000 for:
- We Change’s training workshops and direct relief for LBT Jamaican women affected by the Covid.
- Connek JA’s 2022 mission of building local events/ queer safe spaces in Jamaica, commissioning local artists (Connek ambassadors) to make work through the year and putting on our Connek trip where foreigners and locals can celebrate together
CONNEK 2022 MISSION FUNDRAISING BENCHMARKS
$20,000 is our main goal but even with $5,000 we can do so much to help queer Jamaicans and keep Connek Ja alive and thriving. We want to give resources to queer Jamaicans but also to encourage them to dream. We at Connek Ja believe in not just surviving but thriving! With resources we can commission queer people in Jamaica to build their artist practice, start businesses, write more, travel, have steady employment with Connek JA etc.
The Connek mission includes all these goals and more including sending We Change Jamaica 25% of what we raise for Covid relief, building local events/ queer safe spaces, commissioning local artists (Connek ambassadors) to make work through the year and putting on our Connek trip where foreigners and locals can celebrate together!
IF WE RAISE OUR $20000 GOAL/ BENCHMARK:
We send $5000 to We Change Jamaica
We can put on local events in Jamaica for the queer community
The Connek Ja 2022 trip can happen!
We can commission/ hire local queer artists in Jamaica through out the year
IF WE RAISE OUR $15000 GOAL/ BENCHMARK:
We send $3750 to We Change Jamaica
The Connek Ja 2022 trip can happen!
We can put on local events in Jamaica for the queer community
IF WE RAISE OUR $10000 GOAL/ BENCHMARK:
We send $2500 to We Change Jamaica
The Connek Ja 2022 trip can happen!
IF WE RAISE OUR $5000 GOAL/ BENCHMARK:
We send $1250 to We Change Jamaica
We can put on local events in Jamaica for the queer community
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Connek JA is a not for profit project aiming to bring resources and opportunity to the queer community in Jamaica. For this campaign we will send $5000 (25%) to our partners at We Change Jamaica. $15000 (the other 75%) will bring our Connek 2022 mission to life. From commissioning local queer artists to securing a space to have the 2022 Connek trip the $15000 will help us secure Connek trip lodging, pay local talent and pay local businesses a fair wage. With all the issues of Covid, local curfew laws and Jamaica’s Prime Minister shutting down the country due to the pandemic we aim to secure safe lodging outside of the city so we can celebrate outside the constraints of Kingston and bring along members of the queer community from Kington into the villa.
The last $5000 will pay for Connek JA Kingston staff helping us bring the events to life like the Connek trip and year round events in Jamaica for the queer community. The year round local events will be Connek ambassador art showcases, Mental Health Seminars and our Transcend Party Series. Our priorities for the year round events in Jamaica include:
Direct employment of local artists and commissioning art projects from queer Jamaican artists
Supporting CONNEK Jamaican staff & small businesses for the 2022 trip
Skills training workshops, mental health support and economic sustainability
Social welfare to provide economic relief for members of the community struggling due to the pandemic
JAMAICA’S COVID PANDEMIC, THE QUEER COMMUNITY AND MORE CONTEXT
The Covid-19 pandemic has not just been a health crisis globally but a financial disaster to everyone globally and especially for third world nations. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the Jamaican economy because of the country’s heavy reliance on tourism and the closing of its borders, businesses and schools to prevent the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, the Jamaican government does not have the resources or infrastructure to offer financial assistance in the ways that countries like the US are. The closest thing to financial assistance that was offered was a check for the equivalent of $65 USD that only went out to 20,000 people (on an island of 2.961 million people). . In tandem, the government has put in place a curfew that has yet to be lifted and countless aggressive national lock down measures that have stifled local businesses that exist outside the resort industry which has received continued support during the pandemic from the government. The shutdowns have made it illegal for residents to leave their residents from Saturday to Tuesday with only one small 4 hour window of activity available on Saturday mornings. The only people allowed to move about the country of Jamaica during these lockdowns are tourists to and from a set of handpicked resorts. Not civilians. This has had a huge impact on everyday civilians and especially queer people living on the island already struggling to make a living in a country where vaccines are rare and hard to obtain.
The pandemic has also highlighted the ways in which bias and prejudice against queer people can present additional barriers to obtaining necessary resources and assistance especially during heighted times of need. Jamaica’s history of homophobia and transphobia has been well-documented, and organizations like J-FLAG (The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays) have called specific attention to the links between employment and medical bias and the disproportion rate at which members of Jamaica’s queer community have been negatively affected by COVID. One of their survey reports that “close to 90% of LGBT people have been negatively affected, experiencing displacement, unemployment and inability to access health services.” This struggle is not only being faced by queer people in Jamaica; it is occurring globally. The United Nations released a statement in May of 2020 acknowledging that the inequalities experience by queer people prior to the pandemic made them more susceptible to being amongst the most negatively impact by COVID-19.
UPLIFTING AND CENTERING BLACK QUEER JOY
Queer people of color are not taught to think about our future. We spend so much of our lives digging up our history and focusing on survival especially during COVID. In this time of plague, climate and economic crisis when making plans feels futile and overwhelming, we work as a coalition to remember this: Imagining queer futures, queer joy, and queer togetherness is a righteous act. During the 2022 Connek JA annual trip we employ, celebrate, center and commission Jamaica based queer talent, artists, small business and queer activits to be apart of the trip to showcase their work, celebrate and be in communion with us. There is a need to supply the queer people of Jamaica with resources while the Covid19 pandemic still wages hardship onto the community, but we don’t want to just help the community survive. We want to assist the community to thrive! We want to encourage growth, celebration and dream building. This is why for the 2022 calendar year Connek is working with its Connek ambassadors and artists through out the queer community in Jamaica to commision them for art projects and skill building. This work is a way to encourage the queer community to indeed thrive and imagine the future of possibilities as the queer libration movement in Jamaica grows.
OUR AMBASSADORS
These are just some of the amazing Jamaican based artists, activists, organizers and talents that make up the CONNEK family that help us build Connek JA in Jamaica!
Emani (she/her)
Born and raised in Trelawny, Jamaica.
“I was granted a gift with an artistic vision, for style and fashion. I have always wanted to explore the fashion capitals of the world, and have my work displayed on the huge runways. I took an interest in activism, and through my work with marginalized groups, and being a trans woman myself, living in Jamaica, I have learned that my work can take a different course into greatness!”
Dom the Poet (she/her)
“Growing up in St. Catherine, Jamaica, I never took writing or art seriously. Now, art is one of my escape routes, but my favorite form of art would most definitely be writing, especially poems or songs. It’s just a way to express, not just myself and my personal feelings, but to bring across issues that may not be spoken about on other platforms. I tend to write a lot about love, heartbreak and social issues because I feel like those are things I’m most passionate about. ”
Neish McLean (he/him)
“I am a trans activist, co-founder and executive director of Trans Wave Ja which is an organization that promotes trans health and well being in Jamaica. It is my life joy to continue to push for the rights and liberation of my Jamaican queer people globally and here at home. Blessings and big up Connek JA”
Our History
In 2014 Neon Christina, founder of RAGGA NYC, booked a trip to Jamaica. Close friends and family alike discouraged him from going. He had heard rumors about Jamaica and its homophobic attitude in hisonline research where there was an overwhelming amount of negative news about the country's queer folk which was alarming. He dreadfully cancelled the trip.
Fast forward to 2017, he finally gained the courage to re-plan his trip to Jamaica. A mutual friend named Tsige who had recently visited connected him a queer friend of hers living in Kingston named Chaday who would guide him once he arrived. On the trip he not only met Chaday, but went hiking, attended street parties, heard local Reggae bands, had amazing food and overall found himself on a soul level. It was life changing to be in a black country as a queer adult defying all the scary stories he’d heard.
When he came back to NY he had time to reflect about how he had been afraid to go to Jamaica. He did a lot of thinking about the way fear of black countries vibrates outward from the media and affects all people. How this daunting media hits people of color and more so the queer community of color the hardest. The fear of violence keeps a lot of people away from black countries throughout the world and in this case, Jamaica. So how could we change that?
What better way to change someone’s mind about a community and place than to go there and talk with people? The power of travel is real. Unfortunately, there have always been roadblocks for the traveler of color. We have seen this even here in the U.S. with the need for publications like the “Green Book”. The “Green Book” was a travel guide that listed businesses and private homes that would reliably serve black people during the era of Jim Crow law keeping motorists safe from dangers like sundown towns. On the flip side, the gay & queer travel industry has often stayed clear of black countries at large and often only targets to gay men. This specific cross section of queerness and race in relation to travel is unseen. This is where Connek JA fills the void.
In turn Chaday expressed just how important it was for Jamaican queers and liberals to meet people from all over the world. To not just meet but to really connect and break bread with them. Chaday and Chris realized the need to see and hear the voices of queer Jamaicans living outside the dark narrative painted by most Western media. We wanted to not just bring folk to Jamaica to celebrate kinship but also shine a light on who these brilliant queer Jamaicans living in Kingston who were leading the change. This is the specific blend of programming that makes Connek JA different from any other travel project.
The time for bridge building, not wall building, is now. Join us today!
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY (CONTIN.)
Connek JA will distribute 25% of our raised funds to We Change Jamaica. We are in direct communication with the organizers at We Change Jamaica to coordinate how to get funds into their hands as quickly as possible. This Gofundme campaign is linked to a designated bank account from which we will send a direct bank transfer to We Change Jamaica.
WHO WE ARE
CONNEK JA is dedicated to spotlighting the amazing queer talent in Jamaica who are rewriting the story of Jamaica’s relationship to queerness. With the power of travel and in-person gatherings, CONNEK works to build community by hosting inclusive events in Jamaica throughout the year.
In 2018, RAGGA NYC and Jamsterdam joined forces to launch CONNEK, a travel project and platform dedicated to connecting queer folks and our allies across country borders through online media, storytelling and events, specifically in Jamaica. Our main event is the CONNEK annual extended weekend, filled with exclusive excursions, dinners and social gatherings.
CONNEK is a small start up project made of young queer artists with big dreams to make change in Jamaica. CONNEK is dedicated to working with allies in Kingston, Jamaica and small businesses who believe in the CONNEK mission. Our small and humble business partners for this trip are dedicated to queer safe spaces and building a Jamaica free of bigotry.
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Established in 2015, WE-Change is a feminist, organization focused on advocating for and with lesbian, bisexual and trans women. Though explicitly queer-centred, the organisation’s advocacy caters to and impacts women and girls in all their diversities. WE-Change is focused on equipping women with the tools to advocate and become activists for the creation of a world that recognizes and protects the rights of all people, regardless of nationality, socio-economic status, abilities, race, gender or sexuality.
WE will achieve its objective of a more equitable and just world through employing an intersectional approach to matters of importance to LBT women. WE will utilize organizational and engagement strategies that have served the advancement of the global women’s movement over time and bring the voices, strategies and perspectives of a new generation of feminists and women’s rights activists to the table.
WE will promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, emotional, spiritual and economic life.
Strategic Objectives:
Increase the participation of LBT Women in national and regional leadership.
Create safe and alternative spaces that facilitate LBT women's healing and wellbeing
Enhance the sustainability of the organization through outreach, partnerships and institutional capacity development.
Promote women’s equity in health, security, wealth-creation and the workplace
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RAGGA NYC is a growing collective of Queer Caribbean artists and allies. Founded by Christopher Udemezue (Neon Christina), the group was created to make space for and nurture ties amongst a group of artists who feel a deep commitment to their ancestral and diasporic histories.
Working across various disciplines, ranging from visual art and poetry to performance and fashion, RAGGA NYC interweaves art-making, cultural practice and community building. The collective has at its base a longing for an authentic and extended network that could support one another through ideas and activity centered around solidarity, visibility and expression. As a growing contingent of many artists – each quite distinct in the form, style and concerns of their practice – RAGGA materializes the impact of collective assembly in practices of social emancipation and celebration.
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DeVonn Francis is a queer, first-generation jamaican-american artist with a background in design and performance studies. He founded Yardy World in fall 2017 as a way to investigate his own role in Caribbean culture and to encourage others to seek joy and celebration in their own identities. Since then, Yardy World has gone on to create brand campaigns, develop activations, and redefine and reaffirm the importance of food and culture.
