Progress rainbow flag at Baltimore Pride Parade (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Just seven volunteers are behind BLAQ Equity Baltimore, a nonprofit that offers social programs and community events to the city’s Black LGBTQ community.
The independent nonprofit, founded in 2002, presents a wide range of events, including film screenings, celebratory parties, and community service gatherings. In addition, the group hosts monthly town hall meetings for community members to connect with one another and directly voice their thoughts to BLAQ Equity’s leadership.
The four community leaders who founded BLAQ Equity sought to create a Black-centered space within the predominately white-led LGBTQ movement of the early 2000s. In 2025, the organization has come to host a variety of BLAQ Pride events throughout October alongside the year-long calendar of events.
Christopher Henderson-West and Cody Lopez became the co-executive directors of BLAQ Equity in January.
Henderson-West first got involved in May 2024 after moving to Baltimore following a political career in Washington, aiming to connect with Baltimore’s Black LGBTQ community. Now, Henderson-West focuses on BLAQ Equity’s day-to-day operations, including program coordination, fundraising, partnerships, branding, and marketing. He works alongside Lopez, and five board members.
“Oftentimes, as we look at our social structures and things of that nature, Black queer folks tend to be at the bottom,” Henderson-West said. “As it has tended to be proven historically, [when we] fix things from the bottom up, it tends to get better for everybody. And so that is kind of what we are looking to do.”
According to Henderson-West, town halls average around 15 community participants and monthly Pride parties yield between 70-100 attendees. He notes that few town hall attendees “are truly repetitive.”
“It’s normally fresh faces, which also means fresh conversations and fresh voices,” Henderson-West said.
One of BLAQ Equity’s most recent changes includes a new partnership with FreeState Justice that began on Oct. 1.
FreeState Justice is Maryland’s only statewide LGBTQ legal advocacy group and offers free legal services, education, and outreach programs.
The partnership allows BLAQ Equity to share an office space with FreeState Justice. Considering the proximity, BLAQ Equity community members can expect to more easily access legal resources and collaborative programming, according to Henderson-West.
While BLAQ Equity previously had “one-off” collaborations with FreeState Justice, the formal partnership came into fruition in July.
“I think it is striking to me, at least, how much of the Black LGBTQ community feels like the resources that were available through FreeState may not have been available to them,” Henderson-West said. “I think the primary client base for FreeState are predominantly white queer folks, and so in that way, it may feel weird or uncomfortable as a Black person to then show up in that space, or to feel like that organization caters to Black queer folk.”
FreeState Justice has similar partnerships with other organizations, allowing closer communication between BLAQ Equity and similarly aligned organizations.
According to Henderson-West, the community’s response has been “very positive.”
“BLAQ Equity Baltimore’s work is rooted in the same values that guide ours — dignity, self-determination, and a refusal to leave anyone behind. By joining forces, we’re investing in the collective liberation of every Blaq individual in Maryland,” said Phillip Westry, the executive director of FreeState Justice.
While Henderson-West maintains the long-term goal of solidifying a permanent community space for multiple organizations to work parallel, he notes that “stabilizing the organization” is BLAQ Equity’s primary goal.
“I think our focus is … making sure that we live up to being community-led and not something that is just community in title or in name, but in actuality,” Henderson-West said.
Henderson-West cites the importance of community support in empowering BLAQ Equity, especially considering that the nonprofit entered 2025 with “little funds.”
“We’re not getting foundational funding or ongoing grant funding, or anything of that nature. It has truly been a product of the community,” Henderson-West said.
In continuing to fuel community gatherings, promote community feedback and take advantage of the FreeState Justice partnership, Henderson-West’s wish for the community is simple: “to come out.”
“It just goes to show that if you allow people to help, and you say that you need help, and that you bring people in on the journey with you, they will support you through the journey,” Henderson-West said.
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