The Cookout Serves Up Joy, Healing for Black Queer and Trans Community

The late novelist Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Similarly, if there’s a joy-filled, music-bumping, booty-shaking, spirit-healing, all Black, queer and trans gathering — with food — you’d like to attend, but no one’s throwing it: you gotta put it on. 

That was the spirit behind two Oakland-based collectives, 7000COILS and BLKINMOTION, joining forces to create and host The Cookout.   

“We just noticed that there was a hole that needed to be filled in our community,” says KKINGBOO, a DJ and co-founder of the art house-slash-record label 7000COILS, and one of eleven organizers of The Cookout. “The need for Black queers to have an exclusively Black space to gather and play — so that they could feel safe, seen; sprawl out, unfurl.”

Organizers say their first Cookout attracted over 300 people when it launched in 2022. But even with the large crowd, the feeling was familial. 

“It was literally like your typical family cookout,” describes esora, a founding member and current co-lead organizer of BLKINMOTION, a collective of Black queer and trans artists and changemakers. “The grill’s poppin’ in the back, and then we had this blacktop space and we transformed it into what we had dreamed and imagined as kids — space that allows us to feel joy, to play with each other, to laugh with each other, but to also see each other fully.” 

The event included spaces to dance, to sit and eat, as well as a dedicated healing and spiritual space set up with at least one altar, soft things to touch and tools for coloring. 

“It’s not just about partying. It’s about offering opportunities for different sensory needs to be met,” says Evin Glaude, another founding member and co-lead organizer of BLKINMOTION. 

There’s also a group of people dedicated to ensuring the vibe is respectful and consensual, and that attendees adhere to The Cookout’s community guidelines, which are: Unity, Liberation, Love, Joy, Honor the Land and Security.

Now in its third year, this summer’s gathering will be held on Aug. 24. Per The Cookout policy, the venue remains a secret until closer to the event, when it’s revealed only to those who’ve registered. Part of a 2023 Instagram post invited “our queer non-Black, POC and white fam” to support through donating or gifting an event ticket to a Black queer and/or trans person.”  

The Cookout organizers have more events on their summer calendar, too. It includes two Field Days featuring a kickball tournament (one held last month on Juneteenth and one coming up on July 14), plus a July 25 mixer featuring a panel discussion with Black queer and trans community organizers.

“We want to tap into what is happening in our community and how we can continue to grow,” says Lalin St. Juste, a singer, songwriter and producer who is a co-founder of the 7000COILS collective. “And so that’s why we’re developing these additional events — because there are so many needs that we have. We want to laugh, we want to play, and we also need to cry, and we need to grieve and we need to talk about things.” 

Things like unpacking lessons from past events and other challenges that can come up when growing a new community experience — which is all being done against the backdrop of a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the U.S. and ongoing violence against trans people, especially Black trans women.

“Being a black queer and/or trans person is a revolutionary act, every day you choose to live and be here,” Glaude says. “The Cookout is a plea for that to continue outside of just survival. If some of the most oppressed people are seeking liberation and able to celebrate and heal together, then there’s hope for us all.” 

While the organizers’ current focus is on growing their local event offerings mindfully and intentionally, they also hold more expansive, long-term visions for The Cookout.

If you ask KKINGBOO, that includes “the ultimate family reunion, worldwide” for Black queer and trans people — where pods form the way Burning Man has its camps, and everyone wears reunion T-shirts. “I just want people — especially those [who] have been estranged from family and are creating their own family now — to know that we’re creating that landing spot for you to find your fam.”

The Cookout Field Day takes place July 14, followed by a panel and mixer on July 25 and The Cookout itself on Aug. 24. Follow The Cookout on Instagram for updates and registration information.