Raquel Willis

How can moments of struggle help us free ourselves to bloom? In this captivating talk, Black trans activist Raquel Willis brings audiences through the themes of her debut memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom. She shares her personal story, starting with her upbringing in Georgia in a Black Catholic family and how she discovered the LGBTQ+ community and found her identity. She speaks with deep compassion and vulnerability about how the unexpected death of her father pushed her to examine her relationship with herself and those she loved, and how the epidemic of violence against trans women of color inspired her to come out publicly.

A passionate and dynamic speaker, Raquel shares the path that brought her to pursuing social justice, and shows us how complex moments of activation can push us all to take necessary risks and fight for collective liberation. She explains why solidarity is like a “painter’s palette”: we can all use our diverse backgrounds, interests, and talents to participate in the work that needs to be done. Audiences will walk away inspired to seize their own moments of activation and create real change in their communities.

“The trans community is more visible than ever before,” says Raquel Willis, “but we are also under immense political attack across the United States.” In this talk, Raquel unravels the complexity of visibility and what it has meant for the transgender community. She combines personal perspective and critical analysis, using her own story to illustrate the complicated relationship that trans communities have with the concept of visibility and representation.

Raquel argues that those of us who believe in liberation and freedom of expression can’t stop at mere visibility—we must be as much or more invested in the vitality of people on the margins. She calls for us to center the experiences and well-being of our most vulnerable communities, and challenges audiences to commit to social justice, dismantle systems of oppression, and free us all to thrive.

Black transgender activists and organizers have historically played crucial roles in our fight for diversity and inclusion, but their pivotal contributions are often overlooked. In this talk, Raquel Willis navigates this rich yet forgotten history.

She draws from the stories of historical figures like Mary Jones, one of the first openly transgender people in New York history, Marsha P. Johnson, one of the prominent figures of the Stonewall Uprising, and iconic drag queen and activist Crystal LaBeija. Raquel also shares her own experiences in contemporary community organizing, drawing on the many groundbreaking posts she’s held. She weaves history and the present together to illuminate the enduring resilience of Black transgender activists in the face of systemic racism and transphobia, and challenges us all to invest in Black trans liberation and freedom for all.