One Cause At A Time

EVENT: Raks Inferno 6/26 Fundraiser for Lighthouse Foundation

(Special thanks to Dawn Xiana Moon of Raks Geek for her efforts and her contribution to this post).

This past week, I posted my interview with Karlyn Meyer of Lighthouse Foundation focusing on their work with the black LGTBQ+ community in Chicago. Although I briefly mentioned an upcoming fundraiser, I wanted to provide more information.

This Friday, June 26th, at 8 pm, Raks Inferno (a production of Raks Geek) is holding an online fundraiser on Facebook. The Raks Inferno: BLM & Pride Solidarity event will be live-streamed via Facebook, and will feature belly dance, fire spinning, and other performance arts. Recently, I asked Dawn Xiana Moon (director of Raks Geek) about their event, and she graciously provided the following:

Raks Geek (and thus Raks Inferno, which is a Raks Geek project) has never been quiet about racial injustice, LGBTQ+ equality, or the fact that trans rights are human rights. It’s personal: Most of us are LGBTQ+, and most of us are POC (specifically, Asian American). Our very bodies are politicized, whether we want them to be or not.

One of our missions is to give back to our community; we regularly partner with local non-profits to raise awareness of the work they’re doing and help them raise funds. Karlyn from Lighthouse Foundation is a good friend of ours, and we’ve been wanting to partner with them; given that this month is Pride and we also wanted to tangibly support the Black Lives Matter movement, it seemed natural to center this show around an organization that advances justice for Black LGBTQ+ people.

Personally, I’m also really excited about our guest performers this month, whom I’ve been hoping to get into a show for a while: Firespinner BK Ellison is one of the organizers of the Chicago Full Moon Jams, and Alseny Sylla has performed with Cirque du Soleil and can jump higher and further than most human beings on the planet. We’re lucky to have them on board!

Please make a point of attending – and donating – this Friday evening.

And as always, thanks for reading!

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