Beyond is thrilled to celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth with community partner, SWOP Chicago. Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP Chicago) is a Black-led grassroots organization dedicated to providing direct aid and advocacy to current and former sex workers in the Chicagoland area.

We spoke to Queen Hibbler, Communications Coordinator at SWOP Chicago, about what Black History Month means to her.

“To me, Black History Month means being even more prideful in my Blackness, educating those around me, and reminding them Black people are the reason for a lot of the tools, recipes, inventions etc. that we continue to use today…Black trans sex workers are the reason why we have a lot of the civil rights

movements that we have, why we have the aesthetic culture that we do. And now that SWOP is Black-led, what better way to celebrate Black History Month than by educating our community on our history.”

SWOP Chicago has two upcoming events:

-February 15th from 4:30-7pm, SWOP Chicago is hosting a donation pickup drive at Pilsen Arts & Community House (PACH). Anyone is able to stop by and shop between those hours to grab whatever items they need, whether that be clothes, shoes, makeup, hygiene products, etc.

-March 7 at 5:30pm, SWOP Chicago is hosting their annual art exhibition at PACH. They are currently accepting art submissions with a deadline to submit by February 26 at 11:59pm.

Learn more about SWOP Chicago here: https://www.swopchi.org/