Weekly Newsletter

The Black Urbanist Weekly #29– Here, Queer and Talking More About It This Friday 4/25 on a Joint APA Webinar.

This is The Black Urbanist Weekly. I’m Kristen Jeffers and I’m making this weekly digital newsletter to share my Black, Spiritual, Diasporic North Carolinian, Working/Lower Middle-Class, Educated, Queer, CisFemme thoughts on how places and communities work. Think of this as my weekly column, sitting on your proverbial print paper’s editorial page or as so many other of your favorite newsletters do, in your inbox.

This is edition #29 and I oddly feel normal and not normal at the same time. Heartbroken but rested and hopeful at the same time. Plus, it’s been a bender to have to manage to avoid Covid-19 and my own existing seasonal allergies, but I have what I need to shelter in place and that’s what I dwell on the most.

Some other ways I am feeling normalish are through preparing to present a couple of planning webinars and a promising new audio/video project. Plus, if you are still in need of fabric for masks, you can order some of my Spoonflower patterned fabric and support me in the meantime.

(Along with via Patreon and Venmo, which are still greatly appreciated, as I like many folks, don’t have many income streams available at the moment).

I’ll share more about one of the webinars and the audio/video project next week, but I wanted to make sure you made room in your must-see Zooming for the webinar on LGBTQ folks and urban planning I was invited to participate in this Friday, April 24 from 1-2:30 p.m.

This will be the first time that I give my signature presentation on my life in planning and my hopes for its future, but centered on my particular experience as a black queer woman (and some shiny new aerials from Google, which I’ll also explain more about). I will be doing it with three other queer folks in planning and I’ll be presenting third for about 15 minutes, along with some Q&A. 

It is free, open to anyone (where it asks for your chapter name, just put non-member if you aren’t affiliated with APA), and you can get APA credits. Register and join us.

If you miss it, don’t despair. I’ll post a link to a recap and I will be including an enhanced encore presentation as part of the new audio/video project.

Before You Go, A Few Other Things On My Mind

  • I’m still running my Black Women in Metro America survey. You can answer about your life before or during Covid-19, as it will give me guidance going forward in how fellow sisters are interacting with the things I want to do and know. Here’s where to fill it out.
  • Meanwhile, I’m working with esteemed Black architect Mel Mitchell, FAIA, NOMA, over the next few months to get the word out about his newest book of Black architectural history and commentary African-American Architects: Embracing Culture and Building Urban Communities. Follow the Instagram page we set up, order the book from Amazon and until we can get the book in more bookstores, we do have an ISBN number (978-1734496000) and you can ask bookstores to order the print version. Also, we are hoping to have the e-book version up by the end of April.
  • Book me— on your media platform, as a keynote/lecturer, for one of my workshops or as a panel participant. I can do virtual delivery of all of my programs and we can go ahead and start booking programing for late 2020 and 2021. Also, If you are a member of the press and you would love to get my expert commentary on deadline, you can reach me at (301) 578-6278.
  • Les, that wonderful life partner and sales advisor of mine, is great at hyping you up, making you laugh and helping you or your organization make radical changes in your life and health. Join the email list for her company Les’s Lighthouse for periodic motivational updates. Also, if you need some laughter and motivation right now, check out some of her prior performances and motivational talks on YouTube. (Heads up, there’s saucy language, but hearty messages). And if you see this before 7:30 Eastern tonight(4/21/2020), check out her very special webinar for AFAB & intersex masculine of center people.

I hope to hear that you’re still here the next time we talk via email or social media. And that you’re at peace and at rest. Thanks to all of you for continuing to open this email and likewise, hope to still be here doing the same.

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