Summer Institute
2026 Showcase
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This is a week-long immersive gathering that brings Black queer people together to explore who we are, where we come from, how we create and share knowledge, and what futures we want to build. Through conversation, art, storytelling, fieldwork, movement, and collaborative practice, participants move from grounding in our shared values and lineages to developing ideas and projects that can carry that work forward.
Rooted in Who We Are
Day 1
We begin by grounding ourselves in our identities, values, relationships, and collective commitments. Through reflection, conversation, and shared offerings, we establish the language and principles that will guide our time together.
Tracing Our Lineages
Day 2
We explore the histories, people, ideas, and cultural practices that shape how we understand ourselves and our communities. Through readings, storytelling, genealogy, film, and music, we consider where we come from and how those lineages inform the work we do.
Community Partners
Be Steadwell
They/Them, Be
Be is a filmmaker, musician, storyteller from Washington DC. Be’s work imagines a world that prioritizes Black queer joy.
Be earned a BA in Black Studies from Oberlin College and an MFA in film from Howard University. Be's short films Vow of Silence and Black Tea (2025) screened in film festivals around the world, including Black Star, HBO OutFest, The Schomburg Center, Inside Out Toronto and The Bush Films.
In 2019, Be wrote and directed Dear Ex, the musical. Dear Ex imagines a queer black woman's experience of healing after a breakup. In 2021 Be released their pop and R&B album- Succulent. In 2023, Be joined the cast of Parable of the Sower the Opera by Toshi Reagon and Dr Bernice Johnson Reagon.
Be released their debut romance novel Chocolate Chip City in 2025. Be currently lives in Baltimore. They tour their music and work as an adjunct lecturer at Howard University and Towson University.
Asha “BOOM” Santee
He/Him
Asha “BOOM” Santee is a percussion kahuna with a propensity for infectious beats and the inevitable body roll. Born on September 3rd, this San Francisco native has been drumming since the tender age of 6, taking after her father who drummed for their local church In addition to drums, Santee is also a producer, vocalist, educator, and audio engineer. BOOM’s signature sticks and keys are an asset to several bands across the DMV such as The Peace & Body Roll Duo BOOMscat, The CooLots, and Grammy Award Winning, Mya. Asha currently has three solo projects on all streaming platforms including her latest release, GINKGO. Offstage BOOM can be found running her company, MEcision, a “take care of yourself” brand where she designs and creates innovative tools for wellness. In addition, she teaches kids and adults how to play the drums and is an elementary music teacher.
Ways of Knowing
Day 3
We explore the many ways knowledge is created, shared, documented, and remembered within Black queer communities. Through interdisciplinary methods, interviews, fieldwork, and creative practice, we examine what it means to learn from—and with—community.
Moving Through Community
Day 4
We take our learning beyond the classroom and into the spaces, histories, and movements that shape Black queer life. Through site visits, music, performance, and embodied practice, we consider how place, movement, and collective action create possibilities for connection and change.
Community Partners
Lee Levingston Perine
He/Him
Lee Levingston Perine (he/him) is a St. Louis–born, Washington, DC–based curator, creative producer, and community historian. He is the founder of Black in Space (formerly Makers Lab), an LGBTQ+ arts collective dedicated to Black joy, creativity, and liberation through storytelling, archival work, and public programming. His work centers Black LGBTQ+ elders and ancestors while creating spaces for connection and visibility. In 2015, Lee was named a White House Champion of Change – LGBT Artist and has also been recognized by the National Trans Visibility March and BONDS for his community work.
Dr. Kendal Brown
He/Him
Dr. Kendal Brown is a Baltimore-based multidisciplinary artist, minister, musician, and educator whose work explores the intersections of Black, queer, and religious identity. Through family research, material exploration, storytelling, and contemplative practice, his work invites deep reflection on the role of creativity and authenticity in fostering individual and communal healing.
From Ideas to Practice
Final Day
We bring the week together by imagining what comes next. Through reflection, project planning, and collaborative problem-solving, we transform questions and discoveries into ideas, strategies, and practices that can continue beyond the week.
