Raquel Willis

Hey y'all. Since we're in a new Bluesky wave, I‘ll re-intro myself. I’m Raquel. A writer, activist, media strategist, and public speaker. I released a memoir last year, The Risk It Takes to Bloom. I host two podcasts, Afterlives & Queer Chronicles. And I recently co-founded @genderlib.com.

We just dropped the latest @peoplevsthemachines.com and this one was so much fun. I talked to @raquelwillis.com about technofascism vs gender liberation, and @wewill2026.bsky.social about how the fight against big tech is uniting Michiganders. Check it out: youtu.be/hU-dDA06Azk

14 years ago on National Coming Out Day, I came out as trans. Here’s what’s changed and what hasn’t. raquelwillis.substack.com/p/i-used-to-...

Thicker Than Water is happening THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 in Atlanta. A free cookout for Black affirming & chosen families. Cleopas R. Johnson Park + RICE, 11am–5pm. Performances by @angelicaross.com, 2AM Ricky, and more. RSVP at genderlib.org/cookout. Come find your people. 💛

We are not obligated to mourn our oppressors. In fact, we must remember who they truly were and resist sanitizing their record.

Black affirming families are raising queer, trans, and nonbinary kids all across the South. And they deserve joy! Thicker Than Water. July 18, 11–5, Cleopas Johnson Park, ATL. Bring your coolers, blankets & chairs. Food while supplies last. Come find joy & connection. rsvp: genderlib.org/cookout

Another day, another man thirsty for power who practiced on women first. This Graham Platner news isn't surprising. When you explain away white supremacist signals, you're telling the rest of us what else you're willing to tolerate. White supremacy and the patriarchy are bedfellows, y'all.

If you wondered why many didn't celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, look no further than what happened to Nolan Wells. We can celebrate this country when Black children don't have to grow up in survival mode. Until then, America, you're still on notice.

New York fam, Saturday I'll be at the iconic Schomburg Center in conversation with C Riley Snorton, a scholar who I admire so much. Join us at 12:30pm for a Prideteenth conversation & Q&A. Can't wait to see you all and celebrate the paperback release of Bloom! RSVP at raquelwillis.com/bloom

TOMORROW!

A wildflower returns 🌺 Come June 9! I’ll be in convo with Alicia Garza celebrating the paperback launch of The Risk It Takes to Bloom + a book signing by Charis Books. Presented by Rustin Institute, SNAPCO + @genderlib.com TIME: 6–9PM PLACE: RICE, ATL. Free with RSVP: raquelwillis.com/bloom

It’s interesting how proximity to cis folks with platforms and parasocial relationships operate as a shield from accountability. Too often visibility gets mistaken for credibility. Many would be wise to remember that cis folks will never speak to trans community dynamics more truthfully than us.

Despite extraction, exploitation, and violence, indigenous, enslaved, AND migrant folks endured and helped build this country. That’s the truer statement. But we also need to be clear that patriotism and pride in empire will not save us, will not make us more worthy, will not lead us to liberation.

"Our liberation is bound together, and that understanding carries risk. It’s no coincidence that King was killed at the height of his intersectional critique of racism, militarism, and economic exploitation."

“They definitely expanded their efforts,” said @raquelwillis.com of @genderlib.com, suggesting that anti-trans efforts to sway Dems toward skepticism on trans youth in sports added to the anti-trans crowd’s numbers Tues. there were transphobic signs from both Dems and gay cis people at the crowd

MLK’s dream was never this small. A reflection from outside the Supreme Court on trans youth, civil rights, and the work that never ended. Subscribe, if you vibe.

New York Was Never My Center. A life update on ambition, belonging, and coming home. open.substack.com/pub/raquelwi...

MY MAYOR MY MAYOR MY MAYOR MY MAYOR MAMDANIIIIIII

With Zohran Mamdani on the verge of winning the NYC mayoral race, after Cuomo and so many others leaned on post-9/11 era Islamophobia to discredit him, it feels cosmic that Dick Cheney died today. The arc of empire bends toward reckoning.

In the audience tonight is Charlotte Bennett, one of the 13 women that Andrew Cuomo is credibly alleged to have sexually harassed while they worked in his government. She can't speak for herself because Cuomo's lawyers have hounded her. So I confronted him.

People say Cuomo beats Mamdani because he has more experience. But if that experience includes a record of sexual harassment, retaliation against colleagues, and weaponizing antisemitism & Islamophobia. But what kind of experience is that, really?

CUOMO: I’M THE REAL DEMOCRAT IN THE RACE NEW YORKERS + ZOHRAN:

If able, please consider donating to help care for baby Asiah: fundly.com/missmajor Please at least share this post if unable to contribute! 🫂

I’ve been saying forever that true love feels like a D’Angelo song. So wild that he passed. 🙏🏽

Rest in power, Mama Major! 💜🙏🏽 It was a blessing to live in the same earthly timeline as you. A true freedom fighter, you never stopped reminding trans people—especially Black trans people—of our worth and our power. Because of Major, our foundation is unshakeable and our liberation inevitable.

We’re so close to winning a Signal Award for Afterlives: Marsha P. Johnson. Voting closes tomorrow. Every vote honors Marsha’s legacy and keeps trans and queer stories at the forefront. Vote here. Takes approx. 10 seconds. Let’s finish strong. 💜 vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting...

😒

Any Dems still acting like the rules of decency, decorum, and precedence still apply need to be ousted with the outright fascists.

Has the demon been spotted yet? 👀

HBD, Queen Marsha P. Johnson! Thank you for your love, light, and legacy of liberation! Celebrate her; it would have been her 80th! time.com/7295713/how-...

Back to being cisgendered tomorrow 😪 I feel like Cinderella at midnight.

If a politician insists on the antisemitic notion that Jewish people have some inherent loyalty to a foreign state. If a politician presents genocide as a Jewish value. If a politician only cares about judeism when weaponized against Muslims. I can't take their stances on antisemitism seriously.

If a politician never discusses Islamophobia or anti-Blackness, I can’t take their takes on anti-Semitism seriously.

lol Zohran is all over my timelines. The new it girl for sure!

I invited @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social to this event, and so proud of it! I originally invited him (as part of the organizing team) hoping he would speak. I wanted more people to hear him, hoping more people would support him. We decided not to have politicians speak, but Zohran came anyway.

If the Establishment is mad, you’re doing something right.

Let’s also remember how out of touch much of legacy media is too.

Omg Cuomo conceded?!

NO MO’ CUOMO

Vote Zohran or you’re str8!

Trump proving once again how dangerous a stunt queen can be.

ZOHRAN. That is all.

It's been five years since Brooklyn Liberation / the March for Black Trans Lives. A seismic day that shifted the course of many lives. Let’s remember that we are battle-tested + ready. The fight will be long, but our history, our community, and our collective vision of liberation will win.

This was a great overview of why Marsha P Johnson is such a beloved trancestor Also, comrade Time Magazine over here, lately, wow