ABOUT THE BEL CONFERENCE

The Black Educated Lesbians Conference℠ was created from a simple belief: Black lesbians and Black queer women deserve intentional spaces where our lives, experiences, voices, and futures are at the center of the conversation.

Too often, the issues affecting our community are discussed separately.

We may enter one space to talk about being Black, another to talk about being LGBTQ+, another for women's health, another for professional development, another for relationships, and another for financial wellness.

The BEL Conference brings those conversations together.

Here, we create room to talk about the fullness of our lives: our health, relationships, careers, businesses, finances, sexuality, families, aging, leadership, wellness, safety, community, legacy, and joy.

We don't have to separate who we are to belong here.

Because Representation Is Only the Beginning

Being visible matters. But our community also needs opportunities to connect, learn, build relationships, access information and resources, share experiences, and be heard.

The BEL Conference was designed to create that kind of environment.

Our conference brings together community members and professionals from different backgrounds and areas of expertise for conversations grounded in the experiences of Black lesbians and Black queer women.

Some conversations are educational.

Some are deeply personal.

Some challenge us.

Some help us prepare for the future.

And some simply give us an opportunity to experience the joy of being together.

The goal isn't to tell our community how to live.

It's to create space where we have access to more information, more resources, more connections, and more possibilities.

We Start With Our Community

The experiences of Black lesbians and Black queer women aren't an additional topic at the BEL Conference.

They are the starting point.

That means our programming can move across areas that are often treated as unrelated while recognizing how deeply connected they are in our actual lives.

Conference conversations may explore:

Health & Wellness
Physical health, mental health, women's health, healthcare experiences, nutrition, movement, prevention, and overall wellness.

Relationships & Sexuality
Healthy relationships, communication, intimacy, domestic violence, sexual health, and sexual liberation.

Money & Legacy
Financial literacy, entrepreneurship, homeownership, wealth building, estate planning, and preparing for the future.

Leadership & Professional Growth
Careers, entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, professional development, mentorship, and community impact.

Life, Aging & Community
Aging, caregiving, family, identity, belonging, safety, community building, and navigating life's transitions.

The specific conversations may change from year to year because our conference grows alongside our community.

An Intentional Space for Black Lesbians and Black Queer Women

The Black Educated Lesbians Conference℠ intentionally centers Black lesbians and Black queer women across generations, backgrounds, professions, experiences, and gender expressions.

Our attendees don't all look alike, live alike, love alike, believe alike, or have the same experiences.

That diversity is part of our community.

The conference also creates opportunities for professionals, organizations, businesses, community partners, educators, advocates, and others whose work can meaningfully contribute to the experience and resources available to attendees.

Centering our community doesn't require everyone in the room to be the same. It requires being clear about whose experiences the space was created to center.