When I first spoke to Kymon Warman over Zoom in May, he was 20 years old and leaving for a solo trip to the Indiana Dunes after our call. We chatted about both being Tauruses and moving from Missouri to Chicago. The next month was big for him: He turned 21 and hosted what he christened the gay POC party of the summer, an event centered around creating an inclusive community for people who are often the minority.
Growing up in Missouri, Warman didn’t always have the support of his community or even his family. He says he always knew he was queer, but didn’t feel like he could add on another identity because being one of the few Black kids in his grade was hard enough. He was called slurs through middle and high school, eventually being homeschooled for his safety.
While homeschooled, Warman started to explore his queerness online, which he describes as his first time experiencing community. After his sister found the account where he shared his experience, he was forced to tell his parents.
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“They took my phone, and that was heart-wrenching,” he says. “Not only did I not have anybody in real life, but now my online community was taken away, and it just felt really isolating for me.”
Warman started at a new high school for his senior year, and he describes it as the happy ending to his school journey. He felt accepted at school, but he still faced homophobia at home, which pushed him to leave. For a few weeks, he slept in his car.
“The majority of homeless people are queer, and having that experience was really humbling for me, coming from a family where it felt like I got everything that I needed outside of that,” Warman says. “It really put me to rock bottom, and I got this empathy for the extent of what it was like to deal with homophobia in a family.”
During that time, the Trevor Project invited him to an influencer event. Warman says that was when he started taking social media content creation seriously.
Now, as an influencer based in Chicago, Warman says his content naturally includes the city he lives in, but that wasn’t on purpose. He says he wanted to showcase life as a queer person without the pressure to only make activism content, which led him to creating vlogs of the “simple life.”
“I look outside and I see houses in Chicago where people have their LGBTQIA+ flags,” Warman says. “One part of me, a younger part of me, never understood how empowering that was. As queer people, we almost have this ingrained responsibility to care for the younger queer people and show them that it’s going to be okay.”
“As queer people, we almost have this ingrained responsibility to care for the younger queer people and show them that it’s going to be okay.”
– Kymon Warman
Since moving to Chicago, Warman has invested in his relationship with his family and even shares videos with his mother and sisters on his account. He thinks people appreciate seeing a queer person showcasing that effort.
“I have really strong women in my life, and I think that has made me comfortable in experimenting with my own femininity,” Warman says. “Femininity for me has always been associated with strength and courage and realness. I owe so much to the women in my life, my mom, sisters included.”
In May, he made a video about forgiveness, which he says reflects on where he is now as a person. Warman says he tries to highlight the small positive moments in his day-to-day life, and the theme of forgiveness goes along with that.
“Being angry, being bitter, being hurt and holding on to that, a lot of the times we assume that that’s the right way to handle homophobia or discrimination,” he says. “Experiencing racism since fifth grade, I’ve realized that it will affect you more than anybody else, holding on to that.”
Having a platform that connects with young people feels full circle to Warman. He says his social media presence is rooted in providing an example for queer youth because as much as he is part of the future, so are they.
“Every single video that I make, I think about providing that video to my kids and showcasing what it’s like to live a positive life despite the world around us,” he says. “I just hope that another young Black kid from the Midwest can see my story and have it a little bit easier than I did.”
That’s where the party of the summer comes in. After talking with his hairstylist, Warman dreamed up this event as a space for queer POC in Chicago to drink, dance and have a good time — and maybe even make a new friend or two. He documented the entire process on his social media, up to the day of the event on June 6 and beyond.
“I want other people to know that as much as having a platform helps with this, anybody can do this and anybody can gather people together,” Warman says. “That’s what I’m relying on. I’m relying on the vibes. I’m not relying on the venue or the drinks or the food. As long as the people are there, bringing the vibes, that’s what matters.”
The event was largely community funded, with people across the U.S. donating to make it possible. Warman says that he was honestly glad to see a lack of corporate support. With Pride events losing funding from companies that are in it for the wrong reasons, he’s seen how that kind of support is inconsistent.
“I got this idea of let’s hold a space for queer people of color, completely for us by us,” Warman says. “Let’s prove to people that we can have the funnest space without any of that.”
It was especially impactful to see the older queer generation recognize the importance of the event and contribute, Warman said in an email after the event. QPOC Chicago had a turnout of almost 200 people, and he said it felt like a historic moment.
“I talked to a few people after the event, and we came to the conclusion that a good word to describe the event was non-exclusive,” Warman wrote. “It was one of the first times I think many people felt they could fully be themselves. Anyone who showed up alone was immediately greeted and introduced to dozens of new friends, which is exactly what I wanted.”
Warman’s social media presence is centered around highlighting small positive moments. By hosting spaces like the queer POC event, he’s hoping to create a moment of celebration.
“You can repress the media coverage of queer people, but we are always going to be here,” he says. “This event is an opportunity for us to show that, f*ck it, not only are we going to be here, but we’re going to have fun in the midst of all this. We’re going to create community in the midst of all this. We’re going to be joyful in the midst of all this because that’s what we’ve always done.”
Warman wants people to walk away from the event with “a spark lit inside of them” to pass on the uplifting energy. He says witnessing community in action makes him not afraid of the future.
“Especially with Trump in office, that community is what’s lacking most in our generation, in my opinion,” Warman says. “Real spaces for people to connect in person. That’s what we need, and hopefully I can create something like that.” ♦
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