About Us
Founded in 2017, Alphabet Alliance of Color (AAoC) is an organizing alliance of queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and people of color (QTBIPOC) in the Puget Sound region working on every level of change, from individual to institutional. AAoC was born from our struggle for dignity and self-determination within white, cisgender, and heterosexual-led nonprofits. Our purpose is to build and nourish the interconnected network of alliance members who challenge and tear down the systems that cause or recreate harm to the community. We will know we are successful when these harmful systems have been replaced with transformative justice models based in reciprocity, non-hierarchical leadership, shared power, and mutual aid.
What We Value
Care
We extend love and attention toward ourselves and each other through rest. With access as our starting point, we move together toward spaces that hold our bodies, minds, and spirits in all of their fullness and complexity.
Joy
We center joy and pleasure. Our communities have flourished in the artistic expression of our peoples, we fill ourselves with the food, music, dance, and visual art that express our vibrance. We revel in celebration with each other and in our joined laughter.
Transformation
We believe in the inherent and ongoing transformation of ourselves, our communities, and the world around us. We know that we must constantly engage in self-analysis and reflection to move toward development and that we are not attached to existing in this form but rather to a wider transformation of our conditions.
Collective Power
Relationships are central to our work. We gain strength from our ancestors, from the elements, and from our connections to each other for ourselves and for our movements.
Integrity
We are in alignment with our values and act from that center in all that we do. We do not conform.
Inherent Worth
We recognize and value the inherent worth of our people and we express that through plentiful compensation, grounded appreciation.
Mission
To strengthen interconnectedness through skill sharing, leadership development, and power building by and for our communities.
Who We’re For
Alphabet Alliance of Color (AAoC) is an organizing alliance of all our letters: two spirit, black, brown, disabled, femme, gender non-conforming, indigenous, pasifika, queer, trans, people of color who are healers, caretakers, dreamers, organizers, and community leaders. We center people like you who share our identities, and we serve our intersectional community — meaning ourselves, our intersectional community, and all of our letters above who are experiencing racism, violence, transphobia, ableism, and economic violence.
Art: Felix Kim Trần
Art: Eileen Jimenez
Who We Are
We are storytellers, creatives, organizers, lovers, visionaries, artists, sci-fi dreamers, and doers. We do this by way of multi-layered approaches, gathering together, community capacity building, organizing, and healing, and collecting and archiving stories of survival and resistance.
Where We Are
We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this area, the Coast Salish people, including the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Nisqually, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Tulalip. Since time immemorial, they have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water. We will strive to be honest about our past mistakes and bring about a future that includes their people, stories, and voices to form a more just and equitable society.
Art: afab
Art: Avery Osajima
Our Programs
Our programs center the needs, interests and passions of queer and trans, Black and brown folks in Seattle King County. We work with local creatives, healers, activists, organizers, leaders, and other community members to offer a range of programs that work in tandem with our Alliance Members offerings and services. Our programs are only for queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. We hold this boundary to ensure that the most marginalized of our communities can feel safe showing up as our authentic selves.
Our Fiscal Sponsor
We are proud to be fiscally sponsored by Rooted in Vibrant Communities (RVC), who “promotes social justice by cultivating leaders of color, strengthening organizations led by communities of color, and fostering collaboration between diverse communities.”
Our Funders
AAoC wishes to bridge the gap between donors and grassroots movements for QTBIPOC liberation in the Puget Sound region. We work with donors like the Seattle Foundation and the Pride Foundation to receive unrestricted funds that make our programming sustainable, accessible, and engaging. We rely almost entirely on funds from large foundations, but encourage those who have economic and other privileges to donate to support our work and communities. We are also open to in-kind donations, especially gift cards (for food or transportation) and high-quality PPE.