When I speak with Verniss McFarland III, founder of The Mahogany Project, the excitement is palpable. On February 26, the Houston-based non-profit will celebrate the grand opening of its new physical space, The Mahogany Project Center and, in turn, will become the first Black trans-led organization to open a brick-and-mortar location in the city.…
Four years ago this month, Houstonian Verniss McFarland III saw a personal dream realized—the founding of the Mahogany Project. The fledgling non-profit organization set out with a powerful mission—to bridge the gap between empowerment and education in Black and Brown LGBTQIA+ communities.…
The queer cult classic To Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar opens with Vida Boheme (Patrick Schwayze) and Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes) fixing their hair and makeup to the nines while listening to a house mix of Salt-N-Pepa’s empowering anthem, “I Am The Body Beautiful.”…
Verniss McFarland III is tired of queer Black and Brown stories taking a backseat. For the past year, McFarland has worked to uplift these voices through their work as founder of The Mahogany Project, a Houston-based nonprofit focused on bridging the gap between empowerment and education in Black and Brown LGBTQ communities. McFarland now seeks to bring these narratives to the forefront with the launch of the organization’s new visibility campaign, Dear Somebody: The Voices Once Unheard.…
For queer people, safe spaces are important. For queer people of color, safe spaces are vital. The Mahogany Project, a Houston-grown nonprofit focused on bridging the gap between empowerment and education in black and brown LGBTQIA communities, aims to create such spaces. The project was founded in April 2017 by Verniss McFarland III, an intersex Houstonian who saw the need to engage and unite the trans community and its allies in response to the high rate of violence against black and…
