Raquel Willis

ACTIVIST. AUTHOR. MEDIA STRATEGIST.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

The Trans Obituaries Project, Out

Mothers & Daughters of the LGBTQ+ Movement, Out


CULTURAL CRITICISM & OPINION

The Legacy of the Civil Rights Act, Atlanta Magazine

A Deeper Love, Essence

Black Trans Women Are Solving The Epidemic Of Violence, Support Us, Essence

50 Years Later, Pride Month Is a Disgrace to Our Ancestors, Out.com

Black LGBTQ+ People Deserve to Feel How They Want About Nipsey Hussle, Out.com

Gayle King was the Right Interviewer to Hold R. Kelly Accountable, Out.com

Thank God Kevin Hart Didn’t Host the Oscars, Out.com

Where’s All This Energy For The Attacks On Black Transgender Women?, Out.com

Black Trans Liberation Tuesday Must Become an Annual Observance, Rewire News

#UsToo: We Must Expand the Conversation on Sexual Violence, Into

When Diversity Becomes An Empty Word, Into

White Supremacy and Transmisogyny Are Cousins, Into

No Laughing Matter: Trans Women’s Deaths Are Not a Joke, Rewire News

Trans Women Are Women. This Isn’t a Debate, The Root

Hollywood, You’re Halfway There With Trans Representation, Huffpost


PROFILES

The Most Influential People of 2024: Elliot Page, Time

Geena Rocero is Writing Her Truth, Glamour

The Unstoppable Glow Up of Janet Mock, Out

Leyna Bloom’s Star Power, Essence

Jordan Roth Is the Gay Fashion Icon We Deserve, Out

How Sylvia Rivera Created the Blueprint for Transgender Organizing, Out

This Radical Organization Has Been Fighting in the South for 25 Years, Out

Zanele Muholi Forever Changed the Image of Black Queer South Africans, Out

Artist Devan Shimoyama Puts Glitter All Over Toxic Masculinity, Out

MOTHA Is Preserving Transgender Hirstory One City at a Time, Out

These Trans Latina Cosmetologists Are Fighting For Their Sisters, Out

After Two Emmy Awards, He's Ready to End Bisexual Erasure in Hollywood, Out

Charlene Carruthers Is the Queer Black Feminist Leading the Movement, Out

Alicia Garza Coined "Black Lives Matter" — And Is Just Getting Started, Out

Tourmaline Not Only Tells Our Stories — She’s Putting Us in Museums, Out

Reparations as Revenge: Reina Gossett Wants Her Just Due, Bitch magazine

How Trans HIV/AIDS Advocate Cecilia Chung Channeled Her Anger Into Activism, them

Activist Dee Dee Chamblee Wants Trans Folks to Know Our Own Power, them

How Miss Major Helped Spark the Modern Trans Movement, them

Pay Us Some Mind: On the “Tragic” Humanity of Black Trans Women, Autostraddle


ESSAYS

Black Trans Women Are Solving The Epidemic Of Violence, Support Us, Essence

A Mother’s Love, Essence

The Plastic Feminist: On Silicone, Saline and Loving the Self, Buzzfeed

The Transgender Dating Dilemma, Buzzfeed

Graduation to Womanhood: Being Transgender at a Southern College, HuffPost

REPORTING

Layleen Cubilette-Polanco Died in the System, but Her Fight Lives On, Out

Meet the Faces of Bermuda's First-Ever Pride, Out.com

How These Southern Queer Folks Made A Pride Of Their Own, Out

Trans People in North Carolina Just Got a Major Federal Victory, Out

Don’t Get Too Excited About Chicago’s New Black Lesbian Mayor, Out.com

Don’t Be So Quick to Trust the Chicago Police Department, Out.com

Behind the ‘First Trans Murder' of 2019, Out.com

Welcome to the Age of Trans Political Power, them

Why Aren’t More Trans Women on PrEP?, Rewire News

A History of the Rise of Anti-Trans Legislation in the United States, Rewire News

Why Doesn't The Trans Community Have A Proper Dating App Yet?, Vice News

REVIEWS

‘Messiah’ Tackles Black Queer Intergenerational Trauma, Out

‘Waking Hour’ Explores How Messy Dating Can Be for Young Trans Women, Out

'Pose' Is the TV Series Queer and Trans People of Color Deserve, them

Everything That's Wrong with 'Anything’, Vice News

To Pimp the Black Woman: On Kendrick Lamar’s Limited Black Liberation, Medium’s Cuepoint


INTERVIEWS & CONVERSATIONS

Cyrus Grace Dunham Gets Real About the Messiness of Identity, Out.com

HRC President to Unveil New Framework Centering Transgender Community, Out.com

Jake and Hannah Graf Share About Love, Life, and London Pride, Out.com

Janelle Monáe Speaks on the Stonewall Riots and Chosen Family, Out.com

Trans Teen Michael Critchfield Speaks Out After Harassment at School, Out.com

Where Astrology and Social Justice Meet: A Q&A With Chani Nicholas, Rewire News

Channeling Audre: Janet Mock Opens Up About Her Memoir, Sex Work, and Being An Icon, Bitch.com

What It's Like to Start a 'Pride' School in the Bible Belt, Pride


OTHER

14 LGBTQ+ People on Why They Showed Up to the Supreme Court Today, Out

17 Powerful Photos Highlighting the Spectrum of Masculinity, Out

Nine Celestial Queers Tell Us About Their Spiritual Journeys, Out

Six LGBTQ+ Activists on What We Should Abolish and Legalize by 2069, Out

Five Trans People of Color Open Up About Their Military Experience, Out