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the noirchive //

personal essay by Soe Noire

it’s so bizarre witnessing how fascism affects people in real life. I recall during lockdown, a lotta people (nonblack people, especially…) were cosplaying as Malcom X on their instagram with their cute little BlackLivesMatter and #ProtectBlackWomen reposts and black squares (😒), everybody was leaning into punk (in aesthetics only) and was non-binary DOWN.

Years have past since 2020 (6 to be exact. Ain’t that crazy?) We are still in an ongoing pandemic, the government is still terrorizing Black people, trans people, and other marginalized folks and these people don’t even pretend to give a fuck anymore. They done grown out their mullets, dropped the they/them pronouns, and ran (not walked) back to dating cishet men. Saying slurs and ignoring all the boycotts. Kicking it with abusers and racists. How did y’all go from “punk” to Pilates princess? From cosplaying being queer to being proudly on some Ku Klux Klan shit? It’s a bit embarazzing.

Lots of folks don’t wanna mask no more, they don’t give a fuck about the public health crisis, or the mass genocide against trans people, or Black people, or women, or anything. Head empty, just brain fog from abusing GLP-1s and Sabrina Carpenter lyrics on repeat. Talking in blaccents and drinking Starbucks. Oh brother.

It really was an aesthetic or a vibe for some. But it did feel like the mainstream media was trying to push for better, advocate for better, and there was a SLITHER of potential in the way some of these folks were mobilizing. I personally, am not too nostalgic for that time though. Why would I be when there’s so much beauty and resistance right now in my own world? It’s not everybody that is choosing to live in the Matrix (don’t jump me if that reference doesn’t make sense I am NAWT no sci-fi fan) and there are absolutely people still standing on business. And for that my heart is full. I look in the mirror and I’m happy with the Revolution I’m nurturing around me. Disillusioned by the commodification of pride (not so gentle reminder that pride started as a rebellion against the police, not a damn parade sponsored by banks and nonprofit), I organized my own Pride gathering, focused on radical art making, community care, and feeding people. Mother Nature’s thunderstorm aside, it was a very special night with likeminded masked gays and theys. I think Marsha and Sylvia would be proud. That’s all to say there are still people, Black people, who are not asleep and are still woke as fuck (we gotta reclaim that word by the way. We CANNOT lose that recipe to reactionary conservatives.) There is a world outside THE world, you know? And it’s our job as a collective to nourish it, breathe life into it, so that we may taste the sweetness of liberation in our lifetime. So that when we return to Earth our children’s children can grow with the seeds we have planted. I can see it in my mind, therefore it can happen.

We move.

the noirchive //

I have a show tonight. There’s that familiar feeling in my stomach everytime I put on a show, my ears start getting hot.. gentle reminder to myself that the show will go well, and everybody including me is gon have a good time.

Not a big deal.. it’s not like im playing a hand in reviving my local art scene and building revolutionary ecosystems out of my own imagination..(😅) this show in particular is just a really big deal to me. But I know I can do it. I know it will go well. I know im doing what im supposed to be doing. I’ll try to meditate on it but if my ears don’t stop burning a nigga is just gonna have to do it scared fr.

In other news:

- been going back to my roots and dreaming about mermaids. longing to be in a body of water…

- I love me a big poofy dress bruh. They are so fun to wear (a little hard to perform in but a necessary obstacle)

- just finished reading freshwater by akwaeke emezi. aw man it was real good, I’m gonna have to rate it a full 8 out of 8. reading stories about Nigerian ontology is very healing to my soul.

a lovely date + a lovely sandwich = a lovely day.

you made a fool of death with your beauty non spoiler book review- wow tumblr deleted my whole review thanks😁 (shitty ass fucking app) I cannot type all that again I’m PISSED$:$;&/ but akwaeke emezi the prolific writer you are! Was such a great read. Looking forward to getting my copy of freshwater so I can chronologically read the emezi literary universe kekekeke (I think that’s their first book? Lemme look it up chile)

feeling: excited to create. making art does not need to feel like going to war HAHDHDH releasing myself of perfectionism so I can finish my very black very lesbian short film. it just needs to exist, my first project does not need to have A24 level production (that’s for later 🤭) all I needed was my iPhone camera and a dream. On my Issa Rae shit fr fr.

🌈🧚🏾Fros and Faes 🧚🏾‍♀️🪞

MASKS REQUIRED AND PROVIDED

The third production of Fros and Faes is coming to bloom on June 27, 2026 🌷 This time, in Springfield Massachusetts! 🥹

This show has a special dress code of pink white blue in honor of pride month, so show up in your most whimsical attire🏳️‍⚧️✨

Tickets $8-$30 . As always, if you’d like to pay it forward please DM @frizz.media on IG after getting your ticket! Free RSVP is available at a limited quantity.

AFROMYSTICAL PERFORMANCES BY

JEST DOSEY

PETER PANROMANTIC

SOE NOIRE

See you there! xoxo

EVENT DETAILS

DATE - Saturday, June 27th 2026

6PM-7:30PM EST

1500 Main Street, Suite 260

Umass Amherst Henry M. Thomas III Center @ Towersquare

Or RSVP and attend virtually 💻 Zoom link will be shared the day of the show. English Closed Captioning with be available

Venue is Wheelchair accessible!