MashUp Announces Release of Visionary Impact Report and Multi-Part Essay Series Centering Black Queer Spirituality and Health Equity
- Sinclair
- Jul 21
- 2 min read
MashUp, a leading advocacy and community organization centering Black queer liberation, has officially published its highly anticipated Theory of Change & Impact Report, titled MASHUP: Bringing every piece home. The comprehensive report outlines a data-driven, community-led blueprint for holistic healing, structural safety, and identity-integrated health equity in the American South.
Coinciding with the digital release of the report, a foundational community reflection has been published via Substack detailing the profound impact of MashUp's spiritual healing initiatives. Titled “What We Poured Into the Earth,” the piece serves as a creative, living archive of Midnight Service—an extraordinary, interactive ritual produced by MashUp under The Wholiness Project.
Midnight Service brought community members together to encourage the reimagining of Christianity’s most sacred and familiar stories through a Black queer lens. Grounded in the cultural practice of pouring libations, storytelling, and poetry, the immersive seven-act experience invited attendees to encounter narratives of the crucifixion not as vehicles of punishment or shame, but as an on-ramp to collective healing, memory, grief, and liberation.
"Telling the story of our community requires an understanding of the nuances and lived experiences of Black queer folks," said Jerry Ivery, CEO of MashUp. "The Wholiness Project proves that healing from religious trauma requires restoring the spiritual body and carving out safe spaces that hold that deeply personal, emotional work. When our people are given room to explore belief without judgment, spirituality becomes a tool for resilience rather than harm."
To expand on the questions first poured into the earth at Midnight Service, the organization is rolling out Libation, a dedicated multi-part essay series exploring the sacred work of relationship across generations. The series is structured around three core themes:
Remembering: An exploration of ancestry, memory, family history, and the inherited stories that make our becoming possible.
Belonging: A reflection on chosen family, friendship, community care, and the sacred work of embodying love so that all may belong.
Becoming: A meditation on legacy, purpose, end-of-life planning, and what it means to live with intentionality.
The broader Impact Report seamlessly bridges these spiritual narratives with structural public health data across MashUp's other core pillars, including the Mindful MashUp Transformation Program (MMTP), which provides free, trauma-informed behavioral health services; Timeless Jewels, which combats isolation among Black queer elders aged 50+; and the EJR Leadership Institute. Notable milestones highlighted in the report include the historic MashUp Weekend, which engaged over 800 attendees and raised more than $22,000 to directly fund and enhance Black queer lives in the region.
The complete Theory of Change & Impact Report and links to the Libation essay series are now available to the public and can be viewed on the organization's website at www.mashupnation.org.
