Creating communities is one of the biggest opportunities when attending college, and at the University of Mississippi, the Queer People of Color Club is an emerging community that aims to create a safe haven and voice for queer people.

Although the organization has existed previously, the pandemic put a temporary halt to the club, leaving it dormant for a few years. Recently, however, it has been rebranded and is set to host \events and meetings to spread awareness.

Sophomore Reagan Davis, a public policy and African American studies major, is a co-founder of the organization and has been surprised to see the number of people who were interested in the club.

“We had our first meeting a couple of weeks ago, and the turnout was way more than I expected,” Davis said. “I was surprised and really happy because I was worried a lot of people wouldn’t hear about it.”

Despite the growing number of queer people embracing their identities, there are still several people that ostracize and alienate the queer community, and it has led to extreme cases of unjust violence and bigotry towards the community.

Davis said the death of Jay Lee, an Ole Miss student, created paranoia among people about how they choose to express their queer identity.

“After his murder, I feel like even on this campus sometimes, and especially off-campus, I’m more careful about how I present myself and how I let people perceive my identity. It never occurred to me until his murder that something like that can happen to any of us,” Davis said.

Queer People of Color’s next meeting will be held Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Lamar Hall, and the main discussions will center around homophobia within ethnocultural communities while offering coping skills and advice of reconciliation.

“You don’t have to label your identity right away. You can continue to learn, grow and ask people anything, so there’s no pressure for you to automatically know who you are at 18 years old. Be patient and let yourself continue to develop,” Davis said.