Two Black lesbian friends, who were on their way to Dallas Pride, suffered stab wounds from a homophobic attack earlier this month and a Black lesbian couple were verbally assaulted on the train in New York.

Seven women of color were killed this weekend at Pulse in Orlando and these are their stories.

It felt important for us to have a voice somewhere, so we’ve gathered a few of the Black queer voices and put them together here. We want to offer this as a place of healing for QTPOC in this time of tragedy.

“Friess reacted to Mannie’s request that white gay men stop referring to themselves as ‘strong black women’ by threatening to withdraw hypothetical support of black women’s political and social issues (none of which he actually names)! That’s not allyship, that’s just another example of a person in power offering abstract and highly conditional support to an oppressed group of people with whom he claims a false and unrequited kinship.”

Gay people, especially lesbians of color like Jene Newsome, continue not asking or telling and being discharged anyways — and sidenote, Rapid City has a significant history of racial discrimination. J. Crew has discriminatory hiring practices, Elton got a death threat, gay men may or may not be able to give blood eventually, New Hampshire is standing for marriage equality, and the Paycheck Fairness may be able to make a difference for working women and their families. Also, Jon Stewart explains it all for you.