The Bridge Called Our Backs: 2026 Annual Black Sex Worker Conference Schedule
FRIDAY APRIL 24
COFFEE AND CHECK IN
3 – 5 PM
Information session, followed by founder and E.D. Akynos opens up with a keynote speech on the theme. Followed by pre-recorded sessions of the previous year and open discussions. Learn about becoming a sustainable member. Organizational plans for 2026-2027. Refreshments will be served
PRE RECORDED AUDIO: INDIVISIBLE: UNDERSTANDING EQUITABLE LEGAL SYSTEMS FOR SEX WORKERS
4-5PM
Pre-recorded online (Virtual Session), as part of CSW70 — the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.(Tuesday March 17 2026)-An online side event titled “INDIVISIBLE: Understanding Equitable Legal Systems for Sex Workers & Trans Folks.” It is a global conversation examining how laws, policing, and so-called “morality frameworks” produce violence and exclusion. The discussion also addressed harmful actions and positions taken by some feminist actors and movements against sex workers and trans people.
To challenge the idea that criminalization offers protection, expose systemic injustices affecting sex workers and trans communities, and critically examine how exclusionary feminist approaches contribute to harm—while calling for more accountable, inclusive feminist s
PRE-RECORDED: COMMUNITY DRIVEN ARCHIVES BY JESSICA SALOW FROM ASU
5-6PM
From last year’s conference: Title: Preserving and documenting the history of Black family and community: Black Collections at Arizona State University Library
In this workshop/presentation learn from the archivist of Black Collections at Arizona State University Jessica Salow how she documents and preserves Black life in Arizona. We will discuss preservation techniques, tips and tricks, and where to find resources at no or low cost to preserve your family and community history and legacy. She will also speak to the work she has been doing over the last three and a half years in creating the first institutional archival collection at Arizona State University Library that documents Black life in Arizona.
PRE RECORDED: COMMUNICATING WITH PLATFORMS BY DR. CAROLINA ARE
6-7PM
OPENING KEYNOTE BY AKYNOS
7-8PM
Keynote plus Q&A
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: THE FINAL WHORE: SEX WORKERS IN HORROR by GODXXX
8:30 – 10PM
This talk centers how sex work and Sex Workers are portrayed in horror films. Covering the tropes of the virginal to the jezebel, we center this conversation on how Sex Workers have been portrayed as sacrificial set pieces, to reclaiming their narratives and prevailing all whilst indulging in what some may consider “sinful acts.” This talk will discuss sex work in horror films, actual Sex Workers in horror film, horror films about Sex Workers and emphasize Black Sex Workers in Blaxploitation horror and beyond.
OPENING NIGHT GATHERING AT ASHAWO CAFE
10PM – MIDNIGHT
Music, snacks and drinks OPEN TO ALL
SATURDAY APRIL 24 2026
COFFEE AND CHECK-IN
1 – 3 PM
Check in and information. Sip tea, coffee and have light snacks
VIRTUAL SESSION W/QUEER SEX WORK KENYA
3:30 – 4:30 PM
PRE RECORDED: W/ DR MIREILLE MILLER YOUNG – CONTESTED BODIES BW IN ART & CULTURE
5:45 – 6:45 PM
Our 2025 keynote and long time advisory board member, Dr. Mireille Miller-Young gives an amazing keynote presentation on…
OPEN
7:15 – 8:15 PM
BLACK SW FILM TBA
8:45 – 10 PM
SUNDAY APRIL 26
SUNDAY COFFEE AND CHECK IN W/RAFFLE
1 – 3 PM
VIRTUAL + PRE-RECORDED SESSION W/LIFESA Liwonde Female Sex Workers Alliance
3:15 – 4:30 PM
A session on community-led advocacy and service delivery for sex workers, highlighting practical approaches to improving access to SRHR, addressing stigma and discrimination, and strengthening peer-led systems for protection and empowerment.
ANTI-SEX WORK LEGISLATION IN GERMANY: REALITIES AND RESISTANCE
4:45 – 5:30 PM
Anti-Sex Work Legistlation in Germany: Realities and Resistance. This presentation would look at the last 11 years of Germany’s ProstSchutzG – from a lobbying idea into law and places it within the context of long-term anti-sex work legislative aspirations. It will explores the law’s effects on migrant and bipoc sex workers as well as diverse strategies sex workers have been applying to resist this law.
A TALK BY MARBELITE
6 – 7:30 PM
Marbelite presents his 2023 essay “The Un-Pleasure of Blackness” Which investigates the relationship he has with his body, and how that has affected his relationship to sex(work)
SUNDAY DINNER w/music by FTL Collective
8 – 10 PM
MONDAY APRIL 27
MORNING COFFEE
9 AM – 1 PM
Morning cafe hours with co-working, coffee and waffles
PRE RECORDED: BISMARK & FRIDA
3 – 4:30 PM
This session critically examines how public health systems are often sustained by the resilience of marginalized communities, particularly sex workers, trans people, and LGBTQI+ populations while simultaneously failing to adequately support them. Through a structured and evidence-informed dialogue, Dr. Frida Arrey will explore how legal and policy environments, including criminalization and exclusionary frameworks, shape access to prevention, testing, and treatment. The discussion will interrogate the disconnect between scientific knowledge and lived realities, highlighting persistent barriers to inclusive and accessible healthcare.
VIRTUAL KEYNOTE BY SINNAMON LOVE
5 – 6:15 PM
LIVE/IN PERSON SESSION W/MARIAMA: The Seven Homecomings
6:30 – 7 PM
The Seven Homecomings
You are warmly invited to join us for the Seven Homecomings — a meditation practice developed by Lama Rod Owens, Black Buddhist Minister, Author, Activist, Yoga Instructor, Authorized Lama, Queen…
First introduced in his book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger, this practice offers a profound path of homecoming for times of fear and uncertainty. It weaves traditional Buddhist teaching together with other vital sources of care and support, honoring our diverse cultural, racial, sexual, and radical identities — so that anyone can arrive here fully, as their whole self. “It’s a reminder that liberation is not only possible, but attainable, through dedication and a willingness to reconnect with the deepest truths of our being.” After experiencing the practice with Lama Rod Owens through a series of teachings in 2025, mari.ama has been authorized to share this practice and is especially called to offer it in community — where grounding, care, and
TUESDAY APRIL 28
PRE RECORDED: BISMARK, ERIKA & BEYONCE
1 – 2:30 PM
Airing at our 2025 conference, this presentation will explore the immediate and long-term consequences of the USAID funding freeze, focusing on its effects on HIV/AIDS prevention, harm reduction services, and the overall health and well-being of sex workers and LGBTQI+ individuals in Africa and Ghana. Drawing on case studies and firsthand experiences, we will highlight the urgent need for alternative funding sources, international solidarity, and policy advocacy to mitigate these adverse effects.
PRE RECORDED: STRIPPERS UNITED Survival Strategy: Advocacy & Community Bldg
3 – 4 PM
From our 2025 conference with director Nats Honey from Strippers United. This interactive workshop will provide strategies for navigating the industry while prioritizing Swerker safety, legal rights, and community resilience. Participants will engage in discussions, scenario-based problem-solving, and collective knowledge-sharing.
Race, Extraction, and the Global Economy by Rebecca Kabejja
5:30 – 6:30 PM
A speaker session focusing on the Democratic Republic of Congo. The talk will explore Congo’s cobalt and mineral wealth and its link to global tech and green transitions; how extractive economies rely on the disposability of Black bodies; and the hypocrisy of global systems that depend on Congolese resources while marginalizing its people.
