The Black Fae Came Out to Play on the Second Saturday of May

Back in February, Black cosplayers celebrated #28DaysOfBlackCosplay, an annual event created by Chaka Cumberbatch with a simple goal in mind: uplift and celebrate Black cosplayers during Black History Month and, ideally, get folks to showcase us in a positive light and not just when we faced harassment (or when we called them out for their lack of inclusivity, especially if they’re a brand that preaches diversity).

A couple of days into March, a tweet was made by @maximilli_lo to keep the Black excellence going. This time? In the fantasy realm.

@maximilli_lo’s inclusion of Kenji K in the tweet (Kenji is also on Instagram, btw) definitely captures the dreamy feeling they were referring to. Also, speaking from my own personal feelings around that time, I too was still feeling the euphoria of spending an entire month surrounded by Black creativity. It had been a fantastic way to spend February and I wanted more.

So @maximilli_lo came up with a way to provide more.

“I’ve seen other black costumers and influencers who have been flexing their ethereal looks and I’m a fan! We need a day dedicated to this! Orcs, mermaids, faeries, princesses. I need it all ok! So #BlackFaeDay needs to happen y’all. #BlackFaeDay isn’t limited to just people who identify as female. Everyone can join in but do participate in ways that align with the purpose – to uplift and include dark-skinned individuals in the realm of fantasy. Black people have imagined themselves larger than life too.” – @maximilli_lo.

As someone who’s been celebrating #28DaysOfBlackCosplay since the very first one back in 2015, this is EXACTLY what we’d hoped to see happen. We wanted #28DaysOfBlackCosplay to spark inspiration and start conversations about including more Black voices all year round, not just in February. When I spoke to Cumberbatch back in 2019 about the event, she expressed great joy in the fact that she didn’t really have to do anything to get it going anymore – we all knew what February meant in regards to cosplay, and we all went to work to support each other and even called out spaces that only cared when the hashtag was trending and remained silent for the remainder of the year.

“In all honesty, I don’t necessarily feel that there’s much for me to even do with it this year. It’s self-propelling, and I love that. I mean, I was only ever doing this for the culture and for the community. And to me, it seems like that community has etched this in stone, drawn inspiration from it that has been amplified year-round (shoutout to #BlackCosplayerHere!) and is prepared to take it from here—with or without my help. And isn’t that the measure of success for any hashtag?” – Chaka Cumberbatch

I’m delighted to see the same thing happening with #BlackFaeDay which, much like #28DaysOfBlackCosplay, hit much harder than its creator expected this past Saturday.

So now? We’re gonna do this on the second Saturday of May from here on out! Check out the hashtag creator’s look below along with a message about doing this every May:

Since I’m still feeling a delightful buzz from so much melanated fantasy, here’s a bunch of Black creatives to stare in awe at!

• Meet Harpsona, enchantress of your favorite melodies

Social media links

• Meet Fashion Enigma’s Prince An-Noor

Twitter

Instagram

Photographer: InkedCreates on Twitter and Instagram

• Meet BlackBettieCosplay in this Midsummer’s Night Dream

Social media links

• Meet Nyx, Fae Queen of Chaos Magic

Photographer: Dancing Squirrel Photography on Twitter/Instagram

Social media links

• Meet FaatiTheStreet, granter of wishes

Linktr.ee

• Meet the elf mage, Seneca

Photographer: IcyAgePhoto

Twitter

• Meet Stardust Megu’s Ella at her potion shop

Linktr.ee 

• Meet DestinySenpai, a fae in white

Twitter

Podcast

• Meet Page at the swing in the depths of the forest

Twitter

Photographer: Eleksinphotography

• Meet Tansurucosplay, The Autumn King

Twitter

Instagram 

• Meet Imani K. Brown and experience her Afro Kawaii Journey

Twitter

Website

• Meet FiragaFox for a peaceful woodland morning

Linktr.ee

• Meet the majestic, pink antlered Isolde

Twitter

Photographer: Friese Frame Photography on Twitter and Website

• Meet VoicesByDae and their spell-binding voice

Twitter 

• Meet Visenya, wearer of the crown

Twitter

• Meet Kap, the curious forest elf

Linktr.ee

• Meet the pastel goddess, Pasteldotz

Photographer: Maki Shot First

Photographer: little_gomen_

Linktr.ee

• Meet Maki Roll, the Mushroom Mage

Linktr.ee

Photographer: HeadaboveHeart

Extra note: Maki also did a Black Fae Day shoot full of whimsy and wonder:

Models include: Kimono Jones, Chanell, Cherece, Coreelixer & Ade

• Meet Rain Patterson and their fantasy artistry 

Twitter

Website 

• Meet MadamZeti’s Valeria the Butterfly Elf

Social media links

Photographer:  Robchrish

• Meet Tiff S’ Kiara Sage

Twitter 

—

I highly recommend checking out the hashtag, which is still thriving on this very fine Monday. To everyone who participated, thank you for sharing your work, and providing us (and me) with some truly awe-inspiring work.

See everyone at the next meet-up at the healing pools.

(Image: Fashion Enigma, Maki Roll, Pasteldotz, and Tansurucosplay)

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Briana Lawrence

Briana (she/her - bisexual) is trying her best to cosplay as a responsible adult. Her writing tends to focus on the importance of representation, whether it’s through her multiple book series or the pieces she writes. After de-transforming from her magical girl state, she indulges in an ever-growing pile of manga, marathons too much anime, and dedicates an embarrassing amount of time to her Animal Crossing pumpkin patch (it's Halloween forever, deal with it Nook)

twitter Link to www.magnifiquenoir.com