Qommittee’s First Anniversary! (Qo-Founders Day)
Published on Qo-Founders Day - May 29, 2025
Hi everyone - this is Hysteria Brooks, and I'm writing to you as both a former Club Q performer and Qo-Founder of Qommittee. I'm into classical high drag - I love the high hair, the updos, the rhinestones and the costumes. I also love Qommittee and am excited to share that today marks our very first anniversary. We call it "Qo-Founders Day."
Who We Are - The Qo-Founders
Almost exactly one year ago, 10 drag artists came together with a shared determination: we'd had enough. We were impacted by mass shootings at Club Q and Pulse Nightclub, artists who'd faced church firebombings in Ohio, a performer targeted by a power grid attack.
But instead of staying silent or scared, we decided to organize. We signed a call to action declaring "Drag is joy, but it's under attack" and gave ourselves one year to see if we could build something real - without wealth, without backing, without budget - just our tenacity, charisma, and volunteer power.
That's how Qommittee was born. Click here to learn more about our Qo-Founders and our origin story on Advocate.com.
What We've Built Together This Year
Since launching on May 29, 2024, we've created something powerful:
We launched with major media coverage in CNN, TIME Magazine, and the Associated Press, amplifying the voices of drag artists who refuse to be silenced. We led several campaigns demanding a response to anti-LGBTQ+ threats during Pride events and that the Kennedy Center drop its ban on drag and free expression. The mainstream media actually listened to us!
When performers faced bomb threats from Alaska to New York, we provided direct support, reaching over 30 performers under direct threat, and helped transform a shooting threat in Steamboat Springs into "A Night of Drag Delight and Defiance" - their biggest community celebration ever.
We've doubled our committed performer members to 24 across 13 states and launched our Peer Support Qollective to provide rapid response during Pride season. We released our Pride Month 2025 First Amendment Rights Guide following federal court victories affirming drag as protected speech.
Most importantly, we've built a national network of supporters like YOU.
One year ago, we gave ourselves 12 months to prove that a national network of drag performers was both viable and necessary. We've done both. Now we're moving from proving viability to building sustainability.
Our Gift to the Community: The Drag Defense Handbook
Today we're releasing our Drag Defense Handbook - a comprehensive guide compiling year one lessons on crisis response, digital security, legal protections, and community organizing strategies. This resource includes:
Know Your Rights information from recent court victories
Step-by-step guidance for responding to restrictions
Community organizing strategies that work
Legal precedents performers can cite to protect their shows
Whether you're a drag artist, an ally, or someone who believes in free expression, your voice matters in getting this resource to performers who need it most.
Why This Matters Now
With Pride Month approaching, drag is going to be performed in places where queer people have no safe spaces. With the new administration already targeting drag and free expression and threats escalating nationwide, artists need these tools more than ever.
Support Our Work
Your support helps us continue creating tools that help drag performers protect their rights and fight back against hate.
Get ready to make some noise, everyone. Today we show the power of organized community standing together for free expression and drag artists' rights.
With pride and determination,
Hysteria Brooks
Qo-Founder of Qommittee
Need immediate support? If you are facing threats or restrictions, contact us immediately at dragisjoy@qommittee.org.
Follow Qommittee:
Qommittee is a national network of drag artists and allies working to stop hate, defend free expression, and help performers thrive.
