Our Black Gay Diaspora Podcast

Dakarai Larriett is an Alabama U.S. Senate candidate and the founder of Gerrard Larriett Aromatherapy Pet. With over 20 years of experience in team management across diverse industries, Larriett is the son of a U.S. Army veteran, a successful entrepreneur, and a longtime community volunteer. He is the author of DON’T FLUSH!: From a False Arrest to a Political Awakening: My Journey to Making a Difference (2025). It recounts the night in April 2024, when he was wrongfully arrested in Michigan for suspected DUI.

Bennu Byrd is an American hip-hop artist and songwriter whose signature Millennial Soul sound innovates hip-hop by fusing it with electronic dance music and Go-Go style instrumentation. Known for its high-energy, percussion-heavy sound and call-and-response elements, Go-Go is a funk-based music genre that originated in Washington, D.C. Byrd's song Fearless was the 2023 official anthem for the Washington Mystics basketball team. 2025's All In was the anthem for the Las Vegas Aces basketball team.

David Roussève is an American choreographer, writer, director, and filmmaker. His most recent work is titled Becoming Daddy AF, his first solo project in over 20 years. With a career spanning over four decades, Roussève has written, directed, and choreographed 14 full evening works for David Roussève/REALITY. These include three commissions for the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Halfway to Dawn. Halfway to Dawn explores the life and music of Black gay jazz composer Billy Strayhorn. Roussève's commissions for other companies include Ballet Hispanico, Dancing Wheels, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theater, and the Atlanta Ballet.

Eric Gyamfi is a Ghanaian photographer whose exhibitions have been shown in Ghana, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, the United States, and other locations. Gyamfi’s work has been featured in A Diagnosis of Time: Unlearn What You Have Learned, a collaborative effort of Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (Ghana), ARoS Art Museum (Denmark), and in Ecologies and Politics of the Living in Vienna, Austria.

Benjamin Coy is an American digital creator and media personality. I met Benjamin during a 2025 family visit to Maryland. And I can attest that their on-camera vivaciousness goes beyond the screen. Benjamin is also the co-host of the Cocktails & Culture Podcast. They are a Black queer creative who uses their talents, personality, and interests to celebrate and uplift the community.

Lloyd Young is an independent sexual violence advocate and the founder of BlackExperienceUK, a British organisation that is “a community of Black gay, trans men, bisexual men or questioning, creating safe spaces and networking opportunities for members.”

Keith Jarrett is a British poet, author, performer, and educator. He is the author of the poetry collection Selah, the play Safest Spot in Town, and the poetry pamphlet I Speak Home. Keith is a UK Poetry Slam Champion and FLUPP International Poetry Slam Winner. His work explores themes of identity, race, religion, and sexuality. Keith was also one of those featured in the Topher Campbell documentary, Moments That Shaped Queer Black Britain.

Episode 122's Dr. Martin Patrick, a British author, playwright, and educator, returns with 20 questions to interview Our Black Gay Diaspora Podcast's Erick Taylor Woodby. Among those listed as the National Black Justice Collective’s “2025 Cohort of 100 Black LGBTQ+/SGL Emerging Leaders to Watch,” Woodby is a Los Angeles-based American writer and podcast producer committed to building bridges across borders.

Emil Wilbekin is an award-winning American journalist, media executive, curator, and professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. He's also the founder of NATIVE SON, “a movement, community, and platform of Black gay/queer men who inspire, empower, and celebrate each other.” Emil is the former editor-in-chief of Vibe and Giant and editor-at-large at Essence. While at Vibe, he helped to elevate the careers of music artists like Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, and Aaliyah.