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This Black History Month, we are honouring the historical and contemporary fight for Black queer liberation. This includes sharing the stories of Black-led LGBTQI+ organizations that are on the frontlines of freedom. Today, we are featuring Rise Initiative for Women’s Right Advocacy (RiWA) South Sudan, an organization promoting and protecting the health, economic, political and social rights of women and other marginalized groups in South Sudan.
The legacy of colonization continues to shape life in South Sudan, where imposed borders and decades of political instability have deepened inequality and normalized violence for those pushed to the margins of society. Since 2024, Rainbow Railroad has received more than 250 requests for help from individuals in South Sudan. Individuals who self-reported with the status of “asylum seeker” accounted for 34.60% of requests for help, followed by registered refugees at 31.18%, and “no legal status” with 25.10%.
Of the individuals who reported on their health and welfare concerns, 100% had concerns about their lack of basic needs. Of the individuals who reported on their safety concerns, 100% had concerns about community rejection.
Inherited Systems of Violence and Exclusion
In South Sudan, LGBTQI+ rights are severely restricted. Currently, same-sex intimacy is criminalized, with punishments of up to fourteen years in prison. The gender expression of trans people is also criminalized.
The law criminalizing same-sex intimacy has remained in place since the British colonial period, when British law was enforced in Sudan. South Sudan retained this policy after gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.
In this context, frontline organizations working in South Sudan are doing more than delivering services; they are actively resisting the long shadows of colonial harm by centering community-led care and advocacy. RiWA South Sudan is one of these organizations, striving to increase access to critical health services, social supports, and economic empowerment initiatives for those experiencing multiple levels of marginalization.
Community-Led Care on the Frontlines
Asan Juma, human rights defender, activist and Executive Director of RiWA, shares the following: “RiWA confronts the legacy of colonization by promoting community-led advocacy that prioritizes local knowledge, lived experiences, and culturally relevant solutions rather than externally imposed approaches.”
In September 2025, RiWA received funding through Rainbow Railroad’s Grassroots Mobilization Fund, a partnership model that invests in the long-term capacity of grassroots LGBTQI+ movements to create change.
Through the funding they received from Rainbow Railroad, RiWA will continue to provide critical frontline support to local LGBTQI+ community members, including psychosocial and mental health services, emergency relief items, and rights awareness and legal empowerment workshops. This project will support 170 individuals in South Sudan.
Reimagining Support Through a Decolonial Lens
For the organization, when providing support to Black queer and trans communities, it is vital to reimagine systems of support through a decolonial perspective. Juma describes what this means in practice:
“It requires shifting power to affected communities by ensuring they are involved in decision-making, program design, and service delivery, allowing them to shape solutions that directly respond to their needs. It means creating safe, inclusive, and confidential protection pathways that recognize the increased risks faced by Black, queer, and trans refugees, including family rejection, violence in camps, and discrimination from service providers.”
In addition to providing essential services, they also ensure that there is space for healing and joy, which are powerful acts of resistance.
“Through sports, especially women’s football, we create opportunities for joy, teamwork, self-expression, and confidence building. Sports allow community members to reclaim their bodies, celebrate their identities, and challenge harmful gender norms,” she explains. “RiWA organizes community dialogues, storytelling sessions, and creative expression activities such as art, music, and cultural engagement, which allow individuals to celebrate their identities while preserving cultural pride.”
Carrying Forward a Legacy of Resistance
The work can be challenging, but Juma is sustained personally by deep investment in the work, as she shares: “Seeing small but meaningful changes, whether in someone’s confidence, safety, or access to justice, fuels my belief that progress is possible even in harsh environments.” She also finds inspiration in the work of queer African activists including Stella Nyanzi, Frank Mugisha, and Richard Lusimbo.
Although Black History Month is often focused on the past, resistance is ongoing. Juma also sees the connection and ongoing legacy of historic Black liberation movements: “Past movements highlighted the importance of intersectionality, recognizing that people experience oppression differently based on race, gender, class, and sexuality,” Juma shares. “This framework helps shape current advocacy efforts to ensure LGBTQI+ refugees are protected from multiple and layered forms of discrimination.”
By supporting LGBTQI+ people to survive, organize, and lead, the work of RiWA South Sudan challenges inherited systems of exclusion and helps build pathways toward dignity, self-determination, and lasting justice.