Men of Melanin Magic
Creating Event Spaces for Queer People of Color in the Boston Area
By Lawrence “El Train” Evans
Is Boston the new event hot spot for People of Color? It will be if Men of Melanin Magic has anything to do with it! Men of Melanin Magic is the brainchild of Roneil Smith and Co-CEOs; Steven Hantone and Lambert Rahming. Founded in 2016, Men of Melanin Magic was created to fill the void of event services geared toward queer people of color in the Boston area. I had the opportunity to sit down with the ever so handsome Roneil Smith as he gave me the history, current events and growth prospects of the company and there is a lot in store.
Men of Melanin Magic was certainly a group effort in its infancy stage. Back in 2016 Roneil recalls working with Lambert Rahming and Steven Hantone to get things going. “They collaborated together with others in the area and it was a meeting of the minds. We realized that we didn’t have a space that caters to queer people of color. There were only a handful of clubs for queer people and we didn’t have anything that necessarily catered to us.”
Understanding that Boston is not a city known for its inclusivity, I had to find out how they broke into the market and if they were well received. “Initially, we started doing bar takeovers in the Boston area. We wanted to create a safe space for ourselves to meet up. That’s where the name derived from. We thought it would be a good way to incapsulate everything that we stood for; pride in our community, pride in ourselves and pride in what we wanted to do.”
“The bar takeovers, were typically hosted in lounges and bars that catered to mainly a straight crowd. We asked them if they would mind if we brought a mass of people in and for, the most part, we were welcomed and people wanted us there. Some places, we may not have gotten responses from or they didn’t respond as well, but for the most part they were on the up and up. If we ever changed a location or space it was because of the layout or the space versus the event. It was usually just for our needs and that specific community.”
He continues to talk about whether Boston could be a destination spot. “You look at bigger cities like New York and LA, obviously Atlanta and DC; a smaller city but still feels big in that queer nightlife situation and they are thriving. But yes, it is our goal to put Boston on the map for a place that you want to go to party and have a good time. It can be tough when you are competing with 4am night calls from other larger cities when we have a 2 am night call, but I think we are able to still attract most since we offer so much.”
The team has found success in their agility. “During the pandemic we had to make some changes and pull back on in-person events so we focused on Zoom panels to host monthly tea discussions on topics ranging from body image to mental health, etc… We used to do them in person at a lounge or someone’s home, then we switched over to Zoom meetings to keep the interaction and the upward trajectory.”
As we enter into a “Post Pandemic” era, the team is ramping up the community events and excited to be back in person eventually because of those bonds that you can create in person. When compared to other promotional companies, Roneil explains that Men of Melanin Magic seems to take a more holistic approach to their events.” “It’s not just about the nightlife, it’s about the events and highlighting a diverse offering that a lot of different people can take advantage of. We are not a monolith and our interests are vastly different which is a challenge, but we should always try to meet as many people and see where that takes us.”
Speaking of going in different directions, Men of Melanin Magic have also teamed up with the Multicultural AIDS Coalition of Boston. In this teaming up, they are working on getting out free HIV tests to the community. “It has been very successful. We can deliver the kits to homes as well as have locations for people to pick them up, but the response has been very strong.”
With such a diverse offering of events, I had to know what was one of Roneil’s favorite events and Frolic stood out for him. “I came on board to Frolic in 2021. It was my first time producing something that large from beginning to end and see it come to fruition. You can always imagine but when you see people’s joy and they are having a good time, you can’t help but feel good. We took this group picture at the end and I was so emotional. I had never seen so much joy in one place with so many people that look like me and feel like me. I was really choked up and it puts it into perspective to see that when you put the effort in, people will enjoy it and appreciate it.”
“We are also planning for pride in Boston and continue to create more space for our community at Pride. We are also expanding outside of Boston. One of our team members lives in Atlanta and we have executed two events so far and planning to build on that. Right now, we are open to expanding outside of those two areas where there is a need…but in the later future.”
In the meantime, Men of Melanin Magic is going strong and creating spaces for Queer People of Color in the Boston Area and Atlanta. As one would expect, they have a great online presence with a comprehensive website (@MenOfMelaninMagic.Com) that outlines all of their events from Bussdown Fridays to the epic Frolic Weekend in Provincetown (@PTowntourism.com). You can also follow them on Twitter (@MenMelaninMagic) to keep up with any upcoming events. While you’re making your summer, and fall, travel plans, be sure not to rule out Boston as you may come across your new hangout destination!
