About Us
BLACK FARM STUDIO HOUSE CO. is a 501(c)(3) organization advocating for health and wellness of Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2+ and gender expansive folx.
Our mission is to support these communities through public programs and resource sharing. Our programs demonstrate the impact of thoughtful ideas, meaningful exchanges, and inclusive black and queer spaces that uplift and strengthen individuals and families.
Our mission is to support these communities through public programs and resource sharing. Our programs demonstrate the impact of thoughtful ideas, meaningful exchanges, and inclusive black and queer spaces that uplift and strengthen individuals and families.
We’ve proritized our programs and initiatives for Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2+ and gender expansive folx since these groups are often the most vulnerable and challenged in many health and service-based industries.
Founded by Racha Tahani Lawler Queen and dana washington-queen, Black Farm Studio House Co. is the materialization of our freedom dream to provide spaces to gather, rest, and receive.
Founded by Racha Tahani Lawler Queen and dana washington-queen, Black Farm Studio House Co. is the materialization of our freedom dream to provide spaces to gather, rest, and receive.
Our Founders
Racha Tahani Lawler Queen is her family's fourth generation to carry on the midwifery tradition. As a licensed and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) of eighteen years, Lawler has supported over 1,400 families in out-of-hospital births. For ten years, she has supported midwifery students as a clinical and academic preceptor. Lawler is a regular speaker and educator for several midwifery schools, including Charles Drew Medical School.
Early in her midwifery practice, Lawler supported midwives in their homebirth practices and birth centers. In 2011, The Community Birth Center opened in South Los Angeles and Mid-City, serving the community for five years. Thereafter, Lawler returned to a homebirth midwifery practice after becoming credentialed as a Traditional Healer (Sangoma) and healthcare provider in South Africa. Now, Lawler combines the Southern midwifery traditions of her family with South African ancestral traditions to elevate and enrich the healthcare that families receive.
The importance of centering Black bodies in reproductive health and midwifery, along with creating access and normalizing birth, remains Lawler’s focus. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, she has established The Black Community Homebirth Subsidy, a subsidized midwifery care program created from the generous donations of past Black homebirth families.
Website: gathergroundedmidwifery.com
Early in her midwifery practice, Lawler supported midwives in their homebirth practices and birth centers. In 2011, The Community Birth Center opened in South Los Angeles and Mid-City, serving the community for five years. Thereafter, Lawler returned to a homebirth midwifery practice after becoming credentialed as a Traditional Healer (Sangoma) and healthcare provider in South Africa. Now, Lawler combines the Southern midwifery traditions of her family with South African ancestral traditions to elevate and enrich the healthcare that families receive.
The importance of centering Black bodies in reproductive health and midwifery, along with creating access and normalizing birth, remains Lawler’s focus. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, she has established The Black Community Homebirth Subsidy, a subsidized midwifery care program created from the generous donations of past Black homebirth families.
Website: gathergroundedmidwifery.com
dana w-queen (they/them) is a lens-based artist and educator with a barber studio. They received a MFA from UC San Diego and and BA from California State University, Long Beach.
Their work has been exhibited and screened throughout North America, including the ICA at Virginia Commonwealth University, Visible Records, Jeffrey Dietch, Art+Practice, Black Radical Imagination Film Tour, BlackStar Film Festival, OUTFEST Fusion Film Festival, and DTLA Film Festival.
Courtesy of the 2022 Artadia Los Angeles x Marciano Art Foundation award, w-queen is pursuing state licensure as a barber at Redefine Barber & Beauty Academy in Richmond, VA.
Their research and barber studio art practice will explore the discursive histories of barbering, barber shop culture in black, trans and queer communities, and musicality in barber performance.
w-queen has plans to open a barber and art studio offering gender inclusive hair care services and community arts opportunities.
Website: danawashington.com
BLACK FARM STUDIO HOUSE CO. advocates for the health and wellness of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA2 communities.
California Mailing Address
506 S Spring St #13308
SMB #10586
Los Angeles, CA 90013
506 S Spring St #13308
SMB #10586
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Virginia Mailing Address
700 E Main St #2487
SMB#33744
Richmond, VA 23219
700 E Main St #2487
SMB#33744
Richmond, VA 23219