ABOUT US

OUR MISSION

NATIVE SON harnesses the collective power of Black gay/queer men with the goal of ensuring that our voices, visibility, and lived experiences are elevated in all of the communities in which we exist and never again disregarded.

OUR VISION

NATIVE SON embodies a global platform that illuminates Black gay/queer men and assures them of their worthiness and purpose in all communities in which they exist.

OUR NARRATIVE

NATIVE SON is an intergenerational movement, community and platform created four years ago to inspire and empower Black gay/queer men. There is no other organization globally that supports this community with the emphasis on wellness, empowerment, and amplification. We are Black gay/queer men who are leaders, mavericks, and the best at what we do.

OUR REACH

NATIVE SON has grown organically over the last four years based on satisfying a need in the Black gay community. We have seen significant growth in 2020 during Covid-19 and the racial equity protest by serving the community with relevant content and virtual convenings. Social media is our biggest connection with our community and audience.
Instagram: 31,000
Facebook: 6,284
Twitter: 2,318
Total reach: 38,602

 

OUR FOUNDER 

 

Emil Wilbekin is the Founder of Native Son, a platform created to inspire and empower Black Gay Men.

He has appeared On-Air discussing pop culture, fashion/style, entertainment and current affairs on The Today Show, NBC Channel 4 News New York, E! VH-1, MTV, BET, CNN, The Insider, Arise 360, Revolt, and PBS. Wilbekin has an expertise in editorial creation, content curation and multimedia story telling (print, digital, social, video and live events) having served as Chief Content Officer at Afropunk, Editor-at-Large at Essence, Managing Editor of Essence.com, Editor-in-Chief of Giant and Giantmag.com, Style Guru at Complex Media, VP of Brand Development at Marc Eckō Enterprises, Editorial Director/Vice President of Vibe Ventures and Editor-in-Chief of Vibe Magazine. Under Wilbekin’s leadership, Vibe won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002.

Wilbekin holds a B.S. in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University, and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. He resides in New York City. Social Handles: @emilwilbekin on Twitter and IG.