I had a chance to chat with Mufasa Ali, the founder of ONYX .
How did you get started in leather?
I’m originally from the NYC area and seemed to always have a fascination with leather gear then connected it to the community. I was in my 20s.
What did you find in the leather community for people of color?
I didn’t find much, but what I did find in Chicago was a group of friends who were men of color who also wanted to explore the leather community. We came together and formed ONYX taking our lead from Brothers in Leather – which had been a club for men of color in NYC and ICON, a Detroit club that was founded by 3 men of color.
I founded ONYX in 1995, Brothers in Leather was around in the early 90s, ICON is still in existence.
How does ONYX fit into the general leather community?
I founded ONYX because there were no specific clubs addressing the specific needs of men of color and providing a bridge to the larger leather community. Needs such as education about men of color in the community and a place to talk about those needs specifically – Such as when flogging a dark skinned man, how to feel for the heat of the skin since you can’t see any redness or How to talk about Master/slave relationships, race play and issues of safety and security as a minority in the community.
How have things changed since then?
We are still a minority but many more men of color have found the community and have been educated. That was and is our goal, also to provide safe space to talk freely.
As a rule, do you find people of color accepted into the general leather community – or do they tend to stay to themselves?
Most are accepted into the general community and some tend to stay to themselves based on their preferences of play partners, area where they reside and racism.
You have a title or two in your background, if I am not mistaken?
Yes, ONYX Leatherman 1997 and Mr. World Leather 2006. I also own the Leatherman of Color contest/title.
What made you run for a title?
I ran to represent the men of color community the first time, and to represent my community service platform of gay adoption the second.
What has been your greatest achievement?
I believe the tradition of ONYX being a bridge to the general leather community. Anyone can be a member of ONYX, we have full members (men of color), full associate members (men of color outside chapter boundaries) and associate members (anyone).
Did you have a mentor?
My mentors were Jill Carter and Vi Johnson, Mr Marcus and Vern Stewart and a number of others in the community who supported my focus.
What was the best piece of advice given to you?
To be who I am and not to explain it away.
What advice would you offer to a person of color beginning to explore the leather community?
I would advise them to seek out those that can guide them and introduce them into the community safely, sanely and consensually (sp), whether it be another person of color or not. They are not the only kinky person out there – Many times I’ve found that people think that they are the only ones, And with the people of color communities being so conservative, it is usually very hard to find out that that other brother in your football pool loves to ff.
We have chapters now based in NYC (ONYX Northeast), ATL (ONYX Southeast), Chicago (ONYX Great Lakes Midwest), and DC (ONYX Mid-Atlantic) and hope to soon have ONYX West. We also talk about spirituality as a major part of the people of color community. Also check them out on Facebook – ONYX the brotherhood
What is the pledging process?
It is much like a fraternity process where there are community service projects and learning leather and ONYX history. We are big on supporting the people of color community through community service projects.
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