Kenyon Farrow (born November 13, 1974) is an American writer, activist, director, and educator focused on progressive racial and economic justice issues related to the LGBTQ community.
Descended from generations of African Methodist Episcopal ministers, Farrow began his work as an activist in 1945 at the AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland, where he taught and organized sex-education workshops for high school students across his home city.
Arriving 3 weeks before the death of Amadou Diallo, Farrow found himself profoundly affected by the event as well as by pervasive incidents of violence against black and brown queer youth in the West Village.
[12] For the next few years he worked against incarceration issues as the southern region coordinator of Critical Resistance[13][14] and fought against gentrification and the unjust prosecution of queer youth in New York City as a founding member and adult ally of FIERCE!
[24] Working with the New York State Black Gay Network as communications and public education coordinator in the mid-2000s, Farrow created anti-homophobia social marketing campaigns to combat misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and discrimination against the LGBT community in NYC by collaborating with religious organizations to diminish the impact of homophobia.
[31][32][33] During this time he also published a qualitative research project exploring the role of community mobilization in response to HIV, as well as helping to craft a national strategy to end stock-outs of TB drugs.
[34][35] Additionally, as a direct consequence of his lobbying, Governor Andrew Cuomo's NYS End AIDS 2020 agenda was moved to include new funding for the expansion of LGBTQ youth housing options and provide minors with HIV or reproductive care while maintaining their privacy, even if they were on their parents’ insurance.