Celebrating Black History Month 2025!

Salutations to all intrepid Pathfinders and Starfinders!
As acknowledged in the United States, the month of February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the works of black creators around the globe as well as reflect on and appreciate the strength and courage required to overcome and flourish despite the many adversities in Black American history. As Paizo’s new Community and Social Media manager and a Black member of the tabletop space, I am honored to introduce myself to the Paizo community and am excited to share with you the works of other Black creators at Paizo, further emphasizing this year’s Black History Month theme: African Americans and Labor.

Jaha Opener by José Luis Islas López

Maya Coleman (xe/xem/they/them)

An avid musician and graduate from Oberlin College & Conservatory with a degree in Film Music Composition, Maya has used their skills in organization and weaponized their OCD and OCPD (literally) to flourish in the tabletop industry for nearly ten years. Starting as the sole employee at Goat, Wolf, & Cabbage LLC and managing community for the board game Secret Hitler since its inception, they’ve gone on to manage communities at Skybound Tabletop, have run projects on Kickstarter such as Trogdor!! The Board Game! and Trial by Trolley, and are now the Community and Social Media manager here at Paizo.

When they are not working in the industry, they are most commonly crocheting cute plushies to hide from their loyal service dog, Avalon; playing Overwatch; or watching nearly every movie to ever be released. Their favorite food is curry, and although they won’t give out their recipe, they will happily make a large pot to share.

You can find Maya at the following links:

• Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MayagurumiCo
• net (Mercy Main. Still. Somehow. Yes, they are tired.): britmus309#1905
• Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/britmus309

Mimikyu, crocheted by Maya Coleman

Basil Wright (he/they/xe)

Labor is not a singular effort. We each have our own role to play, and now, more than ever, is it important to find those around us who are willing to put in the labor required to make the world a brighter, stronger, safer place. We can accomplish more when we work together and make connections. If you're not certain who you can connect with, then you may need to do a bit more research or even put out the call yourself.

In the spirit of making connections, one project Basil is immensely thrilled to be a part of is the Griot anthology, "a zine celebrating the brilliant work of black TTRPG game designers." Xe truly cannot wait to reveal what they’ve all been working on. You can find that project here!

You can find xeir own work here!

We’d also like to put a few more of our Black content creators and performers from the Pathfinder and Starfinder community in the spotlight! The shows on this list feature Black hosts, GMs, players, and/or producers, so please give them a listen and support them throughout the year!

• Tablestory—Gatewalkers Actual Play
• Know Direction
• Cosmopunk: A Starfinder Podcast
• Outcast and Outclassed—Pathfinder Actual Play
• Unwavering Force—Pathfinder Actual Play
• 20XX: A Drift Odyssey—Starfinder Actual Play
• The Atomless & SAGA—Starfinder Actual Play

Kalliwae Opener by José Luis Islas López

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and see what some of our Black creators are doing! As the community grows, it’s important to shine light on all the marginalized groups within it, and I’m glad to be among them! If you are a Black content creator in the Pathfinder or Starfinder space, we would love to hear from you and learn about what you do! Send me an email at community@paizo.com and introduce yourselves.

Again, thank you to all of our Black contributors and content creators! And thank you as well to all Black members of our community for making yourselves seen!

Maya Coleman (xe/xem/they/them)
Community and Social Media Specialist