Black in a Flash Hits A New Fundraising PB At Back to Black 2026
This year’s Back to Black, an annual charity speedrun marathon held by GDQ’s Black in a Flash community, raised a total of $53,232 for Race Forward. The event showcased Black speedrunning talent from all walks of life and highlighted the importance of celebrating Black Joy while raising money for impactful causes.
PT and Bobbeigh showing off Back to Black’s prizes — Photo provided by Black in a Flash
Back to Black 2026 raised a grand total of $53,232 for Race Forward this year, exceeding the previous year’s total by almost $5,000. The community came together to smash incentive after incentive, milestone after milestone, as runners sped through their games in an incredible display of skill, determination, and Black Joy.
We got to see some amazing games and bonus segments during this year’s Back to Black – from metroidvanias to races to rhythm game showcases to high school diaries, from no-hands runs to… no-eyes runs? The roster was stacked to the brim with Black talent and hosts who came to show out what they were best at. In a true showing of unity and support the community and its supporters pooled their energy together to provide amazing, beautifully hand-crafted prizes to incentivize even more support. The hype reached critical levels as all the show came to a close, with donations pouring until the curtains quite literally closed.
Proceeds from this showcase benefited Race Forward, an organization which “works across communities most affected by systemic racism to build collective power for racial equity.” Race Forward helps to dismantle the systems which hinder the development of a society without racial hierarchy, and empowers the voices of people of color.
Bobbeigh (BtB prize team), Cedric (Race Forward), and PT (BaF lead) — Photo provided by Black in a Flash
Racial equity and justice are now more important than ever, which is why events like Back to Black are important in multiple regards. Not only does the charity support during large events create lasting impact and ripple waves across the systems we live within every day, but Black in a Flash (BaF) also constitutes a safe, welcoming space where new and veteran speedrunners alike can learn, thrive, and show their talents in a space where they are often underrepresented and discriminated against.
As BaF organizer and speedrunner Supernamu notes:
“Events like Juneteenth and Back to Black heightens our voices, our runs, and our content. We’re given a chance to be seen.”
I had the chance to run and help with the event, and I can honestly say that I would not have become as involved as I am in speedrunning if it hadn’t been for Black in a Flash. Every day, we are encouraged to do our best, to learn, to grow, to improve, and to be ourselves and show our excellence whether we’re on stage or whether we’re chasing a faster time for personal achievement.
Representation matters, and events like Back to Black are incredibly important in that regard. Seeing yourself being represented in endeavors you’d like to try out but seem inaccessible goes a long way, as Back to Black runner and Black in a Flash member SMLiquid tells his story:
“I was a casual fan of Speedruns for a few years now, but it wasn’t until watching a BaF event last year that I noticed: I don’t know too many black speedrunners. But we love gaming just as much as anyone else. I stream to help with my speech issues and to show off my skills, but seeing others like me in BaF events was inspiring. It was a big personal challenge participating in the event and I owe it to the community for giving me the confidence to do so.”
Black in a Flash’s mascot, Joy, holding a controller
Close-up of Black in a Flash’s mascot, Joy
Black in a Flash has also paved the way for more diversity in speedrunning in general, as PleasantlyTwstd aka PT, BaF lead, explains:
“[events like Back to Black and Juneteenth] highlight and showcase that if you’re a Black speedrunner, there is a home for you and a community awaiting your arrival. It also helps pave the way for OTHER PoC events to get traction and support. Since the inception of BaF formally, we’ve also seen the rise and interest in a LATAM speedrunning group, along with an Asian one. There always has to be someone from some group-any group-who is willing raise hell and say ‘hey, this should exist already, actually’ and push to make that happen. The final note is that it helps enforce the idea that speedrunning is not a community that is going to tolerate racist bigotry. We’re here and you have to deal with it. Sorry, but not.”
Since then, these groups have been thriving, and have created an ecosystem of diversity and mutual support within the GDQ framework, and within speedrunning as a whole – and I don’t doubt that we’ll be seeing many more events from them in the very near future.
PopNoTarts, BaF lead, also highlighted that Black in a Flash’s events, as they encourage newer runners to showcase their talents, give us the opportunity to see events that aren’t usually on GDQ’s main stage, without the runners having to worry about being at the top of the leaderboard.
Back to Black’s impact isn’t localized to the immediate (but very important) contributions to Race Forward, but rather extends through Black in a Flash existing as a space, taking space, and members showing up for themselves and for their community, and continuing to do these things unapologetically so.
To catch up with all the amazing runs from Back to Black 2026, click here!
And if you missed all the action this time around, don’t worry. There are plenty of amazing events in Black in a Flash’s future, including Juneteenth, which we’ll be hearing more news about very soon.
Interested in joining or looking to support Black in a Flash? Click here to check out the official Black in a Flash page over on GDQ!