To address the issue of homophobia in the black community, it would be remiss of me to act like there isn’t still discrimination against LGBT people in the United States, today. Just this past month, President Donald Trump and his administration reversed transgender health protections in health care and health insurance. Under the new rules as outlined by the administration, a transgender person could legally be refused care. However, that isn’t even the only thing that the Trump administration has done to enable discrimination against the LGBT community. Also, June 12th also marked the fourth anniversary of the Pulse shooting, in which 49 people were shot and killed at Pulse, a gay bar, in Orlando, Florida.
It is also important to note that right now, we are seeing black people gunned down by the police for no other reason than the color of their skin. In honor of them, my prayers and thoughts are with George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and any other person whose life has unjustly been taken, due to systematic racism in the United States. However, I can not help but notice that in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, the lives of both black women and members of the black LGBTQ community have not been mentioned enough in the news. So, I would also like to pay tribute to Tony McDade, a black a 38-year-old, transgender, African American man who was killed by the Tallahassee Police Department, last May. Along with this, I would also like to pay tribute to two black trans women who recently passed away, Riah Milton and Dominique “Rem’mie”Fells. That being said, here’s how to support black LGBTQ+ people this month.
- Social Media
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A main source of problems is that too often when black LGBTQ+ people are targeted, their stories don’t get as much traction on the news. By sharing their stories, we remind the world that these people matter regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. We need a movement of love and education to fight for what’s right for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Unfortunately, I feel like the black community has not fought hard enough for women and the LGBT community. So, I ask that we share their stories, that we keep their memories alive. You can do this by sharing their stories on social media. By making sure that they’re not forgotten, we can spread awareness of these crimes even if they’re not covered in the news cycle.
- Sign Petitions
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Sign petitions advocating for gay rights. Queer activism goes hand in hand with black activism. So, we need to raise awareness virtually by signing petitions making our cause and our intentions known. We need to make it clear that their stories need and should be heard. So, sign some of these petitions to bring justice.
Justice for Tony McDade: https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-tony-mcdade
Justice for Dominique Fells: https://www.change.org/p/philadelphia-police-department-justice-for-dominique-fells
Justice for Riah Milton, Woman Murdered in Liberty Township, Ohio: https://www.change.org/p/liberty-townships-board-of-trustees-justice-for-riah-milton-womanmurdered-in-liberty-township-ohio?source_location=petitions_browse
Protect Black Trans Women: https://www.change.org/p/human-rights-campaign-protect-black-trans-women
- Donate
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Donate to funds that support Black LGBT Youth. They need your support. I can say that I have witnessed how homophobia in the black community can break apart families, abandon kids, and cause trauma to young children in the community. Please, anything you can give, can make a difference.
Here are some places where you can donate:
Center for Black Equity: https://centerforblackequity.org/
The Trevor Project: https://give.thetrevorproject.org/give/63307/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=pride2020&c_src2=headerdonatebutton
Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/about
Transgender Law Center: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Solutions Not Punishment Collective (SNaPCo): https://www.snap4freedom.org/
- Educate Yourself
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This one is most important to me, and I cannot stress this enough, but use this time to educate yourself. To be able to bring one another up, we must be able to open ourselves up to learning about it. Equality cannot be achieved without intersectionality. Our life has a lot of facets to it, however, our experiences are deeply impacted by the differences we have. I would love to share with you some resources to educate yourself on the LGBTQ+ Community.
The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/01/supporting-black-lgbtq-youth-mental-health/
Action Network: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/mourning-fighting-for-black-lives-in-the-lgbt-movement
Black Youth Project: https://www.byp100.org/
Human Rights Campaign: https://www.hrc.org/resources/being-african-american-lgbtq-an-introduction