BLM x LGBTQ+

The Intersection between Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ Rights

It’s July 13th, 2013. A jury has been deliberating for 16 hours over a unique case in Sanford, Florida, in which an unarmed Black teenager was shot to death. Finally, the jury announces the acquittal of the child’s perpetrator. The nation is torn, with some people siding with Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” laws, and some people understanding that this is the sad reality for Black people. This is the story of Trayvon Martin, which sparked the beginnings of #BlackLivesMatter.

Systems of oppression work against any group that may be considered a “minority” or “outlier”. Similar to the Black community, the LGBTQ+ community is another group that has been unfairly targeted and oppressed. To reveal how discriminatory the climate was in the late 1900’s, the ”diagnosis of homosexuality” was removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistic Manual in 1973- which was not that long ago (North, 2015).

To provide a brief timeline of LGBTQ+ movements, in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Gay Liberation movement emerged, with the goal of increasing legal rights for all LGBTQ+ people. In June 1969, the Stonewall Riots occurred, where police raided a bar that was popular among NYC’s LGBTQ+ community. Members of the LGBTQ+ community were singled out and harassed, leading to them rioting against authorities (Franke-Ruta, 2019.) The Stonewall Riots are regarded as history’s first major protest on behalf of equal rights for LGBTQ+ people.

The world witnessed more waves of protests among the LGBTQ+ community, specifically regarding Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, marriage equality in the 2000’s, the need for acknowledgment of hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and rights for the transgender community.

Demanding basic human rights is something that no one should have to do, but unfortunately that’s the reality for Black people and the LGBTQ+ community. Both groups are subject to harassment, discrimination, prejudice, and violence. Furthermore, having support for Black Lives Matter or LGBTQ+ Rights has been unnecessarily politicized, when they are just groups seeking equality and justice. Also, it is important to note that these communities are not exclusive to one another and, unfortunately, the level of oppression may heighten when these two identities collide.

Holding multiple marginalized identities can have a “compounding” effect when it comes to experiences of discrimination, rejection, threats, and violence (Dole, 2020). Furthermore, while Black LGBTQ+ youth have similar rates of mental health disparities compared to all LGBTQ+ youth, they are significantly less likely to receive professional care. Economic insecurity, violence and harassment, HIV and health inequity, and criminal injustice are just a few issues that burden the Black LGBTQ+ community at unbelievable rates (HRC, 2020). As a result, hashtags like #AllBlackLivesMatter have come to life, acknowledging both the unique intersectionality that exists, as well as the support needed for Black LGBTQ+ people.

While there is a lot of work that needs to be done, check out this list of resources compiled by the Human Rights Campaign that aim to support our Black LGBTQ+ community!

https://www.hrc.org/resources/being-african-american-lgbtq-an-introduction

References 

Drescher J. (2015). Out of DSM: Depathologizing Homosexuality. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 5(4), 565–575. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs5040565

Franke-Ruta, G. (2019, June 18). An Amazing 1969 Account of the Stonewall Uprising. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/01/an-amazing-1969-account-of-the-stonewall-uprising/272467/

Dole, T. (2020, June 04). Supporting Black LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. Retrieved from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/01/supporting-black-lgbtq-youth-mental-health/