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In this Op-Ed, Maya Henry explores the importance of intersectionality between the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBT+ community. As pride month has drawn to an end, and protests continue on an international scale, it is important to consider the significance of unity. This article argues that the two groups are effectively mutually inclusive, as they share similar icons, have endured similar plights, and share a common goal: equality.
According to the Williams Institute, as of 2016, 12% of the LGBTQ+ community is Black, with another 21% being LatinX, 2% Asian, 1% Native American, and 1% Pacific Islander. That means that in the United States alone, there are more than 3,240,000 Queer People of Color. With QBIPOC (Queer Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) making up more than a third of the American Queer population, it is impossible to fight for Queer rights without simultaneously fighting for the Black community and people of colour. The same applies inversely, as it is impossible to fight for the Black community and POC without fighting for the LGBTQ+ community. Each community is so heavily influenced by the other that to erase one group’s struggles and significance would be impossible.
This connection extends much further back, however. The first Pride parade in 1969 was a direct result of a prejudiced and unjust police raid and attack on New York City LGBTQ+ bar: the Stonewall Inn. Not only did a clash with police inspire Pride, but Black Queer individuals, such as Marsha P. Johnson, were at the forefront of the riots.
Furthermore, two out of three of the founders of the Black Lives Matter organization. identify as Queer. The group was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of the police officers involved in Trayvon Martin’s death. Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi have all been outspoken about including Black Queer individuals in the movement for racial justice as well.
“The queer community and the black queer community specifically have been riding so hard for us,” Tometi explained in an interview with the Nation. She brings up a final important point: both the LGBTQ+ and Black community are marginalized minorities. Laws, policies, and systems have been rigged against both for centuries and centuries with the goal of further oppressing and silencing them. For instance, in recent months, the Trump administration attempted to roll back the part of the Affordable Care Act that protects transgender individuals from being denied healthcare based on their identity. Though the Supreme Court ruled this measure unconstitutional, if passed, genderqueer individuals could be denied medical help and fair insurance rates. An example of injustice for the Black community lies in the fact that the US has still yet to pass an anti-lynching law: a bill first introduced in 1900, that would make racially-motivated lynching a federal crime. Without this bill as law, those convicted of lynching Black individuals face minimal sentences and punishment far less severe than deserved. There is such prejudice that the two communities not banding together only holds back the fight for equality.
One must also consider the unparalleled levels of violence, homophobia, and transphobia experienced by Black Queer individuals, especially the Black transgender community. In the United States in 2019 alone, at least 27 Black transgender and/or gender non-conforming lives were lost due to homicide and hate crimes: the majority of victims being Black transgender women. Only halfway through 2020, America has already suffered the loss of at least 21 Black and transgender lives.
It is important to note the “at least,” as these numbers are only the deaths reported, recorded, and filed. In rural areas, where criminals are already less likely to be prosecuted, it is possible many more have been killed but never looked into. Queer individuals also face a 120% higher chance of being homeless than their straight and cisgender counterparts, meaning that Black Queer homelessness is a common, widespread issue. Crimes against the homeless run rampant without record, so there is no saying how many more Black Queer lives will be deprived of the justice they deserve.
To bear the brunt of both racism and queerphobia is a dangerous yet tragically common experience, and further highlights the importance of intersectionality. The age-old age saying that there is power in numbers applies to the merging of the two communities. When the intersectionality between the Queer and Black community is furthered and finalized, the power will be unprecedented.
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