[Owens] The current LGBT movement fails to address the needs of the black community at large-- an

intersectional approach is key. Owens:

Ernest Owens, “Now Is the Time to Start Talking About Racism in the LGBT Community.” 5/13/2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ernest-
owens/now-is-the-time-to-start-_b_7261390.html

It's been a long time coming, but no time is better than now.

As the Supreme Court gets ready to hopefully legitimize a belief that many of us in the LGBT community already consider an inalienable right -- marriage equality for all -- it's high time we start
preparing ourselves for the next major issue to address: intersectionality.

the face of LGBT representation has been dominated by white people, predominately
Yes, for decades,

cisgender gay white men. And as much as we would like to continue to blame cultural stigmas
within other cultures for why there has not been such a huge turnaround of faster diversity -- it's
time we start looking inward.
Fact: I am an openly gay black man. Another fact: as disappointing as it may sound, experiencing racism as

a "double-minority" has been felt within both communities. I can be racially profiled at a store as a black man and can then be treated
as a pariah at a gay club the same night by the white men and bouncers who occupy the space.

I took my grievances to my local paper in a guest column that called out

It's not that I have been silent about these issues. Recently,

many of the famed gay bars in Philadelphia. As a resident for five years, I felt that "The Gayborhood" was not the happiest place in my

city if you were black and queer but more like the most excluding one at times.
The reaction was more critical than receptive. I received tons of nasty comments, social media
attacks and jabs at my audacity to call out race issues within the LGBT community. Some went so far as to feel
as though I was just trying to start a problem that didn't exist.

Fun fact: the majority of the critics were white gay men.
And that is the problem.
When I look at queer programs, both local and national, there tends to be a social disconnect between the reality that is being portrayed publicly and what is happening privately.

People of color are often the voyeurism that shapes white queer spaces -- a feeling that has
become more exploitative and problematic than embracing.
The constant pandering of black LGBT men as drag-ballroom performers or hyper-sexual eye-candy takes flight in many gay social scenes. There is almost a

subservient element to it that excludes any other black gay expression that isn't catering to the
white queer gaze.
In other words, the various identities of queer individuals of color have not evolved and many of the

institutions and spaces that are responsible for allowing them to have not. Take the fight for
marriage equality for example, where have people of color been individually called on to take up
that fight? Who sets that agenda? And where are LGBT allies when it comes to the racial
injustices we face outside of queer politics?
In a community that boasts acceptance and equality, the LGBT community as a whole has been
stagnant on rallying for other social issues that deeply impact a great number of its members and
allies.
When other human rights groups were at Ferguson or Baltimore -- many LGBT organizations said/posted
nothing about the queer people of color who might have been afflicted.
As I have gotten older, it has become more difficult to ignore the intersectionality that has colored my

experience as a gay black man. In one sphere, I am told that being black has nothing to do with being gay. And in the other, I am reminded that race is irrelevant
to the conversation.
Both of these are lies and as much as one community wants to act as though they are more accepting than the other, it's difficult for me to decide right now.
Sure, the black community can be labeled as having deep-seated homophobic views. But that
lame trope is getting old when you take in consideration the current LGBT movement's lack of
recognizing variety and sympathy for people of color in general.
I'm sorry, but having a few famous black drag queens and transgender superstars does not make this issue go away.
The most annoying misconception that has often hurt further dialogue on this issue is the myths that talking about racism within our community will distract from other social causes we are
trying to achieve.
I will no longer accept that excuse. It is 2015: if people are not allowing us to get married, it will have nothing to do with the fact that there is racism in our community just as it is in theirs.

we
At the end of the day, when we are finally over the constant focus on marriage equality -- a cause that in my opinion reveals the privilege of our community, in regards to priorities --

should start getting real about what the faces and spaces of the next LGBT movement look like.
Answer: more diverse and colorful.
Because the constant recycling of Dan Savage and many other white, cisgender men like him turns off aspiring LGBT members of color to come out and align themselves within the movement.

there [we] needs to be a time for us to come out and get serious about the lack of diversity in
Overall,

LGBT leadership nation-wide. It is not enough to just have black, Latino, Asian, and Native
Americans in the room but not actually invite their stories and experiences as well.
I am tired of going to queer events that are fundraising for only white queer member causes -- but ignore that more than 5 black transgender individuals have been murdered so far this year.

Visibility is one thing, but access and equity is another. We need to start expanding the
conversation on race in these conventions and not just for LGBT members of color but for their
white counterparts.
I don't just want specialized events and socials catered to me due to my race, but instead more
intellectual space and opportunity to inform and enlighten the very members whom I share an
interest in activism with.
It's time to start addressing the racial setbacks in the current LGBT movement. If we don't now,
we are never going to obtain that pot of gold equality on the other side of the diverse rainbow.

[Duffy] 80% of queer black and minority ethnic men feel excluded by the LGBT community. Duffy:

Nick Duffy, “80 percent of black gay men have experienced racism in the gay community.” June 11th
2015.http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/06/11/80-percent-of-black-gay-men-have-experienced-racism-in-the-gay-community/

The charity’s publication FS Magazine surveyed over 850 black and minority ethnic (BME) men who also identify
as gay.
The results were shocking – with more than two-thirds of BME men experiencing racism on the gay scene – climbing

to 80 percent among men who identified as black.

The survey found that 80% of Black men, 79% of Asian men, 75% of South Asian men, and 64% of mixed race men have personally experienced racism on the gay scene.
47-year-old Wayne recounted one incident, telling the magazine: “The only approach I’ve had at a gay bar was when I was asked if I supplied drugs.
“Terrible behaviour that was not only insulting, but humiliating, since I thought the approach made was due to a romantic intent.”
46-year-old Londoner Sarwar added: “I have been made to feel excluded in gay bars where bar staff ignored me, or doormen asking if I got their order for takeaway.
“A drag queen selected me to humiliate in public, by saying I should cover my beard or the crowd will get nervous.

“Gay publications do not promote LGBTQ men of colour, only Black/mixed-race men. There is a diversity of men
of colour that gay publications fail to highlight.”
Men also reported experiencing frequent racist abuse on Grindr and other hook-up apps.
Author Vernal Scott told the magazine: “I experience crap from both angles. I can’t say one hurts less than the other if you find yourself racially profiled on one hand, and then made to feel
like an outcast in a gay club – or trying to get into one! But life must go on.
“We have to learn to feel good about ourselves on the inside, despite external challenges. We have no choice but to stand on our own two feet.”

There are significantly higher rates of suicide, self-harm and mental ill health
GMFA’s Matthew Hodson said: “

among Black gay and bisexual men.

“Of course you can’t just say this is purely the result of sexual stereotyping or experiencing racism on the gay scene, but it is clear that there is a major health challenge here which needs to
be addressed.
“We also see higher rates of HIV among Black gay and bisexual men, despite data which suggests that there isn’t much difference in risk behaviour or HIV knowledge between Black gay
men and white gay men.
“It comes down to treating each other with respect.
“I don’t know that the gay community is any more racist than any other section of society, but it’s clear that there are some people on the scene who hold vile and completely unacceptable
views.

“As gay men we all know what it’s like to be marginalised, to be outsiders and members of a
minority. We’ve all experienced prejudice and discrimination first hand. It’s sad and pathetic that
we still inflict the same on other members of our community.”

LGBT creates a ruse of inclusiveness through allusions to black power but it only masks the
exclusivity and complacency of the community.
Michael Collins, “Being Black and Gay: Is Exclusion Business as Usual?” September 13,
2013.http://www.diversitybestpractices.com/blogs/post/being-black-and-gay-exclusion-business-usual-0

Questions of intersectionality—that is, the intersection where one’s divergent identities meet to create one’s singular identity—are coming to the
forefront now more than ever as LGBT activists proclaim “Gay is the new Black.” By invoking the spirit
of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s, some have grown to overstate the similarities while ignoring
the reality that race- and class-based schisms are all too common within the greater LGBT community.
Race and racism seem to remain an afterthought in and to prevailing conversations about marriage equality and
equal representation. So the real questions become, who is speaking on behalf of the LGBT community and why?
And how are they creating an “authentic” LGBT experience that we all unknowingly buy into.
My generation of diversity and inclusion does not just use the general public as a state of social intervention; it assumes the role of interventionist within the marginalized communities that I

As a Black gay man, I am keenly aware of how difference is seen in either community. But while
reside.

the pendulum seems to be moving within the Black community when it comes to overt acceptance of
LGBT people, one need not look any further than LGBT interest organizations, such as the Human Rights Campaign, to
see the degree to which racial diversity has yet to be adopted.
Rewinding back to that night a few years ago, I still question what truly happened. Was it just business as usual at a trendy gay nightspot? More than likely, yes. No stranger to “politics at the

business as usual is not an appropriate response to an

door,” I know that New York City’s nightclubs are notorious for being exclusive. However,

ever-evolving community of gays and lesbians. The intersection of race and sexual orientation is
something that so many of us stand on, behind a figurative velvet rope waiting for admittance into an
even more figurative gay club—and invisibility is no longer an option.