I Don't Need the LGBT+ Community Fighting For Me {Opinion Article Response}
- LáShaun Jenice
- Jun 28, 2019
- 3 min read
In a world where political correctness and moral standards are questioned daily, the aspect of racism in America seem to always shift to another bigger scaled agenda. As the country celebrates LGBT+ Pride and embraces the transition and hardship of this new community, the actualization of the same milestones in racism is lost.
The LGBT+ community has fought for equal rights as early as the seventies. Most recently we have seen rights afforded to many states for same-sex marriages. For the most part, we are going in the right direction for acceptance. However, racism still exists and although the LGBT+ community is a protected class, the question remains, when will the black and brown people of that same community have the protection?
In an opinion piece by Sharan Dhaliwal, she exclaims that the LGBT+ community can have a substantial impact on racism in America by adding a black and brown stripe to the inclusive rainbow flag. It is important to expand the rainbow flag that symbolizes the all-encompassing nature of Pride to include black and brown stripes. (Dhaliwal, 2019)
The LGBT+ community prides itself in unity amongst a group of people that experienced discrimination from outsiders, however, the discrimination inside the community was no different from that outside the community. Stonewall, the United Kingdom’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, and trans equality, has released new research that shows the depth of racism within the LGBT community. Half of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) LGBT people (51 percent) said they’ve faced discrimination or poor treatment from the wider LGBT+ community with an emphasis on the black LGBT people: 61 percent have experienced discrimination from other LGBT people, according to the Stonewall study.
There have been many times alterations to the rainbow pride flag originally created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker with eight colors. None of the alterations to the flag drew concern until the black and brown stripes were added; implying that the problem is within the black and brown people that now have representation and protection. Initially, the flag was not intended to represent the color of people's skin but its about “inclusion and acceptance”. (Dhaliwal, 2019)
It is clear that no matter the cause, racism will exist in America. We can promote gender equality but not racial equality. We can legalize, in certain states, same-sex marriage but demoralize African-American families. I find it shameful that we can accept the LGBT+ community as they aim for solidarity but we are not trying to end racism in America.
It is a hard pill to swallow; the most protected person in America is a white gay man. “Racism isn’t just an issue in the LGBT+ community, but we can be at the forefront of challenging it,” however, I don’t need a community representing sexual preferences fighting for me as a black heterosexual woman. I appreciate the acknowledgment of racism within the LGBT+ community and outside the community, but racism and the struggles of the LGBT+ community are not the same and the foundation runs deep.
Let's face it, the most protected person in America is the white gay naturally born male . . . period. Do you think the LGBT+ community is overstepping their boundaries trying to take on racism in America?
Works Cited
Dhaliwal, Sharan. “An Inclusive Pride Flag Is the First Step in Confronting Racism in LGBT+ Spaces | Sharan Dhaliwal.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 21 June 2019, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/21/inclusive-pride-flag-confronting-racism-lgbt.
“Racism Rife in LGBT Community Stonewall Research Reveals.” Stonewall, 6 Feb. 2019, www.stonewall.org.uk/news/racism-rife-lgbt-community-stonewall-research-reveals.
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