Black LGBTQ+ People: Double Jeopardy

Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements of Black trailblazers, activists, and figures.

We also remember loss and suffering while looking toward a brighter future.  For Black LGBTQIA+ individuals, that so-called bright future may seem far-fetched.

Today we look at the historical context and current culture of anti-LGBTQIA people regarding the Black community. 

We examine how intersectionality, minority stress, and social expectations impact the group’s mental health and outlook on the future.   

Hypocrisy of Movements  

Homophobia and transphobia in the Black community are more prevalent than most assume. With a heavy push for equal rights of African Americans in the United States, it may seem intuitive to draw parallels with the LGBTQ+ rights initiative. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

While many Black activists really support equal rights for all, many others cherry-pick the meaning of equality. 

For example, Martin Luther King Jr. stood for an equal society, regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexuality.

Meanwhile, certain people who support the Black Lives Matter movement may exclude Black LGBTQ+ people from the campaign. 

This occurs when the BLM movement promotes images of strong, free-willed African American men united on a front.

However, it is also a tool for excluding gay and transgender Black men from BLM. The existence of LGBTQIA+ populations within the African American community is shamed for tarnishing the images, values, and goals of the cause. 

This divide, ironic as it is, became more widespread with the growth of the civil rights movement. One instance is the feminist movement. The feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements overlap frequently in good and bad ways.

At the peak of the feminist movement, the image of strong Black women got circulated to empower the community. Unfortunately, here is where a toxic overlap occurred.

The popular image led to the worsening of the Black community’s view on lesbian and trans-Black women. These people were viewed as detriments to the cause, sometimes even accused of mocking womanhood. 

So, while the feminist movement did undeniably do monumental work, it also caused harm to a portion of the LGBTQIA+ community. We must recognize that all campaigns have upsides and downsides. 

We should never ignore the negative consequences in fear of discounting accomplishments.

Both can exist at the same time.   

Vicious Cycles  

When discussing any issue regarding a disadvantaged population, poverty, education, religion, and employment always come up. The Black LGBTQIA+ community is no different.

I’d argue that these issues matter most to this group than any other minority group. 

The Black community is historically burdened with the pains of poverty, homelessness, joblessness, and social injustice. The woes of Black people started as enslavement, then became Jim Crow Laws. 

Next came excessive incarceration, police brutality, systematic discrimination, the War on Drugs...at every point in American history, Black people are unfairly burdened by hatred. 

The modern era continues this trend. 

Let’s start with the recent facts on poverty, education, employment, and religion. 

Poverty among black LGBTQ+ people is higher than non-LGBTQ Black people. Within the LGBTQ population, Black trans people have the highest rate of poverty.

This is likely caused by intense housing, salary, and employment discrimination. 

Be prepared to read some statistics. I will fill with as little jargon as possible.

One research study suggests 38% of Black transgender people have been denied property due to their gender identity. 

Additionally, there exist no specific protections for LGBTQ+ employees under current legislation. As a result, Black trans people are often denied jobs or fired due to their gender identity. 

This may have created the 26% unemployment rate that the group currently experiences. For scale, the national unemployment rate is 3.9%. 

Those with jobs are subject to unfair pay. On average, Black women in lesbian relationships make $42,000. To compare, Black women in straight relationships make about $51,000. 

That is a twenty-one percent increase in salary. 

To make matters worse, all these truths are linked. Some even create an anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. Impoverished people tend to have less education.

Poor education can lead to a lack of job opportunities. So, when one gets a job, they are at a disadvantage arguing about salary.

Now they are underpaid and at risk of being unjustly fired, effectively keeping them in poverty. 

Low education levels can also cause people to be homophobic or transphobic.

This is supported via research that states, “better education typically means less affiliation to conservative religions...which limits the influence of socially conservative ideas.” 

I trust we all know what “socially conservative ideas” suggest...

Religiously influenced homophobia, and its impact on the mental health of religious LGBTQ people, deserves its own post, and it will get one next Friday. 

For now, I highly recommend reading Homophobia in the Black Church by Anthony Standford. Read a brief preview here.   

Mental Health  

So, how does all of that relate to Black LGBTQ+ mental health?

The short answer is poverty, lack of education, job dissatisfaction, and homelessness can all cause mental health problems. 

The longer, more effective answer is the relationship between Minority Stress and mental health.

For those unaware, Minority Stress refers to the documented prominent levels of stress faced by stigmatized minority populations. 

The stressors in question are associated with “increased depressive symptomology in Black LGBTQ people.”

Poverty and homelessness are particularly harmful to mental wellness. The Urban Institute states that “poverty imposes a psychological burden so great that the poor are left with little mental “bandwidth” with which to perform everyday tasks.”

In terms of poor education, studies show that lower-education populations and higher rates of depression and anxiety are linked. 

As you can see, everything ties in together.

Thankfully, there are ways we can disconnect these issues and lessen the burden on the Black LGBTQ+ community.   

Solutions  

You took a good first step by reading this blog. To do more, you can share your personal journey with mental health by submitting your story to be posted on the blog. 

Outside of this space, educate yourself further on this topic. We have some quick links on our resource page, to begin with.

The best way to help is to get involved with your local nonprofits and activist groups that address problems facing the Black LGBTQ community.  Do not let this blog make you feel it is too big a challenge to tackle.

Nothing is more daunting than what happens if we do nothing: the continued suffering of humanity.   

Sources:

Homophobia in the black Church by Anthony Standford.

https://www.proquest.com/openview/9b4077d3b722d9bb7594ef32b26bb3cf/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/all-black-lives-matter-mental-health-of-black-lgbtq-youth/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_LGBT_community#Persecution_inside_the_Black_community