Making Black Gay America Mo’ Betta

(Originally written in Fall 2008)
By Anare V. Holmes

Groups such as the National Black Justice Coalition, the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition and the International Federation of Black Prides are doing the work to help transform LGBT communities of African descent.


Who sets the agenda?
In a world where many question the authenticity and relevance of Black gay leadership identifying a comprehensive agenda that meets community needs is challenging to reveal.
“What we have to understand is that Black gay leadership is not a monolithic entity, it is multifaceted and mirrors the attitudes and opinions that are found within Black and American culture,” says Hunter College Professor Juan Battle.
Battle served as a lead researcher for the groundbreaking study, Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud: Black Pride Survey 2000 – commissioned more than seven years ago by the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Through information gathered in nine major cities during various Pride events, the report marked one of the earliest comprehensive studies that revealed the total experiences and policy priorities of the Black LGBT community.
An estimated 2,645 respondents shared their thoughts on an array of topics that included: sexual identity, politics, family structure, discrimination, healthcare issues and religion.
“What we found was that the three most important issues facing Black LGBT people were HIV/AIDS, hate crime violence and issues surrounding marriage and domestic partnership,” says Battle. “In comparison respondents reported that drugs, education and HIV/AIDS were the three most important issues facing all Blacks.”
The research team would later go on to make recommendations to Black gay leaders, mainstream Black organizations and predominately White LGBT groups on what initiatives could be institutionalized to address those issues.
“Many of those leaders and groups took a look at what they could do on an institutional level to really make an impact in addressing the needs of our target audience,” says Battle.
“What we are seeing in Black gay leadership now may be somewhat of an evolution as more groups are starting to organize themselves to serve the needs of the community as a whole and not just those affected by HIV/AIDS, which has been where we’ve seen Black gay leadership in its most concentrated form.”
National Black Justice Coalition co-founder and social commentator Jasmyne Cannick agrees with Battle.
“We really have seen huge gains and strides in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” says Cannick. “Yet at the same time, we as Black gay leaders don’t have the luxury to sometimes focus on just one singular issue and what we may now be seeing in certain parts of the country is a growing trend among groups like NBJC and others to confront other challenges that also are present in the community.”


Eradicating homophobia
Through bold moves that merge 21st century methodologies with old-school grassroots activism, the National Black Justice Coalition is quickly establishing itself as a formidable voice in the fight to end racism and homophobia.
By advocating for marriage equality, more inclusive hate crime legislation and other non-discriminatory bills and measures, NBJC is working overtime in many of the nation’s top urban Black communities to create social change.
Originally organized in 2003 to combat the work of a group of Black pastors who attempted to mobilize the faith community in support of a federal ban that would prevent lesbians and gays from getting married, NBJC is making the kind of bold and strategic moves that power brokers within traditional Black leadership cannot ignore.
“Our goal is to help the Black LGBT community become more engaged in non-partisan political activism and to make our issues and concerns known to others who say they are working in the interests of those who are marginalized and victimized by oppression,” says NBJC Executive Director H. Alexander Robinson.
The Washington, DC-based civil rights group has grown from a working board to a full staff responsible for implementing a full slate of programming that includes an annual Black church summit that promotes dialogue about the role of gays in religious institutions; management of a political action fund that opposes anti-gay ballot initiatives and supports policies promoting racial justice and equality; in addition to other activities that empower same-gender-loving men and women.
Through successful partnerships with several high profile leaders such as Rev. Al Sharpton, public intellectual and media personality Michael Eric Dyson—who chairs the group’s religious advisory committee— in addition to effective collaborations with the NAACP, the organization is building bridges to meet its goals.
NBJC made history last year when the group became the first and only gay and lesbian group to join the National Black Leadership Forum. The influential forum serves as a hub connecting opinion leaders from nearly a dozen social service organizations that develop public policy recommendation on issues important to Black constituents. Member organizations include representatives from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, National Urban League, and the National Conference of Black Mayors.
“We are just doing our part to make sure the issues and concerns of the Black LGBT community are not ignored,” says Robinson. “The reality is that we all have a responsibility to make ourselves first class citizens.”

Keeping us alive
While some groups choose to use their voice and resources to confront racism and homophobia, others like the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition have chosen to use their resources to respond to the rising incidence of HIV and AIDS infections among black men.
Angered by the news that 46% of Black gay men in five American metropolitan cities were HIV positive, according to data released two years ago by the Centers for Disease Control, a group of human services providers and healthcare professionals formed the health policy coalition to address the unique needs of Black men— one of the demographics hardest hit by the epidemic.
“We just could not stand by and continue to watch HIV, syphilis, crystal methamphetamine and other dangers take hold of the lives of black gay men,” says NBGMAC’s National Policy Advisor A. Cornelius Baker. “We needed to create something that was for us, and by us.”
Made up of a host of social service providers from across the country, the group has an executive committee that includes: Rudolph Carn of National AIDS Education & Services for Minorities; Gary English of People of Color in Crisis; Ernest Hopkins of San Francisco AIDS Foundation; Tokes Osubu of Gay Men of African Descent; Ron Simmons of Us Helping Us, People Into Living and MacArthur Flournoy of the California State Conference of the NAACP.
Through education, advocacy and lobbying efforts the coalition’s objective is to provide policy and funding recommendations to federal and state healthcare agencies. In the past year, the group has held productive meetings with key decision makers at the US Department of Health and Human Services and CDC.
Chief among the group’s 2007 Advocacy Agenda items is making sure adequate funding is set aside by the CDC and the National Institute of Health to sufficiently conduct research that determines effective prevention interventions for black gay men, in addition to addressing the high infection rates of African-American black gay youth.
“Although we are a fairly new, we know that our work is making a difference,” says Baker. “Our recommendations made it possible for an additional $1 million dollars to be given to various HIV and AIDS prevention programs that would’ve not received funding had we not pushed for them to get it.”

Partying with a Purpose
The International Federation of Black Prides is on a mission to transform the energy and passion that surround the world's Black Pride celebrations into social and political clout.
The IFBP is a coalition of twenty-nine Black Pride organizations formed to promote a multinational network of LGBT/Same Gender Loving Pride. The group encompasses community-based organizations dedicated to building solidarity, health and wellness, and ensuring the development of education, economic empowerment opportunities for these special communities of African descent.
While many skeptics will often relegate many of the country's Black Pride events as being nothing more than huge circuit parties, members of IFBP leadership push back.
"It is important that we do not disrespect the party because it is a safe place for the GLBT community," says Earl Fowlkes, IFBP President and CEO. "In several cities, the GLBT community is not able to have safe places. That being said, the Federation is starting to train others on how to expand pride beyond partying to educating and creating greater opportunities for civic and community engagement."
Last year more than 350,000 people attended a Black Pride celebration, according to IFBP records.
Mobilization efforts the group tackled this year include: the BlackOut Voter Registration and Mock Election initiative and programs such as the National HIV Testing Mobilization effort and the National Black Brown Summitt.
“The purpose of the National Black and Brown Summit is to identify areas for potential collaboration between African American and Latino LGBT communities, leaders, organizations, and grass roots movements,” says Fowlkes. In short, the IFBP is hoping the summit will help to inspire African American and Latino LGBT communities’ action, motivate young leadership, accentuate and embolden our collective political power and voice in this very important election year and beyond.

Next week's Annual Black Gay Men's Retreat and the formalization of the National Black Gay Men's Network further demonstrate the continuation of progress being made in the growth cycle of black gay leadership. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, whether you identify as gay or same-gender-loving, whether you can afford to take a trip to Puerto Vallarta or can only jump on the nearest mass transit system in your local neighborhood--- use your voice, your skills, your talent to help make Black Gay America mo' betta!

What you can do
3 Ways to make Black Gay America better

Write a check or money order: It doesn’t matter how small or large, your financial support and contributions to any Black LGBT organization (besides a party promoter) provides the life’s blood needed to make things happen. If the organization is a non-profit, you may be able to write it off on your taxes.

Educate yourself: Become familiar with what’s going on in the world around you. Read up on current events and begin to track industry trends and developments that may be taking place in your own backyard. Take time to learn a new skill such as a foreign language or some other technical skill that may help you increase your household income. The more you know the more valuable you are to the people around you.

Be a help, not a hindrance: If your money is kind of funny and you can’t write a check or money order, lend a helping hand or provide a kind word that may be encouraging to someone. You may consider volunteering for a group or organization that shares your values.