There is no Queer Liberation Without Black Voices

I get that everything seems crazy right now and I get that a lot of people are having a hard time with assessing everything that’s going on right now, but we must work to elevate black voices inside and outside of our community.

I get that a lot of people are feeling overwhelmed by what’s going on right now and that’s perfectly reasonable, but I want to specifically address

a lot of the LGTBQ community who just can’t seem to put the pieces together and understand how we can act as support right now during this chaotic time where we can push the voices forward that need to be heard. It’s now our time to shift the focus of our own visibility aside and truly work to be allies to the black community and the black voices who need to be heard.

For too long many of us in our community have failed to understand just how intertwined our movement is with that of the Civil Rights Movement.

Where would we as a community be without proud and strong black trans women such as Marsha P Johnson?

She single handedly fought harder for our community than any politician and we wouldn’t have what rights we have today without her.

Without riots and protests lead by black women like Marsha supported by a vast and diverse community we would still probably be getting arrested simply for existing.

But it goes back much futher than that and it’s not just Marsha we should focus on during Pride month.

What about Langston Hughes, Audre Lorde, Bayard Rustin, Gladys Bentley, James Baldwin, and Barbara Jordan?

How many of these names do you know and recognize?

The intersection of the black community and the LGBTQ community is something powerful that we’re not really taught about although

it’s immensely important, as such is our willingness to do what’s right and stand up as allies for what’s currently going on.

The first Pride was a riot, followed by a series of riots and protests. Let’s not ignore our history and fail to rise up when the times choose us.

We must elevate black voices and remember that queer liberation would NOT have happened without them.