Racial & Economic Justice

For two decades, the religious right has sought to pit lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people against people of color and to portray the two communities as mutually exclusive. Concerned Women for America, for example, issued a report titled Homosexuals Hijack Civil Rights Bus. The Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, meanwhile, wrote in a fundraising letter that legislating sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws would “grant homosexuals more rights than other citizens, thus causing us to lose some of our rights.” Anti-gay activists portray sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws as “special rights” that threaten the civil rights of “legitimate minorities.” More recently, Republican leaders have pitched their opposition to same-sex marriage to black religious conservatives as a key reason to vote Republican.

Overstated analogies between the experiences of LGBT people and people of color can exacerbate this dynamic. Also, images of LGBT people in popular culture that are heavily white, male and economically privileged also reinforce this dynamic. It's a myth that LGBT Americans form an economic elite, insulated from discrimination by their enormous personal wealth and disconnected from the nation's social fabric through their single, unaccountable family units. Whether this myth is used to entice mainstream advertisers to support a gay male publication or used to raise funds from homophobic conservatives, the simple truth is that these imagined dollars just don't add up for the LGBT population as a whole. LGBT people are not, as a group, richer than heterosexuals. At the same time, class issues and economic justice do not register on the agendas of many in the LGBT community.

Why It Matters:

Like others, the LGBT movement has often avoided developing an agenda that reflects the policy concerns of people of color and low-income people of all races. It has focused — often out of necessity — on securing nondiscrimination protections, family recognition, hate crimes laws and AIDS prevention and treatment. It has not systematically addressed economic disparities within our community or the particular experiences of LGBT people of color. This must happen in order to truly build and advance a progressive movement.

What We’re Doing:

The Task Force leads national efforts to address issues of racial and economic justice within the LGBT community:

Our Policy Institute has generated research and resources addressing the particular experiences and policy concerns of LGBT people of color and low-income LGBT people.
Racial and economic justice issues are a main focus of Creating Change, the largest annual gathering of LGBT rights advocates in the nation.
The Task Force speaks out forcefully on immigration and racial and economic justice issues.
We work in coalition with other groups and individuals advocating for racial and economic justice, and sponsor Naming Our Destiny trainings.