Black lesbian organization

From s civil rights activist Bayard Rustin to Chicago's first black female and lesbian mayor, Lori Lightfoot, black LGBTQ Americans have long made history with innumerable contributions to politics, art, medicine and a host of other fields. Bentley was a gender-bending performer during the Harlem Renaissance. Donning a top hat and tuxedo, Bentley would sing the blues in Harlem establishments like the Clam House and the Ubangi Club. According to a belated obituary published in , The New York Times said Bentley, who died in at the age of 52, was " Harlem's most famous lesbian " in the s and "among the best-known black entertainers in the United States. In , Gov. Gavin Newsom pardoned Rustin for his arrest in when he was found having sex with two men in a parked car in Pasadena.

Over the past decade, media coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBT people- their lives and their issues- has increasingly become more frequent, fair, accurate and balanced. But if you turn on the televsion or pick up a newspaper, there remains virtually no representation of black LGBT voices and perspectives. Within this void, stereotypes and misconceptions continue to grow. And when media outlets do not show black LGBT people struggling to live ordinary, everyday lives like other Americans, their audiences do not realize the inequalities they face. Stories about the black LGBT community provide important insight into today's political and social climate. Interviews with and opinion pieces by black LGBT people are opportunities to increase the diversity of voices represented in the media.

While many Washington, D. In , A. Billy S.

We support brilliant and brave grantee partners in the U. S and internationally who challenge oppression and seed change. We work for racial, economic, social, and gender justice, because we all deserve to live our lives freely, without fear, and with dignity. To learn more about the passionate activists behind these movements for gender, racial, economic, and social justice, take our interactive globe for a spin!