Make Your Pride Anti-Racist

Writer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer

Content warning: Mentions of racist and anti-LGBTQ+ violence and discrimination

This Pride Month, AAOP is thinking about how we can make our Pride truly intersectional. That means examining the ways that prejudice can infiltrate our LGBTQ+ spaces, and how members of the LGBTQ+ community experience different kinds and levels of marginalization because of their intersectional identities. 

Today, we’re looking at how we can create Pride celebrations and longterm LGBTQ+ spaces and celebrations that are anti-racist. That means confronting racism both within and without our LGBTQ+ communities. 

LGBTQ+ folks are not immune to the corruption of racism and colorism. Historically, many mainstream LGBTQ+ spaces have been dominated by whiteness, and this problem persists today in many forms. For example, white people disproportionately hold positions of leadership and public prominence in LGBTQ+ communities, and racist dating stereotypes and “preferences” run rampant. 

We have the power to unlearn racism and colorism within our LGBTQ+ communities, but we have to commit to that goal and be willing to put in the work. Because Pride is such a vibrant celebration of our LGBTQ+ families, it’s a perfect time to kickstart and/or deepen each individual’s anti-racist commitment. 

For LGBTQ+ white allies and accomplices, that can look like engaging in compassionate yet critical self-reflection, taking active steps to unlearn and undo systems of harm, and knowing when it’s time to step aside so that BIPOC LGBTQ+ folks can lead. For BIPOC LGBTQ+ folks, that means confronting internalized racism and colorism, and proudly claiming space to celebrate the beauty of ourselves and our communities. 

Every day is a good day to participate in anti-racist work, but Pride is an especially fitting time because Pride was brought to us by BIPOC LGBTQ+ icons who have largely been denied credit for their groundbreaking accomplishments. It is also crucial to understand that BIPOC LGBTQ+ folks are disproportionately affected by anti-LGBTQ+ violence. So when we talk about creating true equality and safety for our LGBTQ+ communities, BIPOC stories, voices, and lives should be at the heart of that conversation.

Pride is an important opportunity to diversify the white-washed narrative of mainstream LGBTQ+ representation. We can do this by addressing racism and colorism within and without our LGBTQ+ communities, by uplifting the lived realities and priorities of BIPOC LGBTQ+ folks, and by honoring BIPOC LGBTQ+ leaders past and present. To name just a few folks from our AAPI community, we celebrate Helen Zia, Esera Tuaolo, Cecilia Chung, Justin Chin, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, and Nergis Malvalvala. 

The struggle for racial justice is intertwined with the struggle for LGBTQ+ equality, just as all liberation work is connected. We cannot achieve safety and dignity for all LGBTQ+ folks without also achieving racial justice, and visa versa. So this Pride, and every day, let’s make sure that our celebration and our activism is truly and joyously intersectional.

Sources

Ayeh-Datey, Rachel, “Colorism x Dating x LGBTQ+”, Sistem Magazine, 11 Nov 2020. https://sistem-magazine.com/2020/11/11/colorism-x-dating-x-the-lgbtq/. Accessed 9 Jun 2021.

Diavolo, Lucy, “The Straight Pride Parade Was a Reminder that Queer Liberation Must Be Anti-Racist”, Teen Vogue, 3 Sept 2019. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/straight-pride-parade-reminder-queer-liberation-anti-racist. Accessed 9 Jun 2021.

Pacific Standard Staff, “People of Color Are Far More Likely to Be Victims of Anti-LGBT Crimes”, Pacific Standard, 14 Jun 2017. https://psmag.com/news/people-of-color-are-far-more-likely-to-be-victims-of-anti-lgbt-crimes. Accessed 9 Jun 2021.

Specter, Emma, “Pride Cannot – And Must Not – Exist Without Anti-Racist Work”, Vogue, 3 Jun 2020. https://www.vogue.com/article/pride-cannot-and-must-not-exist-without-anti-racist-work. Accessed 9 Jun 2021.

Tran, Viet, “Ten People Breaking Barriers for LGBTQ API Representation”, Human Rights Campaign, 16 May 2019. https://www.hrc.org/news/ten-people-breaking-barriers-for-lgbtq-api-representation. Accessed 9 Jun 2021.

Make Your Pride Anti-Racist
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