Equality Forward At the Intersection: Race, Sexuality and Gender : Page 2
juan battle professor of sociology, public Health & urban Education graduate Center, C.u.n.Y. r Antonio (jay) pastrana jr. assistant professor department of sociology John Jay College of Criminal Justice, C.u.n.Y. esearcher and activist W.E.B. du Bois noted that “the cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” arguably, a group that has experienced a myriad of oppressive circumstances is lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of color. Freedom of expression is inextricably intertwined with liberty. this document is an effort to allow LBgt people of color to express themselves. the respondents of this study have heeded the warnings of audre Lorde’s “your silence will not protect you,” and they have chosen to speak. However, speaking is not nearly as important as being heard; and one cannot be heard if no one is listening. the november 2008 passage of proposition 8 in California clearly showed what could happen when a group listens solely so it can repress others. Re- search has revealed that organizing efforts by religious and conservative forces were extensive, proactive and heavily funded. such an observation is important because it also reveals that progressive – or in this case, LgBt-specific – organizing efforts were less effective at listening, canvassing, targeting and activating Californians in the same ways that conservative forces were. this ineffectiveness was a result of many signifi- cant forces, some of which included lack of access to populations historically left out of debates, basic information about these populations, and the resources – including cultural competency needed – to effectively reach the targeted populations. the challenges of conducting research on LgBt people of color are similar to the chal- lenges of canvassing and targeting a wide constituency to override a ballot initiative. But there are some significant differences. Research is often shrouded in a language of sci- ence that clings to methods that have historically turned a blind eye to diversity, especial- ly when not utilizing a deviance framework or a framework that automatically uses White people or Whiteness as a gold standard for investigating attitudes and experiences. Research endeavors like the one in this report are crucial to our knowledge of LgBt people of color. as a research project, “at the intersection: Race, sexuality and gen- der” is the result of months of planning, months of fundraising, months of canvassing and months of analysis. in the end, the knowledge gathered by this project helps us all to better understand the complexities and similarities that exist within and across LgBt populations of color as well as within and across the wider LgBt population in this country. 2 At the IntersectIon: RaCE, sExuaL oRiEntation and gEndER www.hrc.org/equalityforward preFAce
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