UK Black gays strike out against homophobia and racism

UK first-ever Black Pride event aims to shatter myth that the country's black community is anti-gay.
Words by Dominic Bascombe.

UK Black Pride organisers (l-r) Andrew Prince, Khi Rafe and Phyll Opoku-Gyimah

Racism in the gay community is not a topic that is often discussed. It is easy to believe that a community that struggles against discrimination would be less likely to actively discriminate. However it is precisely this inherent racism and the need to raise the profile of black gay achievement that has led to the development of the United Kingdom's first ever Black Gay Pride event. Just like the well known mainstream London Pride and Euro Pride held in London recently, the BGP aims to provide a space for the UK black gay community to express themselves.

In the US, Black Gay Pride events cater to thousands of participants, with the Atlanta event currently the largest in the world. UK organizer Khi Rafe explained that it was vital for black gays to have their unique needs addressed. She explained,' We found that our involvement in Prides in general was on the perimeters. There was a greater need for us to be able to feel included in the Pride because of what Pride represents. However it became very difficult for us to really show the diversity of our community from the sidelines.'

OBSTACLES

One of the obstacles that we face is getting community support in the way white LBGT [lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender] do. This is due to economic reasons and discrimination. She added that it was impossible to not expect experiences of racism simply because of a shared sexual orientation.

The entire community needs to support us. We are still sons and daughters that still experience racism. No matter where we go in the world, especially in Europe, we are going to experience racism. Rafe highlighted an experience from the Europride event .

I received a report from an Asian women who attended Europride . Two gay men who were hauling racial abuse at them associated with their ethnicity. The men told them that you need to go back where you come from, and that Pride is about gays not about blacks. I've had those kind of reports come in. There is also a general attitude in terms of services to black LGBT members. So you've also got the individual elements of racism.

The UK Black Pride takes place in England and includes exhibitions, performances and an after party. While the organizers are keen to emphasize the need for an event exclusively put together by black LGBT members to cater to them, they are keen to play down the idea of the event as separate from the white Gay Pride events. Rafe pointed out that there was definitely a need for a black event but that did not mean others were to be excluded.

She said: We should be able to say black pride What is it with the word black that makes it so sensitive. It's not about an exclusive black pride for black members. It's about black LBGT members self-organising to put on a Pride that incorporates the culture of the LBGT community from a minority perspective and will reflect that. However it is an open invitation for all to come along and experience.

Prides in general should welcome the addition, support the addition, and celebrate the fact that the UK has made history by having its first Black UK Pride. Black Pride is massive in the US.

Denis Fernando of the Lesbian and Gay Coalition Against Racism also supported the decision to stage the event.

PROUD OF IDENTITY

He explained: If we are going to be proud of celebrating our identity, we should definitely ensure that the black community is welcomed and made to feel included in the same way that every other section of the black community has a space to express itself and make its presence known. The black LGBT should have space to assert their identity.

He continued: It's not a divide. It is an acknowledgement that the black LGBT community has its own distinct identity. In the same way that there are organizations like Black Lesbians UK, where black lesbian women get a chance to express their experiences, this is an acknowledgement that the needs of the black LGBT community are not always represented. In terms of celebration of culture, identity and so on, as much as the black LBGT community faces homophobia, they are not immune from the manifestations of racism and all the stereotypes that come from that.

Fernando explained that the separation between black and white gays could be evidenced in the way that clubs would cater to black visitors by having Urban music in the smallest rooms, among other things.

LACK OF AWARENESS

Gamal Turawa, a black gay Metropolitan Police officer, said that black gays face discrimination from the white gay community but also from their own black community.' An event like this is definitely needed because there is a lack of awareness and understanding in the white gay community of the dynamics of race and sexual orientation, which I don't think the mainstream community has realised as yet. There is the double jeopardy effect. You are not accepted by the out gay community and not accepted by your own community. Having the courage to stand up in the black community is harder than the white community. '

One of the things I've come across is that there are people who prey on black gay men from a sexual assault point of view, because they know that sexually assaulting a black gay man is easier because he is less likely to report it than a white gay man. If I'm not out to the gay community and not out to my own community, who can I tell.

Turawa also laid some blamed the media for poor reporting. Media reporting of gay crimes is frequently from a white gay perspective. There's not even enough black voices out there to say this is an issue. A gay Black Pride is a great way of saying that theres more than just two of us! It would challenge view points and empower the people in that community.

It can also help those people who are gay and unable to come out. They can think, it might help me to speak out which is the most important message about empowerment and letting people know that they are not alone.

However Khi was much more adamant that the black community simply had to wake up to the times. The straight black community has to come to terms with the reality that there are black gay and lesbian men and women out there who are their sons, their daughters, their brothers, their sisters, their aunts, their uncles and their mothers and fathers.

Our sexuality does not mean that we should be excluded from the community that has given birth to us. Until they come to that realisation and engage in mature conversations about race and sexuality, we will continue to move forward. We have a generation of young people coming up in this world, that have a greater understanding of tolerance. You might not like what I do but you have to be tolerant of the fact, and respect my right to live in the community as an individual in the community.

However, Fernando refused to agree that the black community was necessarily any more homophobic than any other community. This debate often comes up, and we talk about homophobia and stereotyping being rampant and entrenched in the black community I don't agree with that, he said.

Chris Moyles has used the word gay to mean rubbish and the BBC has done nothing to challenge this homophobia. And that's not by the black community but by Radio 1, the most mainstream channel in the country.

Learn more at The Voice.