Black LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Group Reacts to President Biden’s Executive Order Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com
WASHINGTON, DC — Moments ago, President Biden signed a historic executive order advancing LGBTQ+ equality during Pride month.
The order addresses discriminatory state and local legislative attacks against LGBTQI+ children and families by directing key agencies to protect families and children; prevents so-called “conversion therapy” with a historic initiative to protect children from the harmful practice; safeguards health care and programs designed to prevent youth suicide; and supports LGBTQI+ children by launching new initiatives to protect foster youth, prevent homelessness, and improve access to federal programs.
In reaction to President Biden’s executive order, Victoria Kirby York, deputy director of the National Black Justice Coalition, a leading Black LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, issued the following statement:
“The President’s executive order advancing LGBTQIA+ equity is a great example of governing for all of us and includes several policy proposals that the National Black Justice Coalition has supported and recommended – most recently federal government action on the slate of state attacks on Black, gay and transgender children in education and healthcare.
“Black LGBTQ+/SGL foster, adopted, and kinship care kids need family and institutional support that addresses the unique harms created by society’s stigmatization of their combined marginalized identities. Black LGBTQ+/SGL youth and seniors continue to experience greater harm due to racism, anti-LGBTQ+ bias, sexism, ableism, and classism. The harms – too often stemming from family rejection — often result in greater rates of homelessness, suicide attempts and completions, and poverty for the most vulnerable members of our community. Conversion therapy is being banned across federal government-supported programs will help minimize mental health concerns for our community. However, the larger Black community will have to do more in-house to address how it shows up in our homes and in our churches.
“Today’s order regarding LGBTQ+ inclusive data will allow us to disaggregate data better to identify root causes and solutions to the many disparities impacting Black LGBTQ+/SGL families. The best solutions to support our kids and families are found in the cross tabs of research that are often unavailable or not inclusive enough to leverage by civil rights advocates. American lives will be changed for the better thanks to these improvements in data collection.
“After decades of demanding change and falling through the cracks in both racial justice and LGBTQ+ liberation groups, the federal government is finally doing something to systematically ensure equity for all combinations of identities. State and local governments should look to this model of rooting out inequities across government while increasing access and use of government services – something NBJC has been very vocal about with the White House and various federal agencies.
“We welcome the Biden-Harris initiatives making a more equitable and inclusive government, and look forward to hearing more about title IX implementation for LGBTQ+ student discrimination protections, DOJ investigation of law enforcement agencies that refuse to competently serve all of us as well as dozens of Black transgender fatal hate crime cases that have yet to be solved, and Brittney Griner’s return home from wrongful detainment in an enemy nation at war.”