Investing in Black LGBTQ+ liberation as white people: A call to action for community psychology

Abstract

Due to systemic racialized homophobia and transphobia, Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people continue to experience worse life outcomes in comparison to both their Black cisgender and heterosexual, and White LGBTQ+ counterparts. Community psychologists have the tools and training to address these disparities. Using a critical whiteness studies lens, we draw on qualitative data with 17 White LGBTQ+ people to describe how white supremacy manifests in LGBTQ+ spaces. Our research indicates White LGBTQ+ people want to create intersectional spaces but lack the necessary skills to effectively confront anti‐Black racism. This resulted in actions which upheld and reinforced white supremacy, despite stated commitments to Black LGBTQ+ liberation. We conclude with recommendations for community psychologists, including engaging in intersectional coalition‐building, training centered around queer critical race theory, working to address racialized homophobia and transphobia alongside existing efforts to deconstruct anti‐Black racism within community psychology, and consciousness‐raising work with White people involved in LGBTQ+ equality movements to dismantle white supremacist structures within their organizations.

Racial reckoning, resistance, and the revolution: A call to community psychology to move forward

“…The focus of the article by Schlehofer et al (2022) utilizes a critical whiteness lens to qualitatively explore allyship within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) among 17 White LGBTQ+ individuals. This article questions how White LGBTQ+ individuals move away from positioning themselves as gatekeepers of power and resources in their communities.…”