ABOVE: U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
U.S. House Democrats reintroduced a resolution on Feb. 24 that would recognize the contributions of Black LGBTQI+ leaders.
The proposal “Recognizing Black History Month as an important time to celebrate the remarkable and unique contributions of all LGBTQI+ Black Americans in United States history” was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.), a founding member and current vice chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus.
Co-sponsors included the Caucus’s Chair, Rep. Mark Pocan (Wis.), and fellow Vice Chair, Rep. Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), along with 29 other House Democrats. In addition to the Caucus, the resolution has been endorsed by Equality California, America’s largest statewide LGBTQ organization.
“For generations, we have seen the erasure of Black LGBTQI+ Americans from our history, despite all of the rich and impactful contributions these individuals have made to our culture, society, and the advancement of civil rights,” Lee said in a press release announcing the move.
“As we celebrate Black History Month, we must pay homage to remarkable Black LGBTQI+ figures like Marsha P. Johnson, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, Bayard Rustin, and many more,” Lee said. “I’m proud to reintroduce this resolution with my Equality Caucus colleagues to honor their legacies and ensure our history is told in full.”
The bill also recognizes more recent achievements by Black LGBTQ leaders, including: Minneapolis City Councilmember Andrea Jenkins, who became the country’s first transgender woman to serve in public office in 2018; Lori Lightfoot, who became Chicago’s first LGBTQ and first Black woman mayor in 2019; and Karine Jean-Pierre, who in 2022 became the first Black woman and the first LGBTQ person to serve as White House press secretary.
Black advocates who are now leading LGBTQ advocacy groups were also spotlighted in the bill: Kelley Robinson at the Human Rights Campaign; Imani Rupert-Gordon at National Center for Lesbian Rights; Kierra Johnson at National LGBTQ Task Force; David Johns at National Black Justice Coalition; Gabriel Foster at Trans Justice Funding Project; Carter Brown at Black TransMen Inc.; Melanie Willingham-Jaggers at GLSEN; and Stacey Stevenson at Family Equality Council.
“I’m honored to be included on this list of trailblazing Black LGBTQ+ leaders. I love Black History Month, because it’s a time when people in our country come together not just to honor the Black past but also to build Black futures and celebrate Black joy,” Robinson said in an exclusive statement to The Washington Blade.
“Right now, with attacks on Black and LGBTQ+ lives on the rise, it is more important than ever that we hold onto that Black, queer joy and I’m proud that Rep. Barbara Lee and the other resolution sponsors have taken this moment to make that clear,” she said.
