The American Nightmare: Three Times Higher Poverty Rates for Black LGBT Couples than White Counterparts

 By: C.D. Kirven, Contributing Writer & LGBT Activist

  “Take this job and shove it!” collage art by C.D. Kirven

“Like so many families in America, communities of color are facing a stubborn job market, tighter budgets, and increased health care costs. The fact is that the Republican’s “Pledge to America” will make their situation worse,” said Tony Carrk (Policy Analyst of Center for American Progress Action Fund) regarding newly released U.S. Census data on the recession’s adverse impacts on communities of color.  In a study conducted by Queers for Economic Justice, Black LGBT people are three times more likely to live in poverty than their White same-sex counterparts or Black heterosexual couples. The report also states 12% of Black LGBT people have an annual household income of less than 15 thousand dollars. The LGBT communities of color are facing historic racially based economic hardships that are in stark contrast from the 1990s.  In “This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, economists Carmen Reinhart argues that the aftermath of systematic banking crisis involve pronounced contraction in economic activity and puts significant strains on government resources.  But, mainstream media’s unprecedented Tea party coverage gives the anti-government group a national platform to promote their pro-corporation agenda. Tea baggers believe that increasing government’s share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will inflict permanent damage on the private sector economy.  Even though economists estimate the private sector added 75,000 minimum wage jobs while continuing to outsource middle-class jobs to foreign countries.

“If we look at changes in unemployment rates by demographics, we’ve seen that they grow faster among minorities,” said Christian Weller, fellow at Center for American Progress (CAP). In 2009, nearly 24 million (African Americans and Latinos) went without any healthcare coverage. The National Women’s law report show unemployment rates among women at the highest in 25 years, women saw a 62 percent cut in non-farm jobs.  The Labor Department reports indicate unemployment rates among African Americans are currently at 16.1% while Latinos are at 12.4 totaling close to 6 million people. The data reveals the economic impacts of racial injustice and the need for immediate legislative action in order to avoid huge minority poverty increases. According to national population samples, around 7% of Americans identify as LGBT and nine in ten LGBT consumers claim workplace policies play a role in their consideration of brands. This proves the LGBT community feels workplace equality is critically important. There is a desperate need for more research in order to determine what’s at the source of the National Center Lesbian Rights (NCLR) report showing annual household income disparities of Black same-sex couples around $24,000 less than White same-sex couples.  Experts conclude that stimulating the economy should not just focus only on small businesses or on existing infrastructures that have already left minorities behind. Nearly 90 percent of people in the U.S. believe that gay and lesbians workers should have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts but 39 percent of all LGBT workers reported experiencing some sort of workplace discrimination or harassment.

There are no champagne wishes or caviar dreams for the LGBT community of color. If the LGBT community wants full equality, we have to stop living on separate sides of our community.  LGBT people of color do not have the money or power to broker productive conversations about socioeconomic disparities. The multi-million LGBT non-profit organizations and leaders will need to go into LGBT communities of color and partner on issues of mutual self-interest that will benefit our community as a whole. Studies have shown that there are negative social phenomena resulting from these disparities like shorter life expectancies, higher disease rates, increased depression and higher prison populations. We have to begin collective bargaining for LGBT equality because we need each other to accomplish pro-equality gates and to elect candidates that support pro-LGBT legislation. We must attack injustice as a community of people instead of a group of well funded activists. LGBT women of color are most adversely impacted by the recession’s unforgiving wrath and are underrepresented as part of LGBT leadership. Let’s put the mid-term elections behind us and join forces to tare down the walls of injustice and push forward past partisan politics to make LGBT civil rights a reality instead of an unattainable dream.

Activist - C.D. Kirven is a Lambda Literary nominated Author of the book – “What Goes Around Comes Back Around”, Board member of DFW Pride Movement, Artist – Her artwork was shown at Butch Voices Conference in Oakland, CA, Art in December 2009 issue of Curve magazine.  C. D. Kirven created the first GLBT cell phone documentary about same sex intimate partner abuse. She has an online clothing line at www.zazzle.com/cdkirven & is editing her online reality show about her life called: “SOULPRINT”.  Ms. Kirven is currently working on a lesbian rights manifesto book, her second fiction book “The Glass Closet” & a documentary.  Contact @ cdkirven@aol.com, http://cdkirven.blogspot.com or www.myspace.com/chastitykirven

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