As the nation continues to cope with the crushing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and concurrent economic crisis, the additional crisis of racism came to the fore when, on May 25, an unarmed African-American man, George Floyd, was brutally murdered by a Caucasian Minneapolis police officer, who asphyxiated Floyd by kneeling on his throat as three other officers looked on, spurring massive, essentially peaceful protests—although sometimes hijacked by agents provacateurs and police and escalating into violence and destruction—in the street, not only nationwide, but also worldwide. Recognizing that these related crises concern us all, LGBTQ community organizations have expressed support for the larger community.
On June 3, New York City’s LGBT Community Center issued an emailed statement headed, “Black Lives Matter. Black Trans Lives Matter,” and continuing, “As an organization rooted in social justice and activism, we stand unequivocally with the Black Lives Matter movement for justice and support the activism and voices of Black people, including those at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. Silence and neutrality are tools of oppression, and we will not use either.
“The Center is committed to ensuring that our values are actively anti-racist and deeply intersectional. We feel the pain and anger provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd, Breonna Tayor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and Monika Diamond—and so many others, and we vocally and forcefully condemn these acts of police brutality and the systemic racism that supports them.
“We call for an end to the pervasive and systemic racism ingrained in our society, and are committed to the long-term work required to make that happen. To that end, we joined over 300 LGBTQ organizations uniting against racial violence.”
The Center’s email goes on to note that the Covid-19 “pandemic … is disproportionately causing Black communities to lose their jobs and their lives … Black people … make up the largest number of people dying, becoming ill and being hospitalized from Covid-19. This blatant discrimination and the impacts of systemic racism are unacceptable and avoidable, but in order to realize a better, more affirming future, we must tackle these disparities at their roots.”
On the previous day, June 2, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Executive Director Tom Viola announced, “Rooted deep in the history and identity of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is a commitment to being a voice for those who’ve been silenced and marginalized. And as we reel from all that is happening in front of us, feeling anger and despair, we stand with those who walk in fear simply for being Black. We see you. We care. Black lives matter … On behalf of Broadway and the entire theater community, Broadway Cares is making a $25,000 donation today to Color of Change. They are doing difficult, important, immediate work—from challenging injustice and holding leaders accountable to changing our country’s systems of inequality.”
God’s Love We Deliver President and CEO Karen Pearl also sent out an email, on June 3, headed, “We stand with Black communities everywhere.”
The Center’s email urges that an essential key to desperately needed change is “vote, and help get out the vote.”
On June 6, from 1:45 to 3 p.m., a “Cherry Grove Marches in Solidarity with Black Life Matter” event will take place, assembling in front of the Cherry Grove Community House and Theatre.