Out in Color: Black/LGBTQ Discussions

Consisting of a wide demographic of people throughout the student body and university staff, Southern University is home to many members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as an overall majority of African Americans; as to expected at one of the country’s most renowned HBCU campuses.
In an effort to have a better understanding of this diversity and some of the struggles that members of the aforementioned communities go through, the Out in Color event brought many of the misconceptions and norms associated with being a member of the LGBTQ+ community to the forefront.
One of the issues that was tackled early on in the nights’ dialogue was the role that the African American culture and social norms have played in the passing down of oppressive thought processes associated with the gay populous along the black community. The deep roots that the church has in the black community along with the long-running hateful rhetoric that has existed amongst many in the Catholic Church in particular up until recently is argued by many in the gay community to have worsened the already tense environment that has been America’s gradual acceptance of the gay community.
Similarly, another issue that was brought up by multiple speakers at the event included the anxiety that comes with identifying as one letter in the commonly used LGBTQ acronym. It’s in this regard that the idea of the + comes into account, as it gives the freedom to the members of the community to explore the intricacies of what they want to identify as without discouraging any particular term from being used to describe one’s personhood.
“The event was something my cabinet & I was really looking forward to and to see it come to life meant a lot. As an organization, I want to always make sure that all students have a safe space on campus,” said Kayon Johnson, President of the Men’s Federation when asked about what guided the organization of the event.
All in all, this event allowed for a civil discourse and conversion on how the aforementioned areas of focus, among numerous others, affects black members of the LGBTQ community on an HBCU campus. The one message that explored at great lengths during this event was the idea that even in an environment with people who share the same skin color as you, it’s still tremendously hard to find a place where you can be yourself without fear of judgement.