- Read the rest on the Human Rights Campaign website, http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/08/equality-forward-faith-cheltenham/
In 2004, Diane Finnerty, co-director of the Raíces (Roots) project at the University of Iowa wrote an open letter beseeching her white Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender sisters and brothers to recognize the danger of being “enlisted knowingly or unknowingly in [a] racist agenda.” Finnerty advocated against making “statements that diminish the impact of racism” like “I’m surprised that you, as a person of color, wouldn’t understand this is a civil rights issue.” While marriage equality has become a dominating issue for LGBT Americans, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s new study, “At The Intersection: Race, Sexuality and Gender,” LGBT people of color still experience more discrimination due to race than because of sexual orientation. Shedding light on everyday experiences of LGBT people of color, “At the Intersection” exposes a collective truth outside of just anecdotal evidence while suggesting key talking points for discussing social justice across lines we have too long used to define.
