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An Insight Into the Lives of Young Black LGBTQ+ People
Spring 2024 • Jose Soto He/Him
In an already challenging and potentially frightening world for LGBTQ+ people, Black LGBTQ+ youth face compounding obstacles while living at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. These unique experiences, which can sometimes be troubling, can have incredibly detrimental effects on the way Black LGBTQ+ youth perceive themselves, their future, and the world around them. To better understand their lived experiences and challenges, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation pulled data and findings specific to Black LGBTQ+ youth from one youth-centric report to produce the 2024 Black LGBTQ+ Youth Report.
In 2022, the HRC Foundation partnered with the University of Connecticut to survey over 12,000 young LGBTQ+ Americans to produce the 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Report. The survey sought insight into the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-18 in their homes, at school, with religious and spiritual connections and with mental health, among other areas of life. As a supplemental report, the Black LGBTQ+ Youth Report honed in on the data and findings specific to those living at the intersections of Black and LGBTQ+ identities. Roughly 1,200 Black LGBTQ+ young Americans participated.
“There are some universal experiences among many queer and trans youth, for example, bullying at school or fear of parental rejection,” said Ellen Kahn, HRC’s vice president of programs and partnerships. “However, as we isolate certain identities — in this case, Black identities — we gain more insight into what the lived experiences are of specifi c LGBTQ+ youth and can begin to build out programming and resources which directly benefit these young people.”
According to recent data, 24% of Black high-school aged youth identify as LGBTQ+. And while Black LGBTQ+ Americans have made progress toward achieving equality and inclusion, racism, anti-Blackness and discrimination against both Black and LGBTQ+ people persist. Institutionalized racism, a legacy largely embedded by slavery and the injustices of Jim Crow laws, have created long-lasting inequities and stereotypes for all Black people. For Black LGBTQ+ youth, and for the broader LGBTQ+ community, the inflammatory rhetoric peddled and stoked by right-wing MAGA extremists have strained their ability to fully express and live within their intersecting identities.
The Black LGBTQ+ Youth Report found that 75% of Black LGBTQ+ youth and 78% of Black transgender and gender- expansive youth have experienced at least one form of racism from other members of the LGBTQ+ community. However, it also found that 81% of Black LGBTQ+ youth and 83% of Black transgender and gender-expansive youth said they have experienced at least one form of homophobia or transphobia from their own racial community.
The report found that at school, 43% of Black LGBTQ+ youth, including half of Black transgender and gender-expansive youth, feel unsafe in at least one setting in school. Furthermore, over half of Black LGBTQ+ youth overall reported being physically or verbally harassed at school while 59% of Black transgender and gender-expansive youth reported the same.
“The Black LGBTQ+ Youth Report underlines the need to better support Black LGBTQ+ youth, particularly in spaces where adult supervision could prevent some harm,” said Charleigh Flohr, HRC’s associate director of public education and research, who worked to analyze and interpret the findings from the report.
Black LGBTQ+ Youth by the Numbers
Black LGBTQ+ youth who have experienced at least one form of racism from other members of the LGBTQ+ community:
Black LGBTQ+ youth who have experienced at least one form of homophobia or transphobia from their own racial community:
Black LGBTQ+ Youth feeling unsafe in at least one setting in school:
Black LGBTQ+ Youth who reported being physically or verbally harassed at school:
Black LGBTQ+ youth need mentorship, resources and support that reach them at the point where their identities as Black and LGBTQ+ youth meet. The experiences of Black LGBTQ+ youth are not isolated to just one aspect of their identities. Connecting LGBTQ+ youth to information and spaces that mirror their identities, all parts of them, is critical for Black LGBTQ+ youth to thrive. But it's also important for their adult leaders to understand that there’s a difference between being young, Black or queer independently, as opposed to being young, Black and queer.
Jay Jones is a student enrolled at Howard University and knows fi rsthand how important it is for Black LGBTQ+ to have supportive adult leaders in their lives, especially as they grow into their own during their formative years in college. Now a junior student studying political science, Jones feels more comfortable advocating for themselves in a school setting.
“The role of LBGTQ+ mentors and adults played a pivotal part in my matriculation at Howard University and ultimate rise to leadership, as the fi rst-trans president of the Howard University Student Association,” said Jones. “As more LGBTQ+ students begin to embark on their journey of secondary education, it is important that older generations of Black LGBTQ+ people provide mentorship and guidance to ensure youth can be authentically themselves. People oftentimes can believe what they see, and watching Black queer people in places of leadership on and off campus at my beloved institution have played an instrumental role in my self identity as a trans woman.”
According to the report, 34% of Black LGBTQ+ youth and 34% of Black transgender or gender-expansive youth want to attend a HBCU.
“While the report highlights stark differences in lived experiences between Black LBGTQ+ youth compared to their non-Black counterparts, mostly due to institutional racism and anti-Blackness, coupled with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, Black LGBTQ+ youth should know they are not alone,” said Flohr. “Many Black LGBTQ+ youth want to live full authentic lives, and live those lives alongside their Black LGBTQ+ peers.”
Read the full report
