|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I want the Democratic presidential hopefuls
to be as invested in LGBTQ lives lost to police
brutality as they are about 'Black Lives Matter.'"
|
The
first Democratic Presidential debate of the 2016 season was an
exemplary example of civil discourse compared to what the American
public witnessed with the GOP’s presidential debate.
And none of the candidates - former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, U.S. Senator of Vermont Bernie Sanders, former Maryland
Governor Martin O’Malley, former Governor of Rhode Island Lincoln
Chafee and former U.S. Senator of Virginia Jim Webb trounced on each
other.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, and Dana Bash quizzed the
Democratic field on their views on a number of topics: marijuana,
climate change, income inequality, NRA and gun reform,
immigration and “Black Lives Matter," to name a few.
As CNN’s moderators exhausted their laundry list of questions none
sadly were focused on LGBTQ issues. I was shocked, especially with two
of the moderators not only openly gay but who are also advocates of
LGBTQ justice - Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon.
I wonder in celebration of June’s historic Supreme Court ruling —
Obergefell v. Hodge — that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states
and then Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, coming out
moment on the cover of Vanity Fair, do our elected officials as well as
most Americans now feel our struggle for civil rights protection is
over.
Or, is it the thought that our concerns are now included and can be
resolved in broader issues like income inequality, immigration, and
“Black Lives Matter”?
While the intersection of the above mentioned issues might give
you a cursory depiction of the struggles of trans sisters of color, it
won’t, however, convey the day-to-day “state of emergency” this
demographic group struggle with to stay alive. With transgender
homicide on the rise (rose 11 percent from 2013 to 2014) the issue of
trans violence needs to be made central in this president campaign.
For example, Kiesha Jenkins of Philadelphia is the 18th and recent
African American trans sister murdered this year, and Melvin of
Detroit, an African American gender non-conforming brother who wore
female clothes was found fatally shot and killed just this week.
I want the Democratic presidential hopefuls to be as invested in LGBTQ
lives lost to police brutality as they are about “Black Lives Matter.”
We all remember the death of Sandra Bland while in police custody this
summer. With the focus of police brutality on African-American males,
the reality of unarmed African-American women being beaten, profiled,
sexually violated, and murdered by law enforcement officials with
alarming regularity is too often ignored.
When Bland was found hanging from a noose made of plastic bags in her
Waller County, Texas, jail cell, the coroner’s report corroborated the
police’s claim stating there were no obvious signs of such a violent
struggle. But like Bland’s family and friends, I, too, cry out foul
play. And it’s because of Waller County’s long and prideful history of
keeping blacks in their place, including lynching.
But police brutality isn’t just a black thing…at least not in Texas.
Just two hours south of Waller County, a gay while man, Jesse Jacobs,
32, died while in custody at the Galveston County Jail. While serving a
30-day DUI sentence, Jacobs was deliberately denied his Xanax
medication for anxiety. By the time Jacobs was rushed to the hospital
after suffering a seizure — something common for those forced to
abruptly go off Xanax — he was dead on arrival.
I know most of the Democratic candidates have taken legislative measures to support the LGBTQ community.
In 2013, Chafee signed into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage,
making Rhode Island the last state of New England states to obtain
marriage equality.
“I’ve had a great record of supporting LGBT issues,” Chafee said. “To
me, it wasn’t only a civil rights issue, it was also an economic issue,
and we genuinely want a tolerant society if you’re going to attract the
best people in the military.”
In May 2014, O’Malley signed the state’s transgender rights bill. The
measure prohibits discrimination in housing, unemployment, credit and
use of public accommodations.
Sanders has a perfect score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s latest Congressional Equality Index.
And Webb, well, like Clinton recently evolved to support marriage-equality.
I didn’t feel fully spoken for in the presidential debate. I needed to
have heard their support of my issues while most Americans were tuned
in watching.
|
BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, The Rev. Irene Monroe, is a religion columnist, theologian, and public speaker. She is the Coordinator of the African-American Roundtable of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (CLGS) at the Pacific School of Religion. A
native of Brooklyn, Rev. Monroe is a graduate from Wellesley College
and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a
pastor at an African-American church before coming to Harvard Divinity
School for her doctorate as a Ford Fellow. She was recently named to
MSNBC’s list of 10 Black Women You Should Know. Reverend Monroe is the author of Let Your Light Shine Like a Rainbow Always: Meditations on Bible Prayers for Not’So’Everyday Moments. As an African-American feminist theologian, she speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. Her website is irenemonroe.com. Contact the Rev. Monroe and BC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 is published every Thursday |
Executive Editor:
David A. Love, JD |
Managing Editor:
Nancy Littlefield, MBA |
Publisher:
Peter Gamble |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
