HRC Blog

This post comes from Joey Gaskins, of HRC's diversity department. The issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students on Historically Black College and University campuses are many. Discrimination motivated by homophobia and intolerance is rampant, and LGBT students are suffering because of it. Meanwhile, losses we have faced at the ballot box have illustrated the LGBT movement’s need to reach into communities it has failed to touch and the need for its leadership to reflect the inherent diversity of our community. For seven years the Human Rights Campaign’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program has worked to combat homophobia on HBCU campuses, build a coalition of new allies, and train African American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their allies to advance the fight for equality in their own communities. Over those seven years, the HRC has organized and sponsored programming challenging religiously based homophobia, educated students about the issues facing LGBT people and empowered LGBT students with tools and resources. Through our partnership with student leaders and their allies we’ve seen campuses embrace inclusive non-discrimination policies, commit to housing LGBT student resource centers and we’ve even seen LGBT student groups march in homecoming parades. Progress is being made, but there is still more work to be done. Last week, the HBCU program launched a new website building on the work of the previous years. This new and interactive site symbolizes a fresh direction for the program. As student groups become more independent and as we gain a better understanding of how unique each campus and its issues are the program has evolved. The HBCU program website now provides broad access to programming, resources and tools, most of which have been specially made for HBCU campuses. This kind of access has helped student leaders to organize letter writing campaigns in their communities in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. By connecting students with resources such as a step-by-step guide to planning a day of action, information on who their representatives are and a sample letter to help guide their writing, they were empowered to advocate on a national LGBT issue. On Howard University’s campus alone students authored 30 letters in support of ENDA. For many of these students this was their first time taking political action outside of casting a ballot. The website will also keep students informed about what’s happening on other campuses through the blog, and provides information on HBCUs that have an LGBT group on their campuses. Students can connect to HRC through various online media and request specific new resources be developed for the problems they’re facing on their campuses. These are just some of the features we’ve provided for students and their allies, and we will continue to update the website with new content making it a living catalyst for activism on HBCU campuses. There are brave HBCU students living openly on campuses that are not LGBT friendly—not only dealing with issues at school—but in their homes and churches too. Students like Dustin Baker, Howard University School of Divinity’s only out seminarian, are an example of why HRC is committed to continue supporting LGBT HBCU students and their allies. As we work to organize, educate and advocate with these students, we amplify the voice of those like Dustin whose story is one of the long road and the difficult work ahead of us.