The National Black Justice Coalition and Black Policy Lab, a project of Pink Cornrows, announced their launch of a new initiative to gather data on the Black LGBTQ+ and same-sex communities— one of the most burdened communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This new survey aims to reveal and illustrate new data on how Black LGBTQ+ people have been affected. Compiled and collected information will inform policy decisions and necessary shifts in practice. Black Policy Lab will launch a series of virtual summits/series, to discuss survey results, solutions, and design policy recommendations.
Previous data and announcements of affected communities reflect Black people disproportionately experiencing the coronavirus, facing systematic discrimination within healthcare. The survey will also preserve essential aspects of how Black LGBTQ+ survive during and will continue after a pandemic.
According to the email announcing the launch, “Find crucial data on how black LGBTQ/SGL people are weathering the pandemic at a time when data shows that black communities make up 60 percent of the COVID-19 deaths in the United States.”
David J. Johns, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, said “Existing data from this crisis has already proven what many of us have already known: Black communities continue to be the least supported and most exploited.”
Plus, Black people live predominately in the South where it is legal to deny access to employment, public housing, and medical services on the basis of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender orientation, and gender expression.
“Data is a powerful tool, but often isn’t the full story,” said Ifeoma Ike, Nigerian-American attorney and founder of Black Policy Lab. “Traditional empirical research and interpretation methods are not without bias, and frequently disseminated without insight from our community.”
For more information on resources during COVID-19, visit the following: COVID-19 & HIV, AAPF Intersectional Resources and LGBTQ+ Funding Resources.
