earlier this week, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s 18 year
old daughter recently came out as a lesbian. Even before she came
out, Governor Patrick was a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights. As reported
by the
Detroit News earlier this week, Governor Patrick is not the
only black politician who has been embracing LGBTQ rights
recently.
Governor David Paterson of New York recently ordered that his state
must recognize same sex marriages performed in other states. He
talked about the influence of a gay couple in his life growing up,
who he referred to as uncles, in catalyzing his support for LGBTQ
rights. Governor Paterson supports same sex marriage, saying
“People who live together for a long time would like to be
married — as far as I’m concerned, I think it’s beautiful.”
A third prominent black politician, presumptive Democratic
Presidential nominee Barack Obama, has also come out as a strong
supporter of LGBTQ rights, writing two open letters to the
community asserting his intention, if elected, to create federal
civil unions and repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
According to the Detroit News, this trend of support for LGBTQ
rights from African American politicians marks a huge step in
acceptance. This is amazing progress for the LGBTQ community.
If you are interested in issues pertaining to LGBTQ families of
color, you can also check out Family Equality Council’s new
initiative Project Harmony, which aims to “engage[s] lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) families of color
by working with national, state and local collaborators on issues
of racial and economic justice.”