By Jared D. Childress
Dwayne Crenshaw was outed by the Black press in San Diego during his 2004 campaign for city council.
He said the editorial called him the smartest, most qualified, and most experienced – but discouraged readers from voting for him because he’s gay.
He believes that cost him the seat.
Today he is president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Urban League after a national search found Crenshaw to be a competitive candidate. He brings three decades of experience in the civics and social organizations industry, including serving as an aide to former California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante.
“At this point in my life, I’ve been out for a long time as a Black-gay-Christian-smart-man,” Crenshaw said, plugging his signature tagline. “I’ve gotten pretty comfortable in my own skin.”
Prior to relocating to the state capital, he served as executive director of San Diego Pride from 2010-2013. Their motto was “Pride 365” because the work didn’t stop at the end of June.
“Pride isn’t just a party,” Crenshaw said. “Yes, it’s a celebration, but at the end of the day this is a social justice movement.”
Each June, Pride commemorates the history, contributions, and continued advocacy work of the LGBTQIA+ community. The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, allies/asexual and the “+” recognizes the many identities that continue to come forward.
Pride is held in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. Same-sex acts were illegal in almost every state, so many gay bars were owned and operated in secret by the mafia. Such was the case with the Stonewall Inn, an LGBTQIA+ nightclub. Police raids were routine, but often avoided by corrupt cops who would tip off the mafia for a payout.
One night they got caught. Stonewall was raided by police June 28, 1969. But this time, the people fought back, rioting for six days.
“At the forefront of the movement was Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman,” Crenshaw said. “It was about civil rights and police brutality.”
The “P” in Marsha P. Johnson stands for “Pay It No Mind.”
Historian Eric Cervini wrote in his book “The Deviants War: The Homosexual vs. the United States” that Johnson, “miraculously climbed a lamppost in high heels and a tight-fitting dress. She dropped a bag full of bricks onto a police car below, shattering its windshield.”
Johnson would later become an AIDS activist with the ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) movement, before being killed in 1992. Her body was found in a river. No one has been convicted of her murder.
Black trans women continue to be one of the most murdered demographics. The Human Rights Campaign tracks fatal violence against transgender and gender nonconforming folks. Of the 13 victims this year, eight are Black and seven are Black trans women. About a third of trans people are killed by people they know, such as an acquaintance, friend, family member or intimate partner, according to a report from HRC.
Black queer and trans folk not only deal with anti-LGBTQIA+ hate, they deal with racism both within and outside of the LGBTQIA+ community. This compounded discrimination is called “intersectionality.” The term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading scholar of critical race theory.
They are disproportionately affected by police brutality, book bans, anti-gay legislation, mass incarceration, lack of access to health care, poverty — to name a few.
Dr. Malakai Coté, a local psychologist who identifies as nonbinary, spoke to the intersectionality of Black queer and trans folks.
“Anti-Blackness is real,” he said. “So community is very important for Black people. And for us as Black queer and trans people, coming together can be healing and very safe.”
In recent years, the greater LGBTQIA+ community has worked to be more inclusive of Black, Indigenous, and people of color. The rainbow flag was revamped in 2017 to include black and brown stripes to represent the African American and Latino communities.
Autumn “Asters” Jackson, co-founder of Black Womxn United, didn’t want a seat at the table. She made her own flag, the “Black Queer Flag.”
“I made the flag because I got tired of having to share with a community that doesn’t actually see us as part of the community,” said Jackson, who identifies as a lesbian. “Whiteness is centered in the LGBTQIA+ community but the queer community isn’t just a bunch of gay cisgender white boys.”
Jackson had a visceral response to the mass shootings in LGBTQIA+ spaces. But she said it’s the killing of Blacks by law enforcement that feels closest to home.
“Before anything, I’m Black,” Jackson said. “That’s the first thing people see when they look at me.”
There’s a history of Black Prides throughout the country and abroad. Stateside, there’s celebrations in D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles, to name a few. Internationally, there are celebrations in Jamaica, Brazil, Nigeria and more.
While Crenshaw recognizes the historical significance of Black Pride, he said the goal is to have mainstream Pride be inclusive of all races and ethnicities.
“There’s still a mindset that Black and gay don’t go together,” Crenshaw said. “I lead with Black because that’s what you see first, but I’m Black and gay. It may not fit into your box, but I’m comfortable in my skin.”
Glossary
Terms as defined by PFLAG, an organization supporting the loved ones of LGBTQIA+ folk. For more information visit pflag.org.
- Cisgender – (pronounced sis-gender): A term used to refer to an individual whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth. The prefix cis- comes from the Latin word for “on the same side as.”
- Transgender – Often shortened to trans, from the Latin prefix for “on a different side as.” A term describing a person’s gender identity that does not necessarily match their assigned sex at birth.
- Pronouns – The words used to refer to a person other than their name. Common pronouns are they/them, he/him, and she/her. For those who use pronouns – and not all people do – they are not “preferred,” they are essential.
- Pansexual – Refers to a person whose emotional, romantic and/or physical attraction is to people inclusive of all genders.
- Queer – A term used by some LGBTQ+ people to describe themselves and/or their community. Reclaimed from its earlier negative use – and valued by some for its defiance – the term is also considered by some to be inclusive of the entire community.
- Nonbinary – Refers to people who do not subscribe to the gender binary. They might exist between or beyond the man-woman binary.
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