‘Live out loud’: US Black queer activists fight against ‘tactics of erasure’

Queer people of color are frequently overlooked in the fight for equality, but inroads into the corridors of power are being made

On the 60th anniversary of the 1963 march on Washington this summer, a few Black queer advocates spoke passionately before the main program about the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights. As some of them got up to speak, the crowd was still noticeably small.

Hope Giselle, a speaker who is Black and trans, said she felt the event's programming echoed the historical marginalization and erasure of Black queer activists in the civil rights movement.