Black women, LGBTQ hold rally
Organizers say anti-racism warriors must also fight misogyny, homophobia
Keris Lové is tired of being told to be silent. However, this is what is expected of black women in America, she said at a rally Saturday in Albany for black women, children, LGBTQ people and marginalized genders.
She expressed her frustrations that sometimes black women, black transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, among others are left out of black liberation movements.
“As a black woman in America you’re expected to uphold this movement and be quiet and still make space for the cisblack men,” Lové told the crowd that filled Townsend Park. “You are expected to feed the children, cook the meals, do the organizing (for movements) and praying every night, and you’re still expected to be quiet.”
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded by three black women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, two of whom identify as queer. This is something that is often forgotten, event organizer Amy Jones said.
“Say Her Name is a subset of Black
Lives Matter movement,” Jones said. “It’s been co-opted by the cis-heteronormative patriarchy, and that’s not what it’s for.”
Lové said this has long been the case for black women and other minorities within the black community. Lové’s grandmoth
er, a former Black Panther, who marched in Selma, Alabama, also told her this was true of black liberation movements in the 1960s.
“She told me there were nights that they wanted to talk about gender inequality and misogyny, but they were told they had to stay quiet for the movement,” Lové said.
Lové said it is no longer going to be that way.
“You’re not free unless everyone is free,” she said.
The rally honored all black women who faced brutality, such as Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, among many others, by saying their names. At the end the audience chanted “Say Her Name.” Various speakers spoke about the importance of supporting black women, LGBTQ people and those who are differently abled.
Several speakers expressed their frustrations with “performative activism” from allies. Since protests and rallies began, some people have voiced their support on social media with rally photos or by simply just posting a black
box out of “solidarity.”
Stevie Vargas, who spoke at the event, challenged people to go beyond that. She asked people to consider donating to causes that uplift the black community, and staying at the events for longer than to take a picture.
“If you are only here to check in on Facebook, and for a photo op, I need you to leave,” Vargas said. “If you are not here to literally put your life on the line for black women, black femmes, black trans women, I need you to leave because we’re tired.”
“We marched in these streets, you said you were with us, and then the cops showed up and you bounced,” she continued.
Others even expressed that the fight has become tiresome, yet they’ll persist. For Lové, the question remains: will any of it ever be enough?
“I want to know how much longer are we going to put on marches and rallies and speak passionately for you to understand that what we want is basic human rights,” Lové said. “I’m tired of the shucking and jiving and marching and screaming because I don’t want to die by the hands of the state.”