‘UN needs some extra love’: Senate approves Biden’s pick
Among ages 18-23, the percentage is highest
WASHINGTON – The Senate approved Linda Thomas-greenfield’s nomination Tuesday to be ambassador to the United Nations, a post that will quickly thrust her into the international spotlight.
Despite some fireworks during her confirmation hearing, Thomas-greenfield won strong bipartisan support in Tuesday’s 78-20 vote.
At the U.N., Thomas-greenfield will have a high-profile role in the Biden administration’s efforts to restore America’s standing as a global leader. And she will face an early test of her diplomatic mettle: The U.S. is scheduled to hold the Security Council’s rotating presidency in March, giving the U.S. ambassador leverage to shape the body’s agenda.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Thomas-greenfield “exceptionally
qualified” for the U.N. post and said her confirmation was urgent.
“She’ll assume the role of the U.N. ambassador at a time when the nations of the world must deepen their cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 and the fight against climate change, among other critical priorities,” the Democratic leader said during Monday evening’s debate on her candidacy.
There’s no question that Thomasgreenfield will face a gauntlet of geopolitical challenges, from knotty relationships with Russia and China to lingering skepticism among U.S. allies after four years of the Trump administration’s “America First” foreign policy.
Over a 35-year career in the foreign service, Thomas-greenfield, who is Black, has held numerous diplomatic posts around the world – from Kenya to Pakistan.
She was the U.S. ambassador to Liberia
from 2008 to 2012 before becoming the top U.S. diplomat for African affairs in the Obama administration.
Other nations “expect her to be someone who rolls up her sleeves and engages in the hard work of day-to-day diplomacy in a collegial way,” Gowan said. “I think African diplomats are especially pleased that Thomas-greenfield, who knows the continent very well, is going to their counterpart in New York.”
Thomas-greenfield promised lawmakers she would bring a different tone to the U.N. than her recent predecessors.
“When America shows up – when we are consistent and persistent – when we exert our influence in accordance with our values – the United Nations can be an indispensable institution for advancing peace, security, and our collective well-being,” Thomas-greenfield told lawmakers during her Senate confirmation hearing. Gowan said foreign diplomats also hope the Biden administration will dispatch Secretary of State Antony Blinken or other high-level officials to some of the U.N. Security Council meetings when the U.S. holds the council presidency.
“If President Biden or Vice President Harris makes an appearance at the U.N., even if only via video link, you will (see) U.N. diplomats go into a collective swoon,” he said. “After Trump, the U.N. needs some extra love.”
Thomas-greenfield is expected to reverse several of the Trump administration’s U.N. policies right out of the box. For example, the Biden administration has said it will restore funding for a U.N. aid program for Palestinian refugees, as well as the U.N.’S Population Fund, which focuses on women’s sexual and reproductive health.
A record number of U.S. adults – 5.6% – identify as LGBTQ, an increase propelled by a younger generation staking out its presence in the world, a poll Wednesday shows.
The survey by Gallup marks more than a 1 percentage point jump from the last poll in 2017, in which 4.5% of adults identified as LGBTQ.
The estimated 18 million adults who identify as LGBTQ represent an upward trajectory since Gallup started tracking identification in 2012, Gallup senior editor Jeff Jones said.
“It reflects what we are seeing in society and the way society is changing,” he said.
One of the biggest headlines in the 2020 poll is the emergence of Generation Z adults, those 18 to 23: 1 in 6, or 15.9%, identify as LGBTQ. In each older generation, LGBTQ identification is lower, including 2% or less of respondents born before 1965.
For the first time, Gallup queried respondents on their precise sexual orientation rather than a simple yes or no on whether someone identified as LGBTQ, which allowed more insight into identity, Jones said.
Among LGBTQ adults, a majority or 54.6% identify as bisexual, the poll shows. About a quarter, or 24.5%, identify as gay; 11.7% as lesbian; 11.3% as transgender.
Generation Z again leads the way: 72% who identify as LGBTQ say they are bisexual.
There are gender differences as well: h Women are more likely than men to identify as LGBTQ (6.4% vs 4.9%).
h Women are more likely to identify as bisexual than men (4.3% vs 1.8%).
A more accepting reality
Advocates are not surprised to see more young people identifying as LGBTQ. Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, cites “generational shifts in awareness and acceptance” that have reshaped how LGBTQ youths are embraced
by families and peers.
“I have had conversations with many older LGBTQ people who break down in tears when they share their coming-out stories of decades ago – heart-wrenching stories of family rejection, losing parents, losing siblings, losing jobs,” she said. “Older generations grew up during those times when being LGBTQ could land you in jail, or alone or jobless.
“The younger generations haven’t experienced this level of fear where often being in the closet felt less like a choice and more like a survival mechanism.”
Parents have created environments where young people not only feel safe in coming out – but those on the cusp of adulthood can map futures packed with possibilities, something not seen even a generation ago, she said.
LGBTQ representation in communities, media, politics and beyond in recent years is significant, said Cathy Renna, communications director for the National LGBTQ Task Force: “Children are taught prejudice, and when LGBTQ people are part of their lives from the
beginning they understand that they can be themselves and are not alone.”
Renna cites a better and “more nuanced” grasp of sexual orientation and gender identity that has enabled LGBTQ youths to celebrate their full selves.
“Young people do not want to check off a box; they want to be able to express themselves authentically and acknowledge all their identities,” she said.
Hardship and bias still exist
The survey comes amid a cautiously optimistic time for the LGBTQ community. President Joe Biden made equality a plank in his campaign, promising an ambitious agenda to advance LGBTQ rights after four years of setbacks and attacks by the previous administration.
Biden has signed executive orders that prohibit workplace discrimination in the federal government based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and he lifted the transgender military ban. And he has pledged to sign the federal Equality Act, recently introduced in the
House – which provides sweeping protections in housing, education, credit and services – in his first 100 days if Congress acts.
The poll numbers give the battle for equality perspective, Mushovic said.
“Less than 20 years ago, just being in a same-sex relationship could be a crime. Now, LGBTQ people can marry the person they love,” she said. “And the Supreme Court found, just last year, that it’s not legal to fire someone just for being LGBTQ. So LGBTQ people finally have a little more freedom to be themselves.”
But much work remains, she said. Violence and bias still lurk in society, Mushovic said, hitting communities such as transgender people of color particularly hard.
“The fact that it’s 2021 and we’re still pushing for the Equality Act, decades after federal non-discrimination protections were originally introduced, shows that our laws need to catch up to the public on these issues,” she said.