Black and L.G.B.T.Q. identities have long been the favorite targets of conservatives and the religious right. Conservatives then recognized that demonizing trans kids in particular would provide even more fuel to fire up their base. It worked.

With the aid of the newly branded Christian nationalist movement, legislation has already been passed in a majority of red states to whitewash history and prevent educators from teaching the truth about Black history and L.G.B.T.Q. identities in public institutions.

Curriculum in Texas and Florida, for example, requires teachers to minimize slavery as “forced relocation.” It requires teachers to emphasize that enslaved Black people somehow benefited from a lifetime of forced labor and dehumanization by learning skills that “could be applied to their personal benefit.” As if learning to repair shoes for the express benefit of white slave owners somehow made up for permanent and generational enslavement, not to mention that the enslaved would never be able to apply those skills as a free person.

Under Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, educators were also required to counterbalance any mention of white massacres of Black Americans with the instances where those same Black Americans had attempted to defend themselves or exercise their right to vote. This is another example of the indoctrination and insidious gaslighting campaigns that are a hallmark of conservative propaganda.

Unless the Black and L.G.B.T.Q. communities unite in opposition, Christian nationalism could soon become our national identity.

Coretta Scott King’s vision included the L.G.B.T.Q. community, as she made clear in her speeches at the Atlanta Pride Festival and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund celebration. She joined other civil rights icons like Congressman John Lewis, Bayard Rustin, and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond in standing up for L.G.B.T.Q. rights.

Our goal is nothing less than making the Black and L.G.B.T.Q. communities one of the largest, most powerful voting blocs in U.S. history. Our community consists of the most diverse cross-section of the population, cutting across race, culture, and economic standing, and coming from every walk of life. We can do this.

Use whatever platform you have available to share your story and educate others on why we must acknowledge that faith is not fact. Above all, vote and encourage everyone you know to vote. Now is not the time to sit out in protest or cast your vote for a third-party candidate. Engage in local and state elections, as well as the presidential elections.

Join the rebellion. Lead the rebellion. Become the generation responsible for ending religious tyranny and preserving democracy.

Peter Tchoryk

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