"Colorful ... Not Colorblind"

As local writer Tiffani Frazier said during Saturday's town meeting on racism in the gay and lesbian community, "We need a world that is colorful, not colorblind." We want to keep our great diversity, not try to force each person to be just like everyone else.

More than 100 women and men came together to get to the heart of racism, to address the impact of racism on our community, and to offer specific solutions [see page 13]. Of course, as history has shown us time and again, there is no simple solution to ending racism.

But there are steps we as individuals, as business owners, as activists and as leaders can take. As so many people said on Saturday, we must each be committed first and foremost to eliminating racism in our own lives. That means not stereotyping any one group of people ("All Black people are ... " or "All Asian people are," or even "All white people are ...). It also means making sure white people know that racism is their [our] problem, too. The effects of racism trample on the dreams and aspirations of an entire nation.

What are simple steps to reducing racism in the gay, lesbian, bi and trans communities? How can we make our community the model for the rest of the country, the rest of the world? The dialogue which started last Saturday must continue. Organizers will release recommendations and set future meetings. For now, how about some simple steps:

1) When you hear racist comments, confront the person. Make an effort to be supportive of organizations not in your normal social circle.

2) If you are a business owner, make sure your employees are educated and given "sensitivity training." No more extra carding for IDs of people of color simply trying to dance at a gay bar.

3) If you are a staff or board member with a gay and lesbian non-profit group, make sure your staff and board go through diversity training, and maybe an anti-racism workshop. If your agency receives funding for serving the entire community, it's your obligation to make sure your board and staff are truly representative of that community.

-Tracy Baim, Publisher

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