Today, when more and more people choose homosexual relations, it is imperative that their freedom of self-identification is respected and protected. Many violations of human rights and abuses concerning homosexual relations have been brought to light in recent years, resulting in the rise of LGBTQ communities created to protect their members. One of the most well-known communities in Brooklyn community centered in Brooklyn aimed at consulting homosexual couples in crises and promoting freedom of choice all over the country.
The community admits LGBTQ Afro-Americans belonging to different age groups, as these people are most vulnerable and are often in need of advice and protection. The community stems from an alliance between the Black Panther Party and the Gay Liberation Front that united to organize marches for Afro-American homosexual people’s rights in the 1970s (Brooklyn Liberation Community). Gradually the community grew and today includes activists, lawyers, reporters, along transgender Afro-Americans of all ages.
Brooklyn Liberation Community offers its members protection and advice on legal issues and space to freely communicate their needs and be listened to. The organization’s aims are the promotion of respect for Afro-African homosexual couples, the reduction of legal cases brought against LGBTQ communities, and the protection of human rights. The community has Facebook and Twitter pages where it posts its initiatives and pictures of activities that are going to take place. Brooklyn Liberation Community has around 7,000 followers, which makes this organization influential in promoting LGBTQ communities’ rights (Brooklyn Liberation Community). The organization has close ties with other LGBTQ communities all over the country, allowing its members to get support in all situations they need.
Its most recent initiatives include the organization of Brooklin Liberation March in the protest against the rising number of litigation against homosexual Afro-American youth. The march gathered around 15, 000 protesters who carried slogans #ProtectTransYouth, #TransYouthPower, #TransAthletesBelongInSport (Brooklyn Liberation Community). The march has become the largest LGBTQ gathering this year that drew the public’s attention to the problems of inequality and abuse of LGBTQ people’s rights. Many activists and lawyers came to support the movement; the atmosphere was that of closeness and respect for human differences.
Brooklyn Liberation Community has a significant influence on city life and broader urban life in the state of New York. First of all, having an LGBTQ community within the city teaches people to be tolerant of differences and respect others for what they are and not what many want them to be. Seeing homosexual couples in the streets, heterosexual people understand that they are no different from usual couples and should not be shunned. Moreover, the understanding that there is a community always ready to come to help in case of need deters many people from showing their displeasure, if there is any. Secondly, the LGBTQ community protects its members against abuse and discrimination on the basis of their beliefs.
While earlier it was difficult for transgender Afro-Americans to make themselves heard, today they may ask for help from professional lawyers and human rights activists. Events within the community are more likely to receive media coverage which may be needed to push legislative bodies to adopt this or that decision. Thirdly, the community serves to unite people, organizing such events as the Brooklin Liberation March in which people of all colors may participate and contribute to promoting the freedoms of transgender people.
Reference
Brooklyn Liberation Community (n.d.). Home [Instagram page]. Web.