LGBT* Communities in Times of COVID-19: Confronting Issues of Racism

The global coronavirus pandemic is affecting communities worldwide – the LGBT* community is no exception. As a community that is both often ostracized when receiving physical and mental healthcare and has already lived through decades of stigma attached to another epidemic – HIV/AIDS – the LGBT community especially needs support to find strength and resilience.

Acknowledging the isolation and anxieties that many of its Fellows were facing, the Salzburg Global LGBT* Forum developed a series of online meetings to provide a space for Fellows to share the challenges and anxieties they are facing and the opportunities they have discovered amid this crisis.

PROGRAM FOCUS

In our fourth meeting in the series LGBT Communities in Times of COVID-19, we explored the intersections of global crises, focusing specifically racism and social injustices faced by racialized communities. COVID-19 has highlighted the disproportionate lack of equal access to food and housing, health care, education, jobs, and pay by people of color in many societies. LGBT people of color who already face discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are especially at risk.

This discussion was organized by a group of Fellows within the LGBT* Forum: Bisi Alimi, Lee Badgett, Faris Cuchi Gezahegn, Angeline Jackson, and Sudeshan Reddy. They echoed the group's wider call for an in-depth discussion on racism within the LGBT context.

PROGRAM GOALS

This online Fellowship meeting sought to:

• Strengthen the Salzburg Global LGBT* Forum network by virtually reuniting Fellows in this time of crisis;
• Focus on specific themes that might not get sufficient attention during this crisis; and
• Plan initiatives, production of content and shared responsibilities for future virtual gatherings of the Salzburg Global LGBT* Forum.

PROGRAM PARTICIPATION

This program was open to Fellows of Salzburg Global LGBT* Forum series only.