RACISM IN GAY COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTED

A British gay men’s health charity, GMFA, aims to raise awareness of racial discrimination in LGBT spaces through a new campaign.

The group also hopes to empower individuals to tackle the issue and embrace a multi-cultural community.

The campaign was developed by Big Up, the Black gay men’s project at GMFA.

“These are big and historically complicated issues we’re dealing with. While we don’t expect to solve the problem of discrimination in one go, we hope this campaign provokes discussion and encourages everyone to recognise the benefits of ethnic diversity,” said Jaime Sylla, project manager for Big Up.

“We also hope that LGB&T people, irrespective of ethnic background, can draw parallels between the experience of homophobia and that of racism, and appreciate that our common struggle far outweighs what we think separates us.”

The ‘Switched On’ campaign features video testimonials from LGBT people in which they share their experiences as Black and ethnic minority members of the LGBT community.

“It’s very important for us to stand together because, at the end of the day, we need to make sure that we’re unified and we show a unified front,” said Hanaan Baig, who appears in a video testimonial.

He, along with other Muslim LGBT people, was called a “terrorist” by fellow gay marchers at London Pride.

Adverts produced for the campaign feature the headline “Be Switched On” and highlight that “as LGB&T people we’ve all faced discrimination. Within our own community some of us also feel excluded because of the colour of our skin. A divided community makes us weaker”.

To view the testimonial videos, visit www.gmfa.org.uk/switchedon.