Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Liberation and Community Development
LGBTQ+ people have a powerful history of organizing and cooperation to support each other. Yet there is little focus within community development on development without displacement by and for queer and trans communities, and the challenges and opportunities they face in scaling this work. As extremist groups and policies increasingly target LGBTQ+ people, strategies to build queer and trans community and economic power for systems change are urgently needed. This LISC Institute for Community Power Spotlight focuses on the intersections between LGBTQ+ liberation and community development.
LGBTQ+ people have a powerful history of organizing and cooperation to support each other through the many decades where their ability to live and love openly has been criminalized; rebuild community spaces attacked by violent extremists and police raids; demand medical and political institutions respond to the devastating HIV/AIDs crisis; and create spaces of celebration, joy, and community throughout, to name just a few examples. More LGBTQ+ centers opened in the last decade than any prior decade in U.S history, and a growing number of self-organized housing and worker cooperatives, collectives, and mutual aid groups have mobilized quickly to meet the needs of low-income and unhoused BIPOC queer and trans people through the pandemic and beyond.
This ongoing resistance remains critical as LGBTQ+ people face an alarming rise in assaults on their lives and rights. The Human Rights Campaign recently declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S for the first time in history, as over 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced and 75 became law in 2023, with the majority focused on trans and non-binary youth. These policies have accompanied violent public demonstrations and attacks on LGBTQ+ people and the organizations that support them, with a record number of transgender people killed in 2021 and 2022, the majority of whom were Black and Latinx trans women; over 141 documented protests, attacks, and threats against drag events in 47 states in 2022; and 71% of LGBTQ+ centers and organizations reporting threats and harassment over the past two years.
Deeply rooted in anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes in U.S history and culture, this recent backlash against gains in legal protections and visibility compounds direct and structural violence that LGBTQ+ communities and particularly LGBTQ+ people of color were already much more likely to experience. LGBTQ+ unemployment and poverty are consistently higher than the national average, and LGBTQ+ people and particularly trans people are also disproportionately likely to experience housing insecurity and homelessness. Lower income and wealth in turn make it more difficult for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs to qualify for loans, which may be contributing to the closure of LGBTQ+ businesses amidst rising real estate costs and gentrification-driven displacement in communities throughout the country.
Yet there is little focus within community development on development without displacement by and for queer and trans communities, and the challenges and opportunities they face in scaling this work. As extremist groups and policies increasingly target LGBTQ+ people, strategies to build queer and trans community and economic power for systems change are urgently needed, including securing control over essential community resources and financing to support these efforts. Our latest LISC Institute for Community Power Spotlight focuses on the intersections between LGBTQ+ liberation and community development, and celebrates the wins of groups at the forefront of this work. You’ll find a feature article sharing lessons from successful LGBTQ+ housing efforts in Chicago, Kalamazoo, and the Twin Cities, as well as reporting, case studies, and research on LGBTQ-led efforts to reclaim land, housing, food, community spaces, and more.
Feature
The LISC Institute for Community Power spoke with organizations in Chicago, Kalamazoo, and the Twin Cities that have been at the forefront of creating affordable housing for LGBTQ+ youth, seniors, and BIPOC trans and gender-nonconforming people in their communities.
In practice
In Seattle, Queer the Land organized and bought a 12-bedroom house for queer, trans and two-spirit Black, Indigenous, and people of color, and is developing a community land trust structure to preserve collective ownership and community care over the long term.
Gays & Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society (GLITS) opened the GLITS House for unhoused BIPOC trans people in 2020, becoming the first such home owned by a Black trans woman in New York City. GLITS pairs leadership development with housing to build community power among Black trans women.
Yes! Magazine covers a growing movement of queer and trans farmers reimagining agriculture, land access, and food justice, and building LGBTQ+ spaces in rural communities.
Next City reports on a new mixed-use LGBTQ+-focused development in Cleveland, which will be a hub for small businesses, green and open space, social services, community programming, healthcare, housing, and event spaces by and for LGBTQ+ communities
My Sistah's House in Memphis provides emergency housing, advocacy, and resource navigation by and for trans and gender non-confirming people of color, focusing on trans women of color.
At Liberated 23 Ave in Oakland, queer and trans people of color organized and partnered with the Oakland Community Land Trust to buy their building when it went up for sale, and are preserving a longtime community hub for queer and trans people of color as permanently affordable.
In San Francisco, the Our Trans Home SF coalition manages a housing navigation center, transitional housing, and a rental subsidy for trans, gender variant and intersex people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness in the Bay Area, and advocates for local policy change.
Shelterforce summarizes lessons from affordable LGBTQ+ friendly senior housing efforts around the country, and finds that there are 12 such developments, with six more in the pipeline.
What we're reading
The Human Rights Campaign recently published a report on the impacts of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country, a guidebook for LGBTQ+ people navigating states with hostile legislation, and resources for supporting LGBTQ+ communities.
The UCLA Williams Institute conducts independent research on sexual identity and gender identity, including data, maps, and reports on poverty, economic exclusion, and the impacts of recent legislation on LGBTQ+ people and their families.
The Movement Advancement Project publishes research on the LGBTQ+ movement capacity, including data on LGBTQ+ community centers and advocacy organizations, and tracks LGBTQ+ legislation and policies.
Funders for LGBTQ+ Issues has published issue guides to economic and housing injustices faced by LGBTQ+ communities, and community assets and opportunities to transform these inequities.
The LGBTQ Poverty Collaborative Project gives a comprehensive overview of how LGBTQ+ communities are disproportionately impacted by poverty, and details programs, practicies and policies at all levels of government to advance queer and trans economic justice.
New research from the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research and the Movement Advancement Project shares findings on the financial health and needs of LGBTQ-owned small businesses.
The Citizens Housing and Planning Council of New York offers an example of a housing plan that foregrounds LGBTQ+ communities.
SAGE's National LGBTQ+ Housing Initiative has compiled resources on developing housing for LGBTQ+ elders, grounded in lessons from their experience building two LGBTQ+ friendly senior housing developments.
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition hosted a webinar on financial exclusion and barriers to capital access among LGBTQ+ borrowers, and how lenders can overcome discrimination.