LGBTQ+ and Racism - Poetry

By Mackenzie Lai
Published on June 15th, 2020

Racism:

Why is it that no one likes me

Why is it that no one likes me

No one likes me

No one likes me

Nobody

Nobody

Just because I have a darker skin complexion

Just because I have a darker skin complexion

I get it

I’m not like Jeremiah

I’m not light-skinned

But it doesn't mean I have to get the death penalty

We both committed the exact same crime

I want to be like Jeremiah

A study conducted by Jennifer Eberhardt, a psychology professor at the famous Stanford University, found that people with darker skin complexions are more likely to receive worse penalties than people with lighter skin tones. Eberhardt found that 54% of African-American defendants with dark skin, broad noses and thick lips were sentenced to death vs 24% of their light-skinned counterparts. "No matter what we controlled for, the black defendants appeared to be punished in proportion to the blackness of their features," said Eberhardt. 25% of the state prisons across the US population is black.

Frutter and Fratz

Frutter and Fratz

The

Frutter and Fratz cases

2003

We want diversity

We need diversity

Diversity helps us excel

No it doesn’t

Prove the theory to me

Diversity doesn’t help us excel

Yes it does

Give me evidence then

We want diversity

At The

University of Michigan

And diverse leaders in the real world

The Frutter and Fratz cases in 2003 were about how racial diversity was needed at colleges to create a group of diverse leaders in the military, business, and governments. It was said that a diverse learning environment enhanced the learning experience for all students of all races as there would be: different cultures, diverse perspectives, and a compassionate environment. The theory was even proven correct by Samuel R. Sommers, an assistant psychology professor at Tufts University.

LGBTQ+

I was a part of the first generation to grow up

With equality

Equality for all

At first, I was optimistic,

Optimistic that there would be equality,

Equality for me,

That my sexuality wouldn’t be a taboo

But in 2020,

It still is

My parents don’t accept me for who I am

Why don’t they accept me for who I am

I’m still the same person

I never changed

Never

Only 3.5% of Americans were openly in the LGBTQ+ community in 2013 in comparison to 4.1% (10 million) in 2016. Millennials who identify as LGBTQ+ rose from 5.8% in 2012 to 7.3% in 2016. As a whole, women are more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than men.

My black cousin believes I definitely face a lot of discrimination,

My Asian teacher believes I kind of do,

My white ma thinks I definitely do,

My Hispanic friend thinks I do,

My mixed classmate thinks I do,

I do

Around 75% of black Americans say the LGBTQ+ community faces a lot of discrimination. 72% of them believe transgender people face bias while 73% of them say gay and lesbian face discrimination. Two-thirds of Hispanics believe that the LGBTQ+ community faces bias. 66% of them believe gay and lesbians face bias. For every 10 mixed-race Americans, 6 believe that the LGBTQ+ community faces discrimination. 61% of mixed-race Americans believe lesbian and gay face discrimination in contrast to 68% for transgender. The majority of caucasian Americans believe there is a significant amount of discrimination against gay and lesbians (54% believe so) and transgender (59% believe so).49% of Asian Pacific Islander Americans believe gay and lesbian people face bias while 55% of them say the same for transgender people. In 2012, 2.9% among college graduates to 3.8% among those who had a college education came out. By 2016, there was virtually no variation in education.

My body, my mind, my soul: a story

Each poem was written by a different character with different thoughts, feelings, perceptions. What are yours? Each one faced discrimination in their own way, what have you done to stop it? Were you the one who hurt them? Or are you one of them, casted away by the world? I always thought that we should be united, I always thought that we should work together to reach our common goal. I’m not sure if that would happen in the near future. It won’t without your help.

Ted needed the money, so did Jeremiah. They worked endlessly, worked double jobs, worked all day, all night. They were below the poverty gap. The governments did nothing to help them. One day, they came up with an idea to rob a bank, they did so. They murdered a couple. They did the exact same thing. But who faced a worse penalty? Ted. Why? Why? Why does this world have a prejudice against dark-skinned people? Why?

Jessica, the top student at her high school, she’s excelling, exceeding standards. She wants to, needs to go to a top university. But they won’t let her in, they don’t want diversity. She knows about the Frutter and Fratz case, she heard about it from her friend’s radio. It gives her hope. But how far would hope go? They won’t accept her anyways, she’s not even from a prestigious school. Her parents don’t have the money. They already need to save up for her college tuition.

Alexander, a 34 year old from Cape Town, struggles. Why does he struggle? What hurt him so badly that he always thinks of cutting everyone off? Why is he scared of what every single person would think of him? Why is his sexuality such a taboo? Not even his parents accept him. His parents call him slurs and insults. But he’s none of those things. Alexander’s just the same person as he was right when he was born. He’s run out of hope. What would run out next?

Nigel sometimes gets put down by his classmates. When he was in middle school, his ‘best friend’ put him down, said he’s really not gay as he has neverdated a boy. But Nigel was into boys. Only boys. He always has been. At the age of 18, a senior, he still is. His best friend at the time said Nigel was only calling himself gay for attention, he just wants other people to pity him. Thank god his ‘best friend’ moved away. But everyone around him at least thinks he faces some sort of discrimination. Nigel’s certainly not doing it for attention.

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