I feel like the queer groups in my area have a racism problem people don't talk about (
self.FTMOver30)
submitted 7 hours ago by
Cringelord300000 to
r/FTMOver30
Ok let me preface this by saying that I'm white and it's entirely possible I'm talking out my ass here, but I will say I've seen a handful of FB posts also to this effect. I moved to the Denver metro area from Texas almost exactly a year ago and while people here are vastly more queer friendly and
I'm discovering more and more trans groups, I've noticed that EVERY group I go to, no matter who it's run by is REALLY REALLY WHITE. Like I don't think I have seen a single Black person. It actually has been kind of jarring because in Texas, for all the BS the government at large does and as bad as it is there, the groups were pretty diverse. I actually barely even knew any other white queers tbh. So it kinda was culture shock when I got here, to a state supposedly farther left, and saw this huge lack of diversity. At first I thought "well maybe the population is just less diverse here and it's a numbers game".
But after being here for a year and seeing how Denver Pride is (they not only invite cops to pride but the cops shoot people and they'll be like "there was an Officer Involved Shooting TM. How were the officers Involved? Don't worry about that.
" and around the same time seeing people on FB bring up the lack of groups that feel welcoming to POC, I realize that this isnt the case - that the queer community here probably is AS diverse, but the POC portion of it has been so alienated that they largely don't even try to participate in groups at our main LGBT center or whatever.
Personally I'm like, ok if they go make groups exclusively for themselves that's all well and good because you do need to just be with your people sometimes, but I don't think that ABSOLVES THE REST OF US of the responsibility of making groups a welcoming and affirming space for POC and clearly that has not been done. After all, the major events and groups here seem to be put on and run by white queers (correct me if I'm wrong of course) and I'm sorry but that's just not good enough if everyone is going to feel welcome. There are too many diverse experiences and points of view that aren't being considered.
The issue is that like....I don't know what role to play in solving this, if any. I feel like there's a lot of conflicting information online from searches I do and people I follow.
Some people want white people to play an active role in outreach. Some think that's overstepping and you should wait for them to come to you with what they want and then listen. I think that's totally valid and am happy to listen when people call something out, but also at this point, if trust is so eroded that we're basically two separate communities, how do we even get to the point where we're crossing paths again? And also doesn't that just put responsibility back on them to educate? I'm just going to say it -
the vibe I get from this place is that it has that whole We're White Liberals And We're Woke So Racism Must Be Over In Our City feel and that that's caused a rift that will take some pretty DELIBERATE effort to heal.
Also for me personally like I'm just some guy with observations. I don't have any leadership roles anywhere and
the center on Colfax doesn't even respond to my emails half the time lol. As far as what role I can play in the healing that needs to happen like I just straight up don't know. I actually don't even know where to ask this. Or really what to ask. I do think a handful of groups outside the center are talking about it, like talking about how we need to be OK with being called out if we say racist things or aren't accounting for diverse experiences, but that really isn't enough when trust has eroded so far that only white people even come to groups. And it should be a space where other folks can just SHOW UP and be safe right? Like not where they expect to show up and have to constantly be calling people out and educating. That's still gotta be stressful and draining even if people do listen to what you have to say. I feel like I know what to do when people do show up, but I feel like maybe we're not even at a level of trust where people would want to. Like the culture here in general just hasn't made enough room for people with diverse experiences to begin with and that's a harder problem to solve maybe.
Am I thinking too hard about this? I would love if you guys weighed in, especially if you've managed to create diverse and welcoming space in your own community. I guess can we just talk about this? I'm not crazy right?
![6018db263ec941425dee5aa4fb8f4389--rum-ham-frank-reynolds[1].jpg](http://uploads.kiwifarms.st/data/attachments/6105/6105669-bdc6e5e16ea863529537cb8e55f345d1.jpg?hash=vcbl4W6oY1 "6018db263ec941425dee5aa4fb8f4389--rum-ham-frank-reynolds[1].jpg")
Move on over Megan, got a brand new Super Hon for you 
