Activism, intersectionality, and community psychology: The way in which Black Lives Matter Toronto helps us the examine white supremacy in Canada's LGBTQ community

Abstract

Black Lives Matter’s Toronto chapter protested at the city’s 2016 LGBTQ Pride parade to make pointed demands for more funding, access to space, and the removal of police presence at future pride celebrations. Their protest led to polarizing discussions about Black Lives Matter’s involvement in the community and white supremacy in the LGBTQ community, with rhetoric that attempted to separate blackness from queerness and transness. Drawing from the protest and its tumultuous aftermath and from literature on Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ movement, this paper explores points of tension and intersection between the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ movement. It then examines critical race theory, queer theory, transgender studies, and intersectionality as theoretical lenses for Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ movements. Implications for community psychology praxis with Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ movements are outlined.

Keywords

• Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, white supremacy, social movements, intersectionality, community psychology, critical race theory, queer theory