The Silenced Organization: Black Colleges Slow To Support the LGBT Community By Ivory Brooks and Kierra Tobiere.

February 18, 2013. On the heels of a bad breakup with her girlfriend of two years, sophomore Bria Freeman felt little support on her college campus, compared to the support she was used to at home in Baltimore, Md. Though there are many openly homosexual students at Howard University, Freeman says she and her LGBT peers lack a sense of unity and supportive infrastructure. "Most of my friends are gay," Freeman says. "But there isnt a lot for us on campus. If there were any events on campus for the LGBT community, I would go. I want to be surrounded by my peers." Many college students who are a part of the LGBT community search for a sense of understanding and support while attending school, but do not always find it. According to a 2010 study by Campus Pride, a college LGBT leadership organization, only seven percent of colleges have resources for lesbian and gay students. The study also states that "students who are out in high school are actually returning to a more closeted space when they come to college. and that students who do not have that on-campus support for their sexuality have higher depression rates. HBCU's are anecdotally known to be slower in embracing gay students because of added cultural barriers of the black community. HBCU college administrators have largely not made any commitment to LGBTQ concerns, including the harassment that impedes student academic success and safety, according to a report released by the LGBT activist group Lambda Legal. Howard University was ranked among the top three HBCUs in the nation, along with Spellman College and Morehouse College, by the U.S. News Rankings and Reviews.
"HBCU college administrators have largely not made any commitment to LGBTQ concerns, including the harassment that impedes student academic success and campus safety", according to Campus Pride.

Howards LGBT community, the Coalition of Activist Students Celebrating the Acceptance of Diversity and Equality (CASCADE), aims to create a safe space for Howards LGBT community and allies to come together as well as to educate the entire Howard community on LGBT issues. CASCADE President Theara Coleman, an English major and graduating senior, acknowledges the lack of activities for LGBT members on campus in comparison to prior years. I dont really think of CASCADE as an outlet for education," said sophomore psychology major Christina

Wilson, an openly gay student."Its just a place to socialize, bond, have fun, and meet other gays on campus." Although the organization wants to provide entertaining activities, fun is not its main focus. Coleman explained that members of the CASCADE e-board have grown weary about providing social events for the LGBT community on campus because the organization is misperceived as being an outlet for just hooking up and not as an outlet for its intended purpose: education, activism, and safety. A major stride was made for the LGBT-student community at Bowie State University, which in 2012 became the first HBCU to open an institutionally supported LGBT Student Center. Morehouse soon followed suit by creating a LGBT course that delivers theoretical insight into LGBT pop cultural and social and political issues. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has also been working to bridge the gap of LGBT support in the black collegiate community. HRC, the nations largest LGBT-rights organization, held a HBCU LGBT Leadership and Career Summit in October 2012 in Washington, D.C. "The Human Rights Campaign Foundations Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Program educates and organizes students, faculty and administrators at HBCU campuses on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues specific to each institutions needs. And it trains students to build viable studentled LGBT or LGBT-friendly organizations on campus." Students that attend HBCUs may do so in order to be a part of a black community that they can relate to and to feel comfortable; yet, LGBT-community members who attend HBCUs are not always afforded that luxury. As President Obama stated in his second inaugural speech, in words likely to resonate loudly on HBU campuses, Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law. (Grade Received: A)