In Black and White: Black queer young people face multiple challenges

Dr. Terrance Dean and "The Other Side" podcast host, Scot Kirk, speak with Erin Upchurch, executive director of ​Kaleidoscope Youth Center, and Karen Hewitt, the center's deputy director. Together the two authored a op-ed column for The Dispatch on the racism and discrimination faced by Black queer and trans young people.

Black queer youths experience disproportionate rates of school discipline, lower graduation rates, and lower academic achievement, Hewitt said. Upchurch believes Black queer young people often lack support from family and community, and they need a safe space where they can be themselves.

And while Black queer youths face both racism and hate for how they express their gender and sexuality, Hewitt and Upchurch also discuss whether being Black, or being queer, poses more difficulties in contemporary U.S. society.

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>> Read more: Opinion: Safe environment needed for Black transgender youth