Strange Fruit #57: LGBTQ People of Color in the Workplace

The idea that working hard leads to success is a popular narrative in the United States, but a new report shows it's not that simple - especially for LGBTQ people of color. A Broken Bargain for LGBTQ Workers of Color shows folks in this demographic are some of the most disadvantaged workers in the country, facing high rates of unemployment and poverty. This week we spoke to Preston Mitchum from the Center for American Progress, a co-author of the report. Preston helped us break down some of the main trouble areas - hiring bias, unequal pay, educational barriers, on-the-job discrimination, etc. - and we talked about possible solutions, and what to do if you've faced racism or homophobia on the job. Check out the whole report here. In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we talked about Minnesota college professor Shannon Gibney, who was reprimanded by Minneapolis Community and Technical College administrators after white student's complained about her lessons on structural racism. Some of her white male students interrupted Professor Gibney's Intro to Mass Communication class and accused her of demonizing white men. The college agreed, and Gibney told the college newspaper it's happened before. "As a vocal, black female, younger-looking […] faculty member here, unfortunately this is not the first time I’ve actually had multiple verbal and institutional attacks on me by white males," she said, "whether they were students, faculty, administration or staff." We also we talked about the online popularity of the Sharkeisha video and what it says about the media we consume as entertainment, and reflected on the death of actor Paul Walker.