Brooklyn Community Leaders Look At LGBTQ POC’s Past, Future
As Black History Month draws to a close, it’s perhaps instructive to focus on a New York City borough
where so many Black LGBTQ milestones have been achieved, to see how two of its local leaders are
looking towards tomorrow. Brooklyn has always been home to a diverse, thriving populace, and in two
of its most multicultural districts are a couple of dedicated foremen whose voice speaks not only for
their LGBTQ constituencies, but for all those who call the seaside borough home. They are City Council
candidates Wilfredo Florentino of DistrIct 42, which serves East New York and Brownsville, and District
40 leader Josue (Josh) Pierre of Flatbush. Brooklyn is rich with LGBTQ culture, centering on the famous
Starlite Lounge, which served the Black gay community for 48 years. It was a wellspring of art and
identity, even during its underground years, and gave rise to the house music genre, in parallel with
Chicago’s Warehouse. Such notable Black LGBTQ artists as POSE diva Dominique (Tyra) Jackson, the
Brothers Graham, and civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin have all called Brooklyn home, and it is on the
foundations built by these and other past and present luminaries, that the future will rise.
“We have to always look ahead,“ Florentino says, “and make sure there is a sustainable future for our
community.” In an increasingly challenging environment for Black and brown LGBTQ populations,
Florentino and Pierre are looking to bring strong voices to the political arena, to protect these
vulnerable communities. “Involvement is a key component of how we live today and in the future,”
Pierre notes, “and representation is the way we accomplish this.” By seeking a place in the chambers of
government, both men are striving to maintain a presence at City Hall, where all five current City Council
members are term-limited this year. “The support we get from our communities is what keeps us
engaged in the city’s affairs,” Florentino emphasizes, “and this is why people need to vote and help our
LGBTQ service groups, too.” Vaughn Taylor-Akutagawa, Executive Director of Gay Men of African
Descent (GMAD), concurs. Taylor-Akutagawa believes it’s essential for LGBTQ organizations to be sure
they have spaces specifically for LGBTQ POC. “To create a better everyday life for Black gay men and
boys,” Taylor-Akutagawa says, underscoring the impact positive experiences in such affirming spaces
can have. GMAD has a long, successful history of furnishing these safe havens for the community.
Florentino and Pierre are both deeply invested in Brooklyn’s gay POC life, and as part of this diligent
commitment, they see a legislative imprimatur as part of the portal through which LGBTQ stakeholders
can get their needs addressed. “If there are LGBTQ Council members who know the issues working for
us in City Hall, all of us benefit,” Florentino and Pierre agree. The 2021 election is crucial for that
beneficial relationship between Black gay Brooklyn and the city’s leadership. With gentrification
looming in the borough, for example, the fight to preserve affordable housing—certainly an impactful
concern for many LGBTQ POCs—depends on those Black and brown gay lawmakers who protect their
constituents’ interests.
The Black community—gay and straight—sees gains when LGBTQ people do, because common needs
fuel the drive towards common goals. “This is what we need,” Pierre emphasizes, “if we are to make it
in tomorrow’s world.” In a borough going through transition, Black gay history and the struggles and
triumphs of Brooklyn’s LGBTQ pioneers give journeymen like Florentino and Pierre an inspirational road
map to the future. On the eve of their own campaigns, tomorrow beckons, for all Brooklyn’s renewal.
