BLACK LGBTQ COMMUNITY SURVEY 2020

In September/October of 2020, Community Marketing & Insights conducted the Black LGBTQ Community Survey. Roughly 1,815 members of the Black LGBTQ completed the 15-minute online survey to gather an assessment of the community.  The following summarizes the results of the study.

Research Methodology Overview

• Participants trended somewhat younger (46% age 18 to 39) and cisgender male (50%)
• Results were weighted to balance the opinion by gender identity and generation
• 56% of all Black LGBTQ participants reported being “fully out,” with the remaining 44% being at different stages of being “out”
• 67% of the participants live in urban areas, 18% suburbs, 9% small cities, and 6% small towns or rural areas
• Results are representative of “out” Black LGBTQ adults in the United States who may be reached through LGBTQ media and organizations

LGBTQ Pride

Ninety-two percent (92%) of survey participants feel pride in being an LGBTQ person. Very few disagree with the statement, “I feel Pride in being an LGBTQ person.”

Not Able to Be Their Full LGBTQ Selves

While Black LGBTQ participants feel pride in being an LGBTQ person, many cannot be fully themselves at work, school, or in their neighborhoods. Only 49% definitely agree that they can be themselves at school and work, and 47% definitely agree they can be themselves in their neighborhood. Overall, cisgender Black lesbian women appear to experience greater acceptance than gay men and bisexual participants. Transgender and non-binary participants report the least level of acceptance in these environments.

Disconnect with LGBTQ Organizations

When participants were asked if they feel connected to LGBTQ social or political organizations, only 29% definitely agreed and 36% somewhat agreed. These percentages point to a need for all LGBTQ organizations to be more representative and inclusive of the Black LGBTQ community, and to work towards solving concerns that are specific to this intersectional community.

The Black LGBQ Community Values Education

Black LGBTQ community survey participants value education: 48% of participants have a bachelor’s degree or greater. Importantly, 84% of participants pursued education after high school, either through graduating from college, currently in school, obtaining an associate’s degree, starting college but not graduating, or obtaining vocational training.  Cisgender lesbians had the highest education levels, especially in earning master’s degrees. Transgender and non-binary participants were least likely to have a four-year degree. However, there was a clear trend for transgender and non-binary participants to have started post-high-school education, but not yet receiving a four-year degree. This may indicate that more fiscal, emotional, and practical support is needed to ensure educational goal completion.

Household Debt and Student Loans

Eleven percent of all Black LGBTQ participants reported having no debt. Unpaid credit card debt is the most common form of debt.  Of note is the substantial percentage of participants, especially Millennials, with student loans (44% of all participants and 64% of Millennials).  The study suggests that participants, especially younger Black LGBTQ adults, may be overburdened with student loan debt.

Suppressed Household Income

The participants’ median 2019 household income of $59,400 is lower than the overall median household income in the United States ($68,700) but higher than the median household income for all Black adults in the U.S. ($45,400). However, this income level seems suppressed given the education levels of participants and the urban locations where most participants were located. This may imply that employment and wage discrimination is occurring in the Black LGBTQ community. At the same time, there is an opportunity for income growth due to community education levels.

Changes in Household Finances

Black LGBTQ participants’ evaluation of their financial situation was mixed. Much like in the broader economy, COVID-19 has had very different economic impacts depending on the survey participant.  Thirty-two percent of the participants said they are doing better than last year, 41% about the same, and 27% worse. There is also fiscal optimism that 2021 can only get better (61% said next year would be better).  Black LGBTQ participants with a 4-year degree or higher were more likely to report doing better than those without (36% vs. 28%). Transgender and non-binary participants were the least likely to report doing better (24% vs. 33% for cisgender participants)

Relationship Status

More participants describe their relationship status as single than living with a partner or married. This has important implications because relationship status influences many aspects of daily life, including purchasing patterns. Black cisgender lesbian and bi+ women are more likely to be married or in a relationship than the cisgender gay and bi+ men or transgender and non-binary participants. Forty percent (40%) of the cisgender women report being married or living with a partner, compared to 30% of cisgender men, and 31% of transgender and non-binary participants.

Many Different Family Structures and Living Situations

While most of the study participants are single, only 40% indicated living alone. Most participants live with their partners, their children, parents, other family members, friends, or roommates. Of concern–because older people often have more significant social isolation concerns–was that nearly half (49%) of the Baby Boomers lived alone.

Support by Their Local Cities and Towns

Seventy percent of all participants said that their city or town was supportive of its local LGBTQ community. Fewer (55%) indicated that their city or town was supportive of its local Black community. And even fewer (42%) indicated support for the local Black LGBTQ community.  This is a theme in the research. Participants often find that they experience more community discrimination due to their race/ethnicity than being part of the LGBTQ community. Further, the combination of being Black and LGBTQ provides even lower levels of community support.

Discrimination

Black LGBTQ community members face many forms of discrimination (racial, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and age discrimination). Approximately 76% of Black LGBTQ participants indicated at least one form of discrimination experienced in the past three years. Discrimination during consumer interactions and workplace discrimination were the most common.

High Levels of Discrimination for Transgender and Non-Binary Community Members

Black transgender and non-binary participants report the highest levels of racial, gender, and gender identity discrimination across all related questions in the survey.

Discrimination from Within the LGBTQ Community

Just under half of the participants (47%) reported racial discrimination or prejudice from within the LGBTQ community during the past three years. The most common was during dating or in bars and nightclubs serving the community.

Political Views

The vast majority of the Black LGBTQ study participants trend liberal (54% liberal and 31% moderate to liberal). However, 43% would describe themselves with some moderate leaning (moderate to liberal, moderate, or moderate to conservative).  Only 3% consider themselves conservative. The vast majority of the Black LGBTQ study participants are politically active. The survey was conducted a month prior to the November 2020 U.S. general election, resulting in increased political activity. Eighty-seven percent (87%) indicated they are registered to vote, and 84% said they would vote in the November election. Fewer, 60% said that they voted in the primary election.

Voter Concerns

Participants were asked to prioritize their concerns when considering voting for one political candidate over another. Overall, discrimination and police violence were the most pressing voter issues, followed by healthcare (including COVID-19). Economic concerns, local crime, foreign policy, and cybersecurity were the least pressing issues.

Black Lives Matter Protests and Engagement

Three quarters (75%) of all Black LGBTQ participants participated in some type of Black Lives Matter protest or engagement. In general, younger community members were more engaged in activities, especially marches and protests.

Own or Rent a Home

A third (33%) of the Black LGBTQ participants own the home in which they live. This percentage is much lower than the 65% of all Americans who own their home, or the 42% of all Black Americans who own their home. Research from CMI and Freddie Mac in 2018 demonstrated that LGBTQ community members in the United States are less likely to own a home than the general population (49% of all LGBTQ people).  Reduced homeownership rates for Black LGBTQ community members is the result of many factors: Income, employment, and racial discrimination contribute, along with the fact that Black LGBTQ people are more likely to live in big cities where homeownership is less common. Also, LGBTQ people are less likely to be married or have children, which are key drivers of homeownership. Over half of Black LGBTQ participants (55%) fear racial discrimination in the home buying process.  There are also high levels of fear of discrimination due to sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability.

Being Out in Their Family

Roughly 78% of participants felt at least somewhat accepted by their parents as an LGBTQ person. However, only 42% felt entirely accepted by their parents. There is a much higher level of acceptance among siblings (59% fully accepted). For participants who identify as transgender or non-binary, there is much less acceptance among family members. For example, parents were fully accepting of 45% of the cisgender survey participants and only 25% of the transgender and non-binary participants.

Experiencing Homelessness

Online surveys are unlikely to attract community members currently experiencing homelessness. What is concerning is the very high percentage of Black LGBTQ community members in this survey (31%) who had experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, especially among transgender and non-binary participants (44%).  Other studies have examined the large percentage of homeless youth who identify as LGBTQ. This data appears to confirm that LGBTQ people have far too much personal experience with homelessness at some point in their life.

LGBTQ Parents

A large number of Black LGBTQ adults in the United States are parents and grandparents: 28% of all participants indicated being a parent of a child of any age. The concentration of LGBTQ parents of children under age 18 is greater among lesbian and bi+ women (14%). Also, there is a large percentage of Black transgender and non-binary parents of children under age 18 (13%).  About a quarter of Baby Boomers (23%) report having grandchildren. When asked about becoming parents in the future, 54% of Black LGBTQ Millennials would like to become parents sometime in the future.

Retirement Living

Black LGBTQ community members age 45 and over want to live in their own homes or apartments during retirement years. There is also an appeal to living in an LGBTQ-friendly resort community or assisted living facilities. Participants age 45 and over have a significant fear of racial (55% of participants) and sexual orientation discrimination (53%) if they ever need to enter an assisted living situation for older people. Also, 62% of transgender and non-binary community members have fear based on gender and gender identity.

Health Concerns

The survey asked a broad question about 18 potential health concerns. Health concerns are gender and age-specific.  What was striking about the results was the high level of mental health concern, especially among younger participants and transgender and non-binary participants.  Physical and/or mental health effects resulting from racial discrimination were also a consistent concern for all demographic groups. Preventing or treating HIV/AIDS was a major concern for all the men in the survey. Getting to a healthy body weight was a concern across many demographic groups, especially for women in the survey.  For transgender participants, getting gender confirmation surgery and starting, maintaining, or gaining access to gender confirmation hormones were important health concerns.

Health Insurance Coverage

Results show that many Black LGBTQ community members do not have health care coverage (11% of all participants), and especially for participants under age 35 (20%).

COVID-19

COVID-19 was a health concern for all, but especially participants over age 55. COVID-19 has impacted all of us. The most common COVID-19 negative impacts for participants were social isolation (60%) and mental health (44%).  A quarter (25%) of the participants report the death of a friend or family member, and that percentage increases to 31% for Baby Boomers.

Religion and Spiritual Beliefs

The majority of Black LGBTQ participants consider themselves spiritual (88%), but fewer than half consider themselves religious (35%). Most grew up in a religious family (76%). The survey asked the participants who grew up in a religious family if their childhood religious group would accept them as an LGBTQ person, and only 17% said yes.  Thirty percent said they currently attend religious or worship services (16% Millennials vs. 40% Baby Boomers), and of those, only 56% are fully out to their religious community.

Companies in the U.S. Are Not Reaching the Black LGBTQ Community

Ninety-two percent of research participants felt that companies that support racial equality are more important than ever. In addition, 89% agreed that companies that support LGBTQ equality are more important than ever.  However, Black LGBTQ participants also feel that companies are not doing a good job in their efforts to reach their community. Only 4% of research participants felt that companies in the United States do a good job outreaching to the Black LGBTQ community.

How to Reach the Black LGBTQ Community

Research participants prioritized different ways in which companies can better reach Black LGBTQ community members in the United States. All the strategies were deemed necessary, but some more important than others. Genuinely listening and understanding the community ranked as the top initiative, followed by supporting non-discrimination laws and policies, acknowledging past discrimination, and conducting diversity and sensitivity training in the workplace were the highest priorities. Advertising in the Black LGBTQ media and sponsoring Black LGBTQ events were also important strategies to reach the community.

Outreach Strategies

Organizations and companies have many media and event options to reach the Black LGBTQ community, including print, digital, and social media specifically by and for the Black LGBTQ community. Events specifically for the Black LGBTQ community (including Black Prides) are popular. Organizations and companies should also understand that when they sponsor events for the entire Black community, LGBTQ people are also attending, creating additional outreach opportunities.

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Community Marketing & Insights (CMI) is the world’s leading LGBTQ market research firm, and is 100% LGBTQ-owned and -operated. For more than 25 years, CMI has worked with leading brands, companies, organizations, universities and government institutions seeking to understand, reach and serve the LGBTQ community. @CMI.INFO