LGBTU Co-Chair Apologizes 

To the Editor:

This letter comes out of a request made by two queer women of color who were asked to leave the Queer Party this past weekend and who were the subject of an e-mail discussion that followed. I am writing this to apologize for my role both as an individual and as a Co-chair of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Union in these events.
The fact that two queer people were asked to leave a party open to the entire campus specifically geared towards queer people is reprehensible. No queer person should ever be asked to leave a party that has been advertised as a “Queer Party” and endorsed by the LGBTU. I, as a friend of the residents of the house, supported this because one of the residents said she felt uncomfortable with one of the women’s presence in her house. I did not question the motives behind why this woman was asked to leave nor did I challenge the idea that someone should be asked to leave a party thrown for them.
Further, I was one of the people that participated in the e-mail discussion which followed. The women who were asked to leave were not welcomed into this discussion, their voices as queer women of color silenced. The conversation was fraught with plainly untrue facts and racist assumptions; the most troubling to myself, the idea that LGBTU has the right to influence the leadership of other queer organizations, specifically Zami. Even though this troubled me, I said nothing to confront the idea or the racial stereotypes of the discussion.
The reason why I bring this matter up in a public forum is two fold; first, to admit my own role in the events of the past week, and secondly, to address the institutionalized racism of the LGBTU. These past events highlight the ways in which LGBTU’s institutional racism is reinforced and reproduced. Few people of color were involved in the planning of the party; when two women of color were asked to leave they were not allowed a voice and further they were again denied a voice in the conversation that followed. Few people of color are actively involved with LGBTU. LGBTU has often relied on the existance of Zami, an organization for queer people of color, to prove that we are not a racist organization. This is extremely tokenizing in nature and proves that people of color do not feel welcome in the LGBTU. Other organizations have begun the work to become truly anti-racist organizations. The LGBTU is an organization that has not. There is no acceptable apology for this. I can only hope that as the year ends we do not forget what has happened and as members of the Oberlin community hold ourselves and LGBTU responsible for the work we need to do.

–Phil Grasso
College junior
LGBTU Co-chair