Black and Brown Individuals Face Higher Rates of Discrimination in Health Care
Disclaimer: This content is for awareness and support and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health care.
Imagine you die because a nurse or doctor discriminates against you for being a Christian.
I’ve always assumed that everyone got equal levels of health care.
In my head….
We all go in to the doctor,
wait 30-45 minutes past our appointment time,
They poke at us, say some boring stuff and we leave.
Right?
What I didn’t expect was to grow up and do research and find out that black and brown LGBTQ+ individuals face higher rates of discrimination in health care.
So disappointing.
Honestly I should have seen it coming with the way that cis black and brown people are treated in society. Thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach.
These disparities are shaped by systemic inequities and bias within healthcare systems, not individual experiences alone.
(Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – https://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/)
What I have learned since doing research and growing up on LGBTQ+ movies is that we have had whole epidemics and pandemics where black and brown LGBTQ+ people are suffering EVEN MORE than cis black and brown people.
Before i get into my research here are some films that give a queer black and brown perspective
Moonlight (2016) – A coming-of-age story about a Black queer man navigating identity, masculinity, and love.
Pariah (2011) – A Black lesbian teen’s journey toward self-acceptance and navigating family and identity.
The Watermelon Woman (1996) – A Black lesbian filmmaker explores race, sexuality, and erased queer history.
Naz & Maalik (2015) – Two closeted Black Muslim teens in Brooklyn navigating love, faith, and surveillance.
Rafiki (2018) – A Kenyan film about two young women falling in love in a society that criminalizes their relationship.
Rustin (2023) – The story of Bayard Rustin, a gay Black civil rights leader and strategist behind the March on Washington.
During the AIDs epidemic doctors and nurses refused to properly care for LGBTQ+ patients and even less for black and brown individuals. As a mother it is horrifying to know that my kids have such high chances of not receiving fair medical care. There should not be people in medical care that operate based off opinion and beliefs rather than the facts and what their patients need.
“We were dying, and nobody was talking about it in our communities in a way that reflected our lives.”
(Source context: oral history interviews and archived activism narratives from HIV/AIDS oral history collections and LGBTQ+ archives documenting Wilson’s reflections on Black gay AIDS activism)
The research and proof:
The AIDS epidemic was not only a public health crisis, but also a deeply emotional and social one that significantly impacted LGBTQ+ communities.
Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals were disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS due to systemic inequalities in healthcare access and treatment.
These disparities were influenced by factors such as limited healthcare access, economic barriers, racism within medical systems, and gaps in early HIV education and prevention.
Many people experienced delayed diagnosis and treatment because of fear of discrimination, lack of culturally competent care, and stigma surrounding both sexuality and HIV status.
Stigma played a major role in mental health outcomes, often leading to isolation, fear of being judged or outed, and increased anxiety and depression.
Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals often experienced “double stigma,” facing racism within LGBTQ+ spaces and homophobia within their own cultural or racial communities.
The emotional impact of the epidemic included widespread grief, loss of chosen family and loved ones, and long-term trauma, including survivor’s guilt.
Government and institutional responses were often slow and inadequate, especially in communities of color, leaving many to rely on grassroots organizations for support and care.
Despite these challenges, Black and Brown LGBTQ+ communities created powerful systems of resilience, including mutual aid networks, activism, and community-led education efforts.
The legacy of the AIDS epidemic continues today, with ongoing disparities in HIV prevention, treatment access, and healthcare experiences for Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/index.htmlNational Institutes of Health
https://www.nih.govWorld Health Organization
https://www.who.int
I wish that when I was younger, being gay wasn’t so heavily stigmatized. I wish there had been more understanding, more compassion, and less dehumanization. That same ideology still shows up today in policies that harm Black and Brown LGBTQ+ people and continue to limit access, safety, and care.
What if you went to the hospital and your pain was ignored until it was too late because of who you are?
Maybe it’s time we stop pretending that bias in healthcare doesn’t exist and start having honest conversations about how it affects real lives.
If this resonates with you, I invite you to continue these conversations, share your story, and help create spaces where people feel seen, heard, and believed.
