A Minority Within a Minority

While marriage equality is one of the biggest focuses among the LGBT community going into Brooklyn Pride Week, an organization serving the Bed-Stuy community says there are even bigger issues facing black gay men.

Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), a Brooklyn Heights based organization with members in the Bed-Stuy community and that also does outreach in the area, say that HIV prevention, overall health, and even self-identity issues have continued to plague their community.  Founded in 1986, they are the only organization specifically for black gay men in NYC. 

"We’re still definitely dealing with internal oppression, oppression by our own, our churches, and that causes a lot of mental health problems in the community," said Tokes M. Osubu, Executive Director of GMAD. "Depression is huge in our community and shows up in many ways like substance abuse, and the rate of suicide is going up, particularly among young people."

Originally from London, Osubu first attended a GMAD meeting while visiting New York in 1989, before eventually moving here and taking his current position at GMAD in 2003.

"It actually ignited something in me because I hadn't seen so many black, gay men in one room together having a serious conversation about life issues," said Osubu.

Originally created as a discussion group, GMAD has gone on to offer numerous services for the black community, both gay and straight. In addition to a leadership academy for boys and a mental health clinic, they also started a clinic which is the first in the country for black, gay men.

"When people talk about health as it relates to black, gay men, all they think about is HIV," said Osubu. "But we're also affected by diabetes and heart disease and all the ailments that affect black men, end of story."

This year, GMAD's outreach is heavily targeting churches, which Osubu said is the final frontier for the group in terms of breaking down barriers.

"We're trying to get them to have a better understanding of what it means to be black and gay," said Osubu. "What's important to us is not really our sexual orientation, but our racial identity, so we're looking at things from a human perspective which folks often don't understand."

Osubu said he believes having a Brooklyn Pride is essential in order to bring the battle for equality to the community.

"Every borough has its own culture and its own way of doing things," said Osubu. "We live here and pay taxes here, so why shouldn't we celebrate who we are here?"