Main stream LGBT groups see links to traditional civil rights groups, but their funders don’t. The funders want same sex marriage and campaigns to end anti-gay-bullying. What they fail to understand is that there’s only one set of civil rights, and they belong to all of us. As long as the LGBT majority continues to see one set of rights for racial minorities that is distinct from their own, the LGBT community will continue to fight harder and expend more resources reinventing the wheel. A civil rights alliance that involves all people facing nationwide, discriminatory policies is the only way all of us will win. The LGBT community can benefit from the decades of grassroots organizing that has been mastered by groups like the NAACP, and the decades of hateful ideas that white evangelicals have been whispering into the ears of back minister will only be undone with the acceptance campaigns used by mainstream LGBT organizations.

It’s not a matter of “if gay rights groups worked more closely with racial equality groups,” the question is, “Why aren’t they doing it already?” The Christian right has more of a presence in the black community than LGBT groups. Seriously, how much longer is it going to take for these respective groups to see how much we need each other right now? No more hypotheticals. Let’s figure out how to make it happen.

If gay rights groups worked more closely with racial equality advocacy groups, we could have a very powerful civil rights coalition. Our goals really are the same: economic, social, and legal equality.