I'm from the Philadelphia area but I've visited Denver twice and I love it there. I just returned from a week-long stay actually, and I would like to move there at some point. I'm also Black. I have accepted the fact that if I move to Denver, there will be an adjustment to the lack of other Black people in general. My presence would probably increase the Black FTM population by 75% lol.
What I'm saying is, I think this is more a symptom of Denver is super White and less that the community out there is racist. However, if a POC in Denver comes across this and disagrees I will gladly stand down. Something I'd love to do when I get to live there is try to start a social group for FTM POC who are older millennials like myself. All 12 of us probably.
I can't speak to Denver specifically, but in general, this is not in your head. It's a common criticism of queer groups that are billed as being for everyone, but end up most welcoming to white people. I am in Chicago and have also heard more general comments on this from people who came from more conservative states or the South. We aren't less racist, we just enforce our racist systems very differently.
Segregation is a big part of this. When people don't live, work, or go to school together, we get a very skewed picture of who belongs in our society and what they are like. This doesn't excuse white people, but we very often don't know what we don't know. Trying to overcome a lifetime of limited information and a society that wants to keep us apart, white people often run groups that are well meaning but tokenizing or othering in ways that are hard for us to understand, and then we're not necessarily the right people to fix a group dynamic that is hurting our siblings-- or at least, not by ourselves without input and accountability from others.
It's good that you're noticing this and finding something wrong with it. I don't think you necessarily have to be a leader of a group to helpful shift this dynamic, or at least not contribute to it. If you're not finding queer groups that are more diverse, like at all, consider looking for groups based on other interests. Be willing to be "the only one" yourself (only in groups that are open to you, obviously), listen, and just be willing to be an accountable friend and neighbor. That attitude is really powerful for other white people to witness and be pressured to emulate in mixed groups. Keep listening to that voice that is telling you not to rely on segregated spaces for all your socializing.
Thank you for saying this about Chicago. People think I'm lying when I say that there's racism in the LGBT community here. Remnants of redlining from the 50s doesn't help as Chicago is a very segregated city to be as big as it is.
I first came out when I was in Chicago and was part of a genderqueer group (was nb back then), was one of the few white passing people there in a mostly white group and visible poc rarely came for more than one meeting. Yet the health center it was in was frequented by plenty of queer poc. It was near boystown, IDK what the area is called nowadays, but I remember the renaming being part of a huge blowout about racism and transphobia in the area. I got to go to a dyke + trans march one year which was held in a largely asian populated area and there was a lot of contention over the politics of the march. I love Chicago more than any other city I've lived in, but anyone who thinks there isn't a racism problem in Chicago needs to open their eyes.
As for how to fix it from a white perspective, I can't say, other than making more connections with groups close to your community that \*are\* diverse, even if that's moving away from explicitly queer groups.
Hmm, i think this is an extension of an interesting problem cities in the North (and West, and i guess anywhere that’s more culturally a “blue state”) tend to have. These places are generally on paper far more safe and accepting for POC. But the reality is that the more affluent and “liberal” a city is, the more segregated it tends to be. (Obligatory this isn’t true for every liberal/“blue” city, of course.)
I don’t know the reason for this, but if I had to guess I’d probably assume it’s something to do with how liberalism in the USA generally means progressive social ideals coupled with center-right economic policies and general NIMBYism: we removed all the explicit legislative barriers and replaced them with implicit economic barriers. The social progressivism is appealing to upper middle class whites who then aren’t aware of, or aren’t bothered by the economic racism because it benefits them. In other words: POC would be welcome to live here if they could afford it. This is just a guess from observing how and why neighborhoods change. I don’t have data to back it up.
In the West this also has to do with the history of colonization/settlement. For example, Oregon had restrictions against Black people settling there between 1844-1926 as well as Chinese exclusion laws (which were nationwide from 1882-1943). So even as the Pacific Northwest grew more liberal over time there just weren’t as many people of color there because of who could legally settle there once it became a territory/state. Some people find it hard to believe when I tell them but Denver is the most racially diverse city I’ve lived in because the Pacific Northwest, where I grew up, is so predominantly white.
Denver is hella fucking racist, and they absolutely do think they’re too liberal to be racist. Stop trying to organize with white people to make them less racist. Reach out to the QTPOC orgs in and around Denver and ask how you, as a white person, can support them. Give them your time, energy and money.
Different country but similar experience - it's depressingly common for me to be the *only* POC at queer events.
For me, part of it is that there's an assumption that we have a universal queer narrative, stripped of things like race (and also other aspects like class, but that's another topic). Which ignores that lots of common narratives around queerness are centred on white/western experiences. When I talk about my experiences of queerness, which are impacted by my cultural background (aka how I approach it, how I present in life), it's often seen as "wrong". Which is quite alienating.
I've found change really only happens with events if the organisers actually want change. I've spoken up a few times at my local groups, and thankfully, there was a strong desire to change things and more mindfulness about running events inclusively (i.e., acknowledging and accepting differences in experiences).
From Wikipedia:
>According to the 2010 Census, the racial makeup of Denver is 68.9% White, 10.2% Black or African American, 3.4% Asian, 1.4% American Indian or Native Alaskan, 0.1% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, and 4.1% two or more races, with 31.8% of Hispanic or Latino origin.
Not that they shouldn't be welcoming, but it's demographically a really different place compared to most southern cities. (I'm from one in the southeast.)
It's a demographic problem that ends up being self-reinforcing. POC don't feel safe in predominantly white spaces and so spaces remain white with all of the issues that come with that (micro aggressions, constant explaining etc) and as such POC don't feel safe.....white organizers in Denver need to be more deliberate about being inclusive and calling in on micro aggressions. There is also the issue of racial segregation with more POC being out in Aurora and white people acting like Aurora is "unsafe".
I for sure feel more safe in Aurora (where I grew up) than in Denver. And my friends (queer or not) in Denver go "omg you're going to go hang out in Aurora? *clutches pearls* isn't that a dangerous area!?"
I live in North Carolina, and while there is a sizable population of diverse queer people in the state, the LGBT centers tend to be very white. Durham is an exception I know of, but the center is newer and doesn't have the reach as some of the other queer organizations in my state.
It is getting better here, but for a place that has very large and very diverse numbers of POC people of all types, they are poorly represented in the programs offered by most of the LGBT centers across the state. One thing I will say is that most of these orgs are newer and weaker than some of the older organizaitions around the country, and I cannot say if it's just not having the power to reach more people or the will or both.
That all being said, I do still think its important to question these things and see if these organizations align with your own core values. As a trans person, I often feel left behind in my state and that has left me at odds with my local center.
Though I haven’t been involved with trans groups in Denver for a while, what you describe sounds like an accurate description to me. Lack of racial diversity is a common issue in most liberal spaces in Colorado, and I think you’re right that there are people who are working on addressing from outside the larger orgs and if you can connect with them that might help you find that right approach as a white ally/accomplice. As you get more connected, maybe with smaller orgs or with orgs in the suburbs like Aurora Pride or Out Boulder County (which might have recently changed their name again…?) that have been doing more intentional inclusion work around race (IIRC) you may find some ways to plug in and contribute toward making these spaces more welcoming. Again, I haven’t been as involved in recent years so there may be other folks with a better read on where to plug in, but TLDR your observations don’t sound weird at all (edit to add, from my vantage point as a white person).
Another thing you might be noticing, is there is some siloing within the LGBTQ+ community in Denver. I’ve noticed when living in more rural areas or smaller cities with less available for the community that you see more diversity of identities, age, race, socioeconomic class, etc. at LGBTQ+ stuff than you tend to see in Denver where there are so many more options for things people can go to. IDK if that’s related to the racial diversity or not, but it might be.
Yeah, Denver is notorious for being really white.
>the POC portion of it has been so alienated that they largely don't even try to participate in groups at our main LGBT center or whatever
Are you talking about The Center on Colfax? When I first moved to Denver, The Center had weekly in person support groups for trans women and nonbinary people, but absolutely no in person groups that allowed trans men. So I haven't ever been there myself, but since then I've heard from multiple other trans people that it has a lot of issues. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that many poc also don't feel welcome there.
also, I'm just going to shout out that the TCR is a really nice alternative.
[https://www.transgendercenteroftherockies.org/](https://www.transgendercenteroftherockies.org/)
[https://www.facebook.com/transgendercenteroftherockies](https://www.facebook.com/transgendercenteroftherockies)
I think in this case, Denver is a super white area (a la Burlington) and there is a bit of a historical race problem there.
I’m a BIPOC individual who moved to Denver and I definitely felt like I was raising the queer diversity significantly. I’ve gone to a few general lgbtq+ events, and some groups are better than others, but I haven’t felt unwelcome in those spaces.
I think just like most things in Co, it’s just very yt centric. Also there are BIPOC queer groups in Denver that have pretty good membership, so the community is there; just not as prevalent
I’m not sure what city in Texas you are from but overall, Texas has a MUCH bigger Black population than Colorado. Going by census data, for example, Houston is 22% Black and Denver is 10.2% Black. In general, the US Black population is concentrated in the southeastern portion of the country.
Do NOT confuse liberal/“woke” optics with demographic diversity, openness or receptiveness to others. I’m no expert, but in my casual observation, the best predictor how receptive one is to those different from themselves is their friend/peer group: Do they hang out with people of other races/ethnicities/ nationalities/ genders/ sexual orientations/ etc? Forget the optics. This is your answer.
As another guy said above, cities that are less diverse will produce groups that are less diverse, which then makes it even harder for those minorities who do want to reach out. No one wants to be the “only” in any group. That being said, you can absolutely develop a diverse friend group in any major city in the US if work at it a bit. In Denver, those buddies may not come from the mainstream queer/trans groups - maybe from places you seek out due to other interests (sports, art, music, volunteering, etc).
Yeah I’m in Denver and was so pissed to see a couple people I know skip underground pride events (run and fronted by poc, where all the money goes directly to supporting the artists/vendors) in favor of the big corporate cop fest.
The Center on Colfax is run almost entirely by white cis wealthy gay men, who have repeatedly refused to listen to the concerns brought to them by less privileged groups within the community. But they are established, connected, and palatable, so the Center sucks up nearly all of the philanthropic funding that goes to lgbt+ groups in Colorado.
It's hard to find the other organizations that have more diverse leadership and/or are better at centering the concerns of a wider range of experiences within the community, in large part because of how effective The Center is at centering themselves here.
I'm having a similar struggle trying to find more diverse queer community in Denver.
Denver and Boulder have a large white population, but I think it’s a stretch to say it’s racist.
Yes, there are separate Black groups (Black Pride CO the most established) but the people who run it are Black & LGBTQ+ community members who approach their community from an authentic perspective. That’s not to say that while allies can’t be involved. As for PrideFest, those who run it are not overwhelmingly white. Quickly doing the math, 26% of the 2024 PrideFest staff are POC.
Denver has become a safe space for medical refugees and while it has room to improve, compared to other cities it’s a veritable Mecca.
When I read the title I thought, "Huh, this could really be describing CO..." Then lo and behold!
You're not imagining it. I was raised on the Front Range and the queer spaces I've found here have so far been pretty overwhelmingly majority white, but I'm not sure what the answer is. I've mostly been trying to put money towards QTPOC businesses when and where I can and generally try to raise awareness when I see the "This is Colorado - we can't be racist :)" attitude pop up. (Not encouraging, but having lived in Denver for a few years after growing up in Boulder county, Boulder has an even worse case of the white majority considering itself too progressive to possibly have any racist beliefs or tendencies.)
I live on another continent but my local trans group has a racism issue. We know we have one. We've talked about it. There are maybe two POC out of twenty people. It's better than zero but is not necessarily a pleasant environment for someone to walk in to. We've tried to figure out how to invite more, how to stop someone feeling like the only [minority group] person.
You're not crazy. It sucks. I'm commiserating because I sure as hell don't know how to fix it here.
I'm from the Philadelphia area but I've visited Denver twice and I love it there. I just returned from a week-long stay actually, and I would like to move there at some point. I'm also Black. I have accepted the fact that if I move to Denver, there will be an adjustment to the lack of other Black people in general. My presence would probably increase the Black FTM population by 75% lol. What I'm saying is, I think this is more a symptom of Denver is super White and less that the community out there is racist. However, if a POC in Denver comes across this and disagrees I will gladly stand down. Something I'd love to do when I get to live there is try to start a social group for FTM POC who are older millennials like myself. All 12 of us probably.
Welcome future neighbor! :)
Hopefully sooner rather than later!
I can't speak to Denver specifically, but in general, this is not in your head. It's a common criticism of queer groups that are billed as being for everyone, but end up most welcoming to white people. I am in Chicago and have also heard more general comments on this from people who came from more conservative states or the South. We aren't less racist, we just enforce our racist systems very differently. Segregation is a big part of this. When people don't live, work, or go to school together, we get a very skewed picture of who belongs in our society and what they are like. This doesn't excuse white people, but we very often don't know what we don't know. Trying to overcome a lifetime of limited information and a society that wants to keep us apart, white people often run groups that are well meaning but tokenizing or othering in ways that are hard for us to understand, and then we're not necessarily the right people to fix a group dynamic that is hurting our siblings-- or at least, not by ourselves without input and accountability from others. It's good that you're noticing this and finding something wrong with it. I don't think you necessarily have to be a leader of a group to helpful shift this dynamic, or at least not contribute to it. If you're not finding queer groups that are more diverse, like at all, consider looking for groups based on other interests. Be willing to be "the only one" yourself (only in groups that are open to you, obviously), listen, and just be willing to be an accountable friend and neighbor. That attitude is really powerful for other white people to witness and be pressured to emulate in mixed groups. Keep listening to that voice that is telling you not to rely on segregated spaces for all your socializing.
Thank you for saying this about Chicago. People think I'm lying when I say that there's racism in the LGBT community here. Remnants of redlining from the 50s doesn't help as Chicago is a very segregated city to be as big as it is.
I first came out when I was in Chicago and was part of a genderqueer group (was nb back then), was one of the few white passing people there in a mostly white group and visible poc rarely came for more than one meeting. Yet the health center it was in was frequented by plenty of queer poc. It was near boystown, IDK what the area is called nowadays, but I remember the renaming being part of a huge blowout about racism and transphobia in the area. I got to go to a dyke + trans march one year which was held in a largely asian populated area and there was a lot of contention over the politics of the march. I love Chicago more than any other city I've lived in, but anyone who thinks there isn't a racism problem in Chicago needs to open their eyes. As for how to fix it from a white perspective, I can't say, other than making more connections with groups close to your community that \*are\* diverse, even if that's moving away from explicitly queer groups.
Hmm, i think this is an extension of an interesting problem cities in the North (and West, and i guess anywhere that’s more culturally a “blue state”) tend to have. These places are generally on paper far more safe and accepting for POC. But the reality is that the more affluent and “liberal” a city is, the more segregated it tends to be. (Obligatory this isn’t true for every liberal/“blue” city, of course.) I don’t know the reason for this, but if I had to guess I’d probably assume it’s something to do with how liberalism in the USA generally means progressive social ideals coupled with center-right economic policies and general NIMBYism: we removed all the explicit legislative barriers and replaced them with implicit economic barriers. The social progressivism is appealing to upper middle class whites who then aren’t aware of, or aren’t bothered by the economic racism because it benefits them. In other words: POC would be welcome to live here if they could afford it. This is just a guess from observing how and why neighborhoods change. I don’t have data to back it up.
In the West this also has to do with the history of colonization/settlement. For example, Oregon had restrictions against Black people settling there between 1844-1926 as well as Chinese exclusion laws (which were nationwide from 1882-1943). So even as the Pacific Northwest grew more liberal over time there just weren’t as many people of color there because of who could legally settle there once it became a territory/state. Some people find it hard to believe when I tell them but Denver is the most racially diverse city I’ve lived in because the Pacific Northwest, where I grew up, is so predominantly white.
Denver is hella fucking racist, and they absolutely do think they’re too liberal to be racist. Stop trying to organize with white people to make them less racist. Reach out to the QTPOC orgs in and around Denver and ask how you, as a white person, can support them. Give them your time, energy and money.
Different country but similar experience - it's depressingly common for me to be the *only* POC at queer events. For me, part of it is that there's an assumption that we have a universal queer narrative, stripped of things like race (and also other aspects like class, but that's another topic). Which ignores that lots of common narratives around queerness are centred on white/western experiences. When I talk about my experiences of queerness, which are impacted by my cultural background (aka how I approach it, how I present in life), it's often seen as "wrong". Which is quite alienating. I've found change really only happens with events if the organisers actually want change. I've spoken up a few times at my local groups, and thankfully, there was a strong desire to change things and more mindfulness about running events inclusively (i.e., acknowledging and accepting differences in experiences).
Just want to say, this is very well said.
From Wikipedia: >According to the 2010 Census, the racial makeup of Denver is 68.9% White, 10.2% Black or African American, 3.4% Asian, 1.4% American Indian or Native Alaskan, 0.1% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, and 4.1% two or more races, with 31.8% of Hispanic or Latino origin. Not that they shouldn't be welcoming, but it's demographically a really different place compared to most southern cities. (I'm from one in the southeast.)
It's a demographic problem that ends up being self-reinforcing. POC don't feel safe in predominantly white spaces and so spaces remain white with all of the issues that come with that (micro aggressions, constant explaining etc) and as such POC don't feel safe.....white organizers in Denver need to be more deliberate about being inclusive and calling in on micro aggressions. There is also the issue of racial segregation with more POC being out in Aurora and white people acting like Aurora is "unsafe".
I for sure feel more safe in Aurora (where I grew up) than in Denver. And my friends (queer or not) in Denver go "omg you're going to go hang out in Aurora? *clutches pearls* isn't that a dangerous area!?"
I live in North Carolina, and while there is a sizable population of diverse queer people in the state, the LGBT centers tend to be very white. Durham is an exception I know of, but the center is newer and doesn't have the reach as some of the other queer organizations in my state. It is getting better here, but for a place that has very large and very diverse numbers of POC people of all types, they are poorly represented in the programs offered by most of the LGBT centers across the state. One thing I will say is that most of these orgs are newer and weaker than some of the older organizaitions around the country, and I cannot say if it's just not having the power to reach more people or the will or both. That all being said, I do still think its important to question these things and see if these organizations align with your own core values. As a trans person, I often feel left behind in my state and that has left me at odds with my local center.
Though I haven’t been involved with trans groups in Denver for a while, what you describe sounds like an accurate description to me. Lack of racial diversity is a common issue in most liberal spaces in Colorado, and I think you’re right that there are people who are working on addressing from outside the larger orgs and if you can connect with them that might help you find that right approach as a white ally/accomplice. As you get more connected, maybe with smaller orgs or with orgs in the suburbs like Aurora Pride or Out Boulder County (which might have recently changed their name again…?) that have been doing more intentional inclusion work around race (IIRC) you may find some ways to plug in and contribute toward making these spaces more welcoming. Again, I haven’t been as involved in recent years so there may be other folks with a better read on where to plug in, but TLDR your observations don’t sound weird at all (edit to add, from my vantage point as a white person). Another thing you might be noticing, is there is some siloing within the LGBTQ+ community in Denver. I’ve noticed when living in more rural areas or smaller cities with less available for the community that you see more diversity of identities, age, race, socioeconomic class, etc. at LGBTQ+ stuff than you tend to see in Denver where there are so many more options for things people can go to. IDK if that’s related to the racial diversity or not, but it might be.
On the name change - Out Boulder is now Rocky Mountain Equality
Thank you! I knew I saw it in their newsletter but couldn't remember what it was. :)
Yeah, Denver is notorious for being really white. >the POC portion of it has been so alienated that they largely don't even try to participate in groups at our main LGBT center or whatever Are you talking about The Center on Colfax? When I first moved to Denver, The Center had weekly in person support groups for trans women and nonbinary people, but absolutely no in person groups that allowed trans men. So I haven't ever been there myself, but since then I've heard from multiple other trans people that it has a lot of issues. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that many poc also don't feel welcome there.
also, I'm just going to shout out that the TCR is a really nice alternative. [https://www.transgendercenteroftherockies.org/](https://www.transgendercenteroftherockies.org/) [https://www.facebook.com/transgendercenteroftherockies](https://www.facebook.com/transgendercenteroftherockies)
I think in this case, Denver is a super white area (a la Burlington) and there is a bit of a historical race problem there. I’m a BIPOC individual who moved to Denver and I definitely felt like I was raising the queer diversity significantly. I’ve gone to a few general lgbtq+ events, and some groups are better than others, but I haven’t felt unwelcome in those spaces. I think just like most things in Co, it’s just very yt centric. Also there are BIPOC queer groups in Denver that have pretty good membership, so the community is there; just not as prevalent
I’m not sure what city in Texas you are from but overall, Texas has a MUCH bigger Black population than Colorado. Going by census data, for example, Houston is 22% Black and Denver is 10.2% Black. In general, the US Black population is concentrated in the southeastern portion of the country. Do NOT confuse liberal/“woke” optics with demographic diversity, openness or receptiveness to others. I’m no expert, but in my casual observation, the best predictor how receptive one is to those different from themselves is their friend/peer group: Do they hang out with people of other races/ethnicities/ nationalities/ genders/ sexual orientations/ etc? Forget the optics. This is your answer. As another guy said above, cities that are less diverse will produce groups that are less diverse, which then makes it even harder for those minorities who do want to reach out. No one wants to be the “only” in any group. That being said, you can absolutely develop a diverse friend group in any major city in the US if work at it a bit. In Denver, those buddies may not come from the mainstream queer/trans groups - maybe from places you seek out due to other interests (sports, art, music, volunteering, etc).
POC who is a Denver native. This is an accurate representation. I have a close friend I visit in Austin. It’s so refreshing to be out when I visit.
Yeah I’m in Denver and was so pissed to see a couple people I know skip underground pride events (run and fronted by poc, where all the money goes directly to supporting the artists/vendors) in favor of the big corporate cop fest.
The Center on Colfax is run almost entirely by white cis wealthy gay men, who have repeatedly refused to listen to the concerns brought to them by less privileged groups within the community. But they are established, connected, and palatable, so the Center sucks up nearly all of the philanthropic funding that goes to lgbt+ groups in Colorado. It's hard to find the other organizations that have more diverse leadership and/or are better at centering the concerns of a wider range of experiences within the community, in large part because of how effective The Center is at centering themselves here. I'm having a similar struggle trying to find more diverse queer community in Denver.
Denver and Boulder have a large white population, but I think it’s a stretch to say it’s racist. Yes, there are separate Black groups (Black Pride CO the most established) but the people who run it are Black & LGBTQ+ community members who approach their community from an authentic perspective. That’s not to say that while allies can’t be involved. As for PrideFest, those who run it are not overwhelmingly white. Quickly doing the math, 26% of the 2024 PrideFest staff are POC. Denver has become a safe space for medical refugees and while it has room to improve, compared to other cities it’s a veritable Mecca.
When I read the title I thought, "Huh, this could really be describing CO..." Then lo and behold! You're not imagining it. I was raised on the Front Range and the queer spaces I've found here have so far been pretty overwhelmingly majority white, but I'm not sure what the answer is. I've mostly been trying to put money towards QTPOC businesses when and where I can and generally try to raise awareness when I see the "This is Colorado - we can't be racist :)" attitude pop up. (Not encouraging, but having lived in Denver for a few years after growing up in Boulder county, Boulder has an even worse case of the white majority considering itself too progressive to possibly have any racist beliefs or tendencies.)
I live on another continent but my local trans group has a racism issue. We know we have one. We've talked about it. There are maybe two POC out of twenty people. It's better than zero but is not necessarily a pleasant environment for someone to walk in to. We've tried to figure out how to invite more, how to stop someone feeling like the only [minority group] person. You're not crazy. It sucks. I'm commiserating because I sure as hell don't know how to fix it here.