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Report: There Are One Million Black LGBT Americans

A report by UCLA’s William Institute exposes a number of inequalities affecting same-sex African-American couples.

A recently released report places the number of African-American adults who consider themselves to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender at one million, or about 3.7 percent of the Black population.
The report, LGBT African-American Individuals and African-American Same-Sex Couples, was compiled by the University of California Los Angeles Williams Institute.
Among the findings is the fact that most African-Americans in same-sex relationships tend to live in areas where there are higher populations of Black residents. It said that about 25 percent of African-American same-sex couples live in New York, Georgia, North Carolina and Maryland.
The report reveals a number of additional facts, including the fact that gay African-Americans are far less likely than their non-LGBT counterparts to have health insurance.
"Given their lower levels of health insurance coverage and the evidence of broader economic disadvantage, the opportunity for less expensive health care resulting from the Affordable Care Act may be particularly attractive for LGBT African-Americans," said Gary J. Gates, one of the authors of the report.
Also, the report states that the gender of same-sex couples has an impact on the economics of their households. It found that Black women in same-sex relationships earn about $20,000 less than male African-Americans in same-sex relationships.
"LGBT African-American parents and their children evidence significant economic disadvantage and many live in states without LGBT anti-discrimination laws or marriage equality,” said Angeliki Kastanis, another author of the report. “Establishing these important legal protections could really help these families.”

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(Photo: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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