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Utah's Foremost Platform for Undergraduate Research Presentation
2022 Abstracts

The Intersectionality of Black and LGBTQ Rights Movements: How the 2020 BLM Movement Impacted the LGBTQ Community

Presenter: Colton Story
Authors: Colton Story, Valerie Handley, Megan Story Chavez, Sara Jordan
Faculty Advisor: Megan Story Chavez
Institution: Utah Valley University

The experiences of individuals from the LGBTQ community and individuals from the Black community have both undergone severe challenges in recent history. This has presented both communities with unique challenges, however, this is especially profound for those individuals who have identities that fall within both groups. This study was conducted to identify and examine the psychological response of individuals with intersecting identities within the Black and LGBTQ communities during the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020, following the death of George Floyd. This study will explore the intersectionality and activism of these two interconnected communities. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to analyze publicly shared tweets that featured hashtags relating to the intersection of these communities. This qualitative data was then coded to produce common themes among the tweets. Three main themes were identified by researchers as Fellowship, Motivation for Justice, and Pursual of Justice. The themes were further divided into the sub-themes of Unity, Intersectionality, Pride, Loss and Despair, Rallying, Advocacy, and Offering Resources. These themes seem to reinforce the perception of connectivity experienced within these intersecting identities. The results of this analysis represent the constant activism and advocacy required for both communities, separately and collectively.