Today, 41 LGBTQ and allied organizations (listed below)
released the following statement to demand a thorough investigation by
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office
of the second death of a Black man at the West Hollywood home of Ed
Buck, a prominent political donor, within two years.
According to the LA Times,
authorities found 24 syringes, five glass pipes, plastic bags with
white powdery residue and a crystal-like substance at the scene when
Moore’s body was found. The identity of the latest man found dead at
Buck’s apartment has not been released publicly, but the facts are clear
— Buck and access to drugs at his apartment are the common denominators
in the deaths of Black men, and these continued injustices have yet to
be addressed by local law enforcement:
“We, the undersigned organizations working to advance and
empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)
community, act in solidarity with the victims and those impacted by both
tragic deaths of Black men at Ed Buck’s home in less than two years.
“We will work in earnest to understand what happened to
these men who lost their lives — Mr. Timothy Dean who died on Monday,
and Mr. Gemmel Moore, who died under seemingly similar circumstances in
July 2017 — and why Buck continues to maintain unsafe spaces for Black
gay men.
“Nearly a dozen young men have confirmed Moore’s account
and shard personal stories about Buck’s alleged, nefarious practice of
injecting Black men with various lethal substances. In light of Monday’s
tragedy and the apparent pattern of abuse and death of Black gay men in
Buck’s home, we insist that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office conduct a thorough
and impartial investigation into both deaths.
“Given serious and legitimate concerns about how the
Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office have handled both
investigations — including a failure to share critical and timely
information about both cases with the greater Los Angeles LGBTQ
community and the media — we also believe that an independent, thorough
review of their actions is warranted and urge both to make all
appropriate, procedural reforms to address the systemic inequities that
lead predators to target Black LGBTQ people. We demand this with a
historical understanding that if Buck were a Black man living in Watts,
Inglewood, Compton, or South Los Angeles or his victims were white men,
the investigation and outcome would be different.
“We, the undersigned organizations, join together to
acknowledge the systemic and structural forces that make Black gay,
bisexual, trans, and queer men vulnerable to predators, including white
supremacy, anti-Blackness, heterosexism, wealth gaps, criminalization,
and income inequality. We also acknowledge the growing epidemic of
crystal meth use and abuse among Black queer men and the lack of
attention and resources given to this phenomenon by local, state, and
federal governments and organizations who serve Black and/or LGBTQ
communities. We affirm the fact that all Black lives matter and call
upon elected officials and community leaders to work on solutions that
address the root causes of these vulnerabilities.
“The tragic deaths of these two Black men are of great
concern during a time when white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and racial
violence are pervasive. Although some may blame the victims for their
own deaths or shame sex workers, we affirm that the intersection of
racism, poverty, homophobia, and biphobia restrict opportunities for
Black LGBTQ people in America, sometimes forcing them to turn to
commercial sex work for survival, in ways that make them vulnerable to
exploitation and manipulation. This is the agonizing reality for too
many LGBTQ people, especially LGBTQ people of color, and it must be
addressed with urgency.
“We also respectfully urge elected officials who have previously
accepted contributions from Buck to donate that money to charitable
organizations that work to protect and empower Black LGBTQ people and
their communities.
“As we make this demand for justice, we do so understanding that we do
not live in silos. The injustices toward people of color, LGBTQ people,
religious minorities, and other marginalized groups, which continue to
increase, impact us all. Audre Lorde reminds us, ‘difference is a
dynamic human condition,’ and that we are all deeply connected. It is in
the spirit of protecting those persecuted because of race, gender,
ability, sexuality, religion and background that we call for unity
against hate and solidarity in love.”
SIGNATORIES
National Black Justice Coalition
National LGBTQ Task Force
American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU of Southern California
Advocates for Youth
ADAPT
AIDS Action Baltimore
Arkansas Black Gay Men's Forum
BiNet USA
Black AIDS Institute
Bailey House, Inc.
Center for Black Equity
Center for Culture, Sexuality, and Spirituality
Center for Disability Rights
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Concerned Citizen
David Cunningham Foundation
Equality California
Equality Florida
Equality North Carolina
Global Justice Institute
Human Rights Campaign
Iconic House of Unforgettable Revlon
Justice4GemmelMooreAndEdBucksOtherVictims Campaign
Million Hoodies Movement for Justice
National Black Women's HIV/AIDS Network
National Organization of Black County Officials
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Nerve Mag
NMAC
NYC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
PFLAG National
Prevention Access Campaign
Reframe Health and Justice
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
St.Louis Black Pride
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity
V-Day
Woodhull Freedom Foundation
