Working with LGBT Students of Color: A Guide for Educators

“He was calling me ‘Latino lesbian’ because...I stand out. There’s not a lot of gay people in my school and there’s not a lot of Hispanic people in my school, so he took the two things that I stand out as and put them into one and he was using it as if it were funny. And I am Latina and I am a lesbian, but when you say it offensively or as if that’s a bad thing, it bothers me because it’s not supposed to be an offensive thing. It’s what I am.”    

— Ximena, 9th grade

Want to be an advocate and ally to your LGBT students of color, like Ximena?

Start with the resource in the blue Download Resources box to the right: Considerations When Working with LGBT Students of Color.

Created by GLSEN and the Hetrick-Martin Institute, it will help you think deeply about the ways homophobia, transphobia, racism and classism impact your students on a daily basis. 

Explore the considerations and find effective ways to:

  • TALK ABOUT IT
  • AFFIRM COMPLEX IDENTITIES
  • SUPPORT STUDENT RESILIENCE
  • INTERVENE AND PREVENT
  • PARTNER WITH EXTERNAL RESOURCES

Read, reflect and SHARE!