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by Jamilah King with Colorlines
This year promises to be an important one for LGBT communities. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is poised to strike down same-sex marriage bans in the South, one of the last bastions of such legislation in the country. And a wave of change has swept through American pop culture. Lee Daniels’ black evening soap opera, “Empire,” focuses on the backstory and current struggles of Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett), the gay son of music executive Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard). At the 2015 Golden Globe Awards, the Amazon scripted series “Transparent” took home the prize for best television comedy. And just last year, a picture of actress Laverne Cox famously appeared on the cover of Time above the bold declaration that the United States has reached a “transgender tipping point.”
Of course this doesn’t mean that everything is great for LGBT folks. Underneath these headline-grabbing stories lay decades of systemic inequity that shape the lives of queer and transgender people of color. Here are five issues to follow in 2015. Click Here to read the full article.