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New app to map safe spaces for Black LGBTQ people

For nearly 30 years, a guide called the “Negro Motorist Green Book” provided African Americans with advice on safe places to eat and sleep when they traveled through the segregated Jim Crow South in the United States.

Inspired by the Green Book, a new app launched recently aims to revive that model with a mission to record spaces across the U.S. that are safe and inclusive spaces for Black queer, trans, and non-binary people.

Taking into account the disproportionate rates of violence against Black LGBTQ people, the National Black Justice Coalition,  a civil rights organization dedicated to serving the Black LGBTQ community, joined their forces with the Out in Tech, a nonprofit for LGBTQ people who work in the technology sector to create the Lavender Book.

Lavender Book was “built for the Black Queer, Black Trans, and Black Gender Non-Binary communities” with a mission “to spread the word about spaces where people can be themselves,” according to its website.

The app allows users to search for the specific name of an establishment, specify their location, search by categories, and apply filters like gender-neutral restrooms, Black- or trans-owned, or LGBTQ-trained staff, and more.

“There are unique challenges that those of us with intersectional identities face,” David Johns, the NBJC’s executive director, told TIME.

According to the 2020 State of the LGBTQ Community survey conducted by the Center for American Progress (CAP), more than three-quarters of Black LGBTQ+ participants reported “moderate or significant impacts to their psychological well-being” as a result of discrimination.

The hope is for the app to grow beyond service providers like coffee shops, barbers, and restaurants, but also to include essential services like health care and legal aid.

source: Time

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