CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS

Proposal Submission Deadline: March 1, 2016

Black LGBT Health in the United States:
At the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

Editors

• Lourdes D. Follins, Ph. D., City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY
• Jonathan M. Lassiter, Ph. D., Independent Scholar, New York, NY

Publisher

• Lexington Books, an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. Publication is anticipated for fall 2016-winter 2017.

Introduction

Although the social and legal environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the United States have changed rapidly in the last 20 years, these changes (e.g., increased social acceptability, 2015 Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, and local laws that prohibit employment and housing discrimination) have not led to improved health outcomes for Black¹ LGBT individuals. In fact, while some Black LGBT individuals benefit from these changes, many members of these communities still face disproportionate risks to their physical and mental health. In spite of this, many Black LGBT individuals demonstrate resilience. Yet, the empirical and theoretical literature on Black LGBT individuals is largely focused on the negative mental health of these communities (e.g., anxiety, depression, and psychological distress) and the public health disparities they face (i.e., HIV/AIDS, smoking tobacco cigarettes). There are still knowledge gaps about Black LGBT people’s health-related cultural realities, strengths, protective factors, and indigenous meanings. Understanding how Black LGBT individuals understand their own health, overcome various biopsychosocial and spiritual barriers, and lead healthy lives can help researchers and providers develop interventions and strategies to promote the growth and development of Black LGBT individuals and their communities.

Objective of the Book

In order to expand the conversation about Black LGBT health in the US, the proposed book will be the first published text that solely focuses on the health of Black LGBT people. What will make this volume unique is that the authors will—either in their chapters or in conversation with other chapters–describe both the risk and protective factors of these communities. Contributors should have the vantage point that the intersectionality of anti-Black racism, heterosexism, homonegativity, biphobia, transphobia, and social class significantly and simultaneously impacts the lives and hence, the health of Black LGBT people. Furthermore, contributions that utilize a holistic approach that incorporates syndemics theory, seek to understand indigenous meanings of health and healing among Black LGBT populations, examine the associations between positive psychology factors (i.e., resilience, self-compassion, optimism) and health outcomes, or consider the influences of spirituality on Black LGBT people’s health are welcome. It is expected that this book will provide readers with both empirical research and insightful conceptual analyses about the protective factors that enhance the health of Black LGBT people as well as the various risk factors that negatively impact their lives. We strongly encourage contributors to consider topics of Black LGBT health across the spectrum of LGBT people, preferably highlighting and focusing on the experiences of subpopulations about which we know the least: Black bisexual-identified women, Black bisexual-identified men, Black transgender men, and Black LGBT elders.

Given that much of the current literature about Black LGBT people is written those who are not members of these communities, the first editors are specifically seeking contributors who are members of the Black LGBT communities. Individuals who are not Black and LGBT but want to contribute, can collaborate with a colleague who is Black LGBT. The first author must be Black and LGBT.

Target audience

Undergraduate students, graduate students, scholars, professionals in the fields of psychology, public health, and social work, and members of the clergy.

Suggested range of possible chapter topics

The editors welcome original and unpublished submissions focusing on (but not limited to) answers to the following questions:

• Which health conditions, besides HIV, disproportionately affect Black LGBT individuals and why?
• What are the health-related behaviors and beliefs of Black LGBT individuals and communities? What are the indigenous meanings and understandings of health, barriers, and resilience among Black LGBT communities?
• What are Black LGBT individuals’ experiences with health care access and utilization?
• What effective strategies do Black LGBT people use to promote and maintain their health?
• What unique resiliency factors are related to Black LGBT health?
• What are the implications of nonmedical paradigms (e.g., intersectionality, critical race theory, African-centered philosophy, etc.) for researchers and practitioners who work with Black LGBT people?
• What enhances Black LGBT people’s health behaviors?
• How do families–biological and sociological–influence positive and negative health
• outcomes among Black LGBT people?
• What are the strengths and weakness of current structural policies (e.g., medical school cultural competency initiatives, research funding initiatives, faith-based initiatives, etc.) related to Black LGBT health?
• What are best-practices for healthcare with Black LGBT people? How can they be improved?
• What does normative health development look like across the Black LGBT lifespan?

Submission procedure

Potential contributors should submit 500-word proposals and a 100-word author bio as a Microsoft Word attachment by March 1, 2016 to Lourdes.Follins@kbcc.cuny.edu. Not all contributions will be selected. Authors whose proposals are accepted will be notified by March 27, 2016 and completed first drafts will be due April 25, 2016. Completed chapter manuscripts should not exceed 6,250 words, including figures, tables, graphs, and references and cannot be previously published elsewhere. All chapters need to be formatted in APA publication style (6^th edition) and in 12-point Times New Roman font.

Please feel free to contact either of the editors directly with your initial inquiries or concerns: Lourdes D. Follins (Lourdes.Follins@kbcc.cuny.edu) or Jonathan M. Lassiter (jonathanmlassiter@yahoo.com). Once manuscripts are accepted, authors will be assigned a specific editor to contact with subsequent inquiries and concerns. All submitted manuscripts will be reviewed on a peer-review editorial basis.

Important dates

• March 1, 2016: Proposal Submission Deadline
• March 27, 2016: Notification of Acceptance
• April 25, 2016: Full Chapter Submission
• May 23, 2016: Review Results Returned
• June 13, 2016: Final Edits on Chapter Due
• Fall 2016-Winter 2017: Anticipated Publication Date

¹ The editors purposefully use the U. S. Census Bureau’s imperfect definition of Black, “having origins in any of the Black race groups of Africa” (McKinnon, 2003) to emphasize the shared experiences of members of these groups due to their race.