‘The next AOC’: Jabari Brisport makes history as New York’s first gay Black state senator
Jabari Brisport believes “queer rights are a multiethnic, multiracial battle”.(jabariforstatesenate/ Instagram)
Jabari Brisport, hailed as “the next AOC”, has become the first ever Black LGBT+ person elected to the New York state legislature.
A gay, Democratic socialist, public school teacher and third-generation Caribbean-American, Jabari Brisport has become the New York state senator representing Brooklyn’s 25th District.
He ran unopposed on November 3, having beat Jason Salmon and assembly member Tremaine Wright in the Democratic state primary.
He has been referred to as the “next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez“, who endorsed him in his race alongside Bernie Sanders.
According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, Brisport joined Shevrin Jones in Florida to become one of only two openly LGBT+ Black men serving in US state senates.
Mayor Annise Parker, the president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement: “At a time when movements to end racism, police brutality and disparities in healthcare are awakening the nation, Jabari’s groundbreaking victory ensures there is a legislator in Albany who can turn protests into policy.
“His experiences as a Black LGBTQ man will provide an essential perspective that has never been represented in the New York state legislature and will pave the way for a government that is more representative of the people it serves.
“Jabari shattered a rainbow ceiling in New York and his victory will encourage more people like him to step up and run.”
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On Mondays we center black trans women. Happy Birthday, Marsha P. Johnson. ❤️?
Jabari Brisport will ‘fight for his LGBT+ siblings’.
Jabari Brisport’s platform is focused on affordable and equal healthcare, housing and education for all Americans.
According to his website: “Jabari will fight to provide a home for every New Yorker, to guarantee quality healthcare to all, to invest in public schools, to empower workers, to tackle the global climate crisis, and to create a world where Black Lives Matter.”
He supports a single payer healthcare system, and declared: “I will fight for healthcare measures that would be especially impactful for LGBTQ+ people… I will be the first openly queer, Black, member of the state legislature, and will fight for my LGBTQ+ siblings to have expanded access to PReP and other HIV treatments, to hormones and other gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and non-binary people, and to mental healthcare.”
Earlier this year, Brisport told LGBTQ Nation: “Representation really matters. People hear gay rights and they immediately think of same-sex marriage…But queer rights are a multiethnic, multiracial battle.”
