representation

Reggie Greer is bringing visibility for Black, queer people with disabilities into the White House

If anyone knows what it’s like to be Black, gay and disabled, it’s Reggie Greer, who identifies as all three. Now Greer is using his experiences to bring visibility for queer people with disabilities into the White House.

In March, President Biden named Greer senior adviser on LGBTQ+ issues at the White House and director of priority placement in the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office. In a recent interview with LGBTQ Nation, Greer explained how he will use his new role “to ensure that LGBTQ+ people have a voice in the White House.”

Greer’s said to be one of 50 LGBTQ people working in the Biden administration, a historic record that Greer said doesn’t even cover it.

“There are many more of us,” Reggie Greer said. “On the teams that I am able to work with, you find people who identify across the entire community, who are working on issues that are directly impacting the LGBTQ+ community, in some roles that historically haven’t had LGBTQ+ people serving in them.”

But before landing the coveted gig, Greer worked as Biden’s LGBTQ+ Engagement Director for the Biden-Harris campaign.

Just days before the 2020 election, Greer penned an op-ed for Out where he discussed his experiences growing up with hemifacial microsomia, a degenerative birth defect where tissues on one side of the face are underdeveloped. It was “not easy,” he said, “but I learned early on to make this journey my own.”

He also discussed “how impactful” it had been for him to come out as gay to his parents. Greer said he was able to “lean into my truth and embrace all of the qualities that make up who I am”.

Speaking at the 32nd GLAAD Media Awards this year, Greer highlighted the many ways he’s helped Biden take swift action for LGBTQ+ Americans, which included signing executive orders that prevent discrimination, reversing the ban on transgender serving in the military, and urging Congress to pass the Equality Act.

Looking at where he is now, it’s clear Greer has come a long way. As someone who is gay and disabled myself, it is amazing to see someone like Greer using his experiences to fight for a more just, inclusive world. As people, we are often forced to put ourselves and our identities into boxes. We are either LGBTQ or disabled. Greer is proving there is power in embracing every part of your identity.

Greer is showing to every Black, queer, disabled child out there that you accomplish great things, and that working in the politics doesn’t just have to be a dream. It can be a reality that might just lead you to the White House–and beyond.

Scroll down for more pics from Greer’s Instagram page…

 

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