By: Ian L. Haddock, LGBTQ Editor
On the day after a homophobic and racist attack on Jussie Smollett, we stand saying that there is so much more to be done. For a hate crime such as this to have been committed shows us where this country truly stands in the wake of this foolish “Make America Great Again” sentiment.
To be clear, we have been hunted, hung, shot and murdered in cold blood for years, decades and centuries. What we haven’t been speaking about until this incident is how this has exacerbated amongst the Black LGBT community. Black transwomen had their deadliest year ever in 2018 and unfortunately 2019 isn’t looking any better. Still, Jussie Smollett being attacked like this sends the message that no matter the notoriety, celebrity, fame, fortune, masculine privilege, possibility, respectability, skin color or attractiveness, you can and will be targeted.
The very messed-up piece about it was, in the wake of Black Lives Matter, police brutality, and trans folk being murdered, there was a lot less support from our Black influencers, celebrities and the like than I suspected. Wait. I should be realistic; I expected to hear very little because Smollett is gay.
Kevin Hart issued a heartfelt response, but I don’t think that he in any way acknowledged how he is a part of the culture of this hate crime. Hell, I would argue most Black folk don’t understand how their homophobia plays a part. The other week, we were having a conversation about Kevin Hart and people were wondering why the Black LGBT community was being “overly sensitive” to his comments regarding beating his son during his first “gay moment.” I love Kevin Hart and personally think he is one of the funniest comics out. Unfortunately, that homophobic rhetoric contributes to us being beaten in the streets and, if you think that is reaching, “beating the gay out” of his son is more a peek into the possibilities of his future in society rather than protection from sexuality.
To be beaten and allegedly called a “F****t” and a “N***a” in 2019 is disheartening and, if I wasn’t raised by powerful people with melanin and a long ancestry of royalty, I would be fearful. It’s time we get licensed to carry, or get a Taser or some defense mechanism. It’s time for us as communities to start back giving self-defense classes so we can be ready for the war on our bodies and in our communities. It is time for us to begin to organize ourselves and love our children and get them ready for the world without our explicit biases of what it could be for them. We must stand up to hate with love and, for our protection, security.
It reminds me of one of the great Black, gay writers, Essex Hemphill, when he said, “I’m not concerned about the attire of the soldier. All I want to know for my own protection is that we are capable of whatever, whenever” (“For My Own Protection”). We must get on our gear.
Peace and Love.
