Lena Waithe, Keiynan Lonsdale, Angelica Ross address racist anti-LGBT violence
Lena Waithe, Keiynan Lonsdale and Angelica Ross are among the stars in the clip to address racist anti-LGBT violence (Getty)
Various celebrities have spoken out about the violence faced by queer African-Americans, following the attack on actor Jussie Smollett.
Empire star Jussie Smollett reported a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago on January 29, igniting a discussion about attitudes towards LGBT+ people of colour.
A number of out stars and allies came together for a video, produced by GLAAD and civil rights organisation Color Of Change in response to the attack, that blames “the rise of the Trump administration” for a surge in racist and homophobic violence.
‘Our truths cannot be erased. Our lives must not be erased. We will not be erased.’ — Celebrities and activists are speaking out against hate after the racist, homophobic attack on Jussie Smollett pic.twitter.com/bAygiGhhxw
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 6, 2019
The Chi creator Lena Waithe, The Flash star Keiynan Lonsdale, American Horror Story’s Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Moonlight‘s André Holland and Pose‘s Angelica Ross were among the stars lending their voices and names to the collective statement.
Selma director Ava DuVernay, Star Trek: Discovery star Wilson Cruz, Shalita Grant of NCIS: New Orleans, Kendrick Sampson of Insecure, Younger‘s Nico Tortorella, DJ Dee Rees and singer Zeke Thomas also took part.
The video promoted the Call Out Hate campaign, which encourages people to pledge to “fight for justice on behalf of survivors of anti-Black LGBTQ hate violence.”
Lena Waithe among stars cALLING out racist, homophobic violence
In the clip, the group say: “Jussie was attacked because he was black, gay man. Neither of those truths can be erased, nor can we ignore what it means when those true truths collide.
“To live at the intersection of racism and homophobia means black survivors of anti-LGBT hate violence are 1.3 times more likely to experience police violence than their non-black counterparts.
“You come for one of us, you come for all of us. Keep your hatred out of our communities.”
— Call Out Hate campaign
“They are twice as likely to experience any physical violence. Twice as likely to experience discrimination. And 1.4 times more likely to experience threats and intimidation during acts of violence.
“Your experiences cannot be erased. Our truths cannot be erased. Our lives must not be erased. We will not be erased.”
‘MAGA America’ linked to rising racism and homophobia
The stars continue: “Since the rise of the Trump administration and this Make America Great Again movement, our black LGBTQ family has been attacked by racists and homophobes and racist homophobes.
“We can no longer pretend there’s a difference between Trump’s MAGA America and the America in which we live. It’s in the White House. It’s in our schools. It’s in our communities. It’s in the courts.
It’s time to put those who commit acts of violence against our communities, and enables of that violence, on notice. You come for one of us, you come for all of us. Keep your hatred out of our communities.
“To all the kids out there, especially black kids, who are gay, lesbian, bi, non-binary, trans or everything, we see you, we love you, and we will fight for you. We got your back.”
Smollett recently addressed conspiracy theories that spread about the attack, speaking about his frustration with “misinformation” about the incident.
