With modern stars like Lil Nas X being prominently displayed in the media today, it’s easy to simply assume that gay black men have it easy. Sadly, this isn’t always the case. While being famous certainly helps, the truth is many men struggle simply because they’re gay or they’re black—being both certainly ups the ante! However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, so in this article, we’ll be going over the modern struggles of a gay black man, then reviewing a few famous men worth admiring.
Modern Challenges and Positive Changes for Black Gay People Nowadays
As demonstrated by the recent BLM protests, the fight for black equality is an ongoing one. Unfortunately, while society as a whole has made great strides in the battle against racism, there are still systematic and cultural issues that need to be addressed. Alongside the fight for black equality, the battle for LBGT rights has been continuing as well. Sadly, this effort has faced a fair amount of challenges as well, although the biggest obstacles tend to be legal or religious arguments rather than systematic ones. Nonetheless, the struggle on both fronts continues, making life a trying experience for young, gay black men.
On a more positive note, these ongoing struggles have benefitted the gay black community in some ways. One of these ways is expanded dating options! Thanks to constantly being in the limelight, gay online dating platforms have quickly increased in popularity over the recent years. Nowadays, there are even niche black gay chat sites designed specifically to connect black gay singles with other singles, making finding matches easier than ever.
Of course, the wide variety of general gay dating sites makes interracial dating an easy task, and these singles are even welcomed on most major dating platforms. As society seems to be leaning more towards acceptance of the LBGT community and activists continue to make progress for the representation of minorities, we’re remaining positive that young, gay black men will eventually be accepted for who they are, free of societal expectations, judgment, and scrutiny. However, that isn’t the case just yet, so if you’re currently struggling to deal with negative energy on a regular basis, here are three people that just might inspire you to persevere.
The Personal Stories of Famous Gay Men
Colman Domingo
Born on November 28, 1969, Colman Jason Domingo was always destined to be an actor, even if his career started later than most. After majoring in journalism at Temple University, Domingo moved to San Francisco to follow a different path: acting. He began his career acting in stage productions and landed his first movie role in the 1995 movie “Timepiece.” Since then, he’s gone on to act as a recurring character in the AMC series “Fear the Walking Dead,” appeared on “Law & Order” multiple times, and landed countless other roles in a variety of movies & shows. Colman got married to his husband, Raúl Domingo, in 2014.
Le1f
This 32-year old—known offstage as “Khalif Diouf”—is an openly gay rapper & hip-hop artist who has a degree in dance from Wesleyan University. He began his musical career by producing songs for the group “Das Racist”; he broke away & began his solo adventure in 2012 with the release of his mixtape, “Dark York.” He released his first studio album, entitled “Riot Boi,” in 2015. Le1f is currently single.
Karamo Brown
Most people have heard of the show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” (later shortened to “Queer Eye.”) While Brown was not part of the original cast, he currently serves as the culture expert on the Netflix reboot based on the original Bravo series. This Houston-borne man grew up in Coral Springs, Florida, and came out as gay at the age of 16. Graduating from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 1999, he then went on to graduate from Florida A&M University, appear on multiple TV shows, host MTV’s Are You The One: Second Chances, compete on Dancing with the Stars, and—most recently—was named on Ebony’s “Power List. Brown has two sons, lives in Los Angeles, and is currently single (he was engaged to Ian Jordan in 2018 but they went separate ways in 2020). Karamo is currently 40 years old.
Hopefully, the stories of these celebrities have shown you how fulfilling exploring your sexuality can be. No matter the society’s pressure, there are always people who overcome it and combine the enjoyment by their career with being open, happy, and proud of their preferences in love, without having to hide them from the world. And if you’re going to search for a partner with online dating or by any other means, think of men we told you about today as an example of what you can achieve while staying true to yourself.