Actor Justice Smith came out as queer in an emotional Instagram post, and announced he’s dating ‘Queen Sugar’ star Nicholas Ashe.
The Get Down star Justice Smith came out as queer in a powerful Instagram post amid Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the nation. The 24-year-old also announced that he’s dating Queen Sugar actor Nicholas Ashe, 25, and the pair have been attending protests together in Louisiana. “@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans,” he captioned the June 5 Instagram photo, showing him and Nicholas kissing in a photo booth. “We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter,’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter,’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added.”
The actor made sure to use his platform to champion the black queer community, helping his more than 300,000 followers understand how to be a good ally. “I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black,” he wrote. “If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black. You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you,” Smith wrote. “It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice.” Here are 5 things to know about Justice.
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@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans. We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added. I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black. If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black. You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice. But the revolution is not about appeal. It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning. Which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence. There is so much tragedy on the timeline these last couple of days so I added some photos of me and Nic to show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove ❤️????? You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much.
