What Black and LGBTQ People Should Remember After the Jussie Smollett Attack | Opinions | NowThis

'I see you. I value you. I love you. And I know that it is especially difficult to be you today.' — A message to the Black and LGBTQ+ community in the wake of the racist and homophobic attack on Jussie Smollett.
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Last week, the LGBTQ and Black communities were devastated to hear that Empire actor Jussie Smollett was the victim of an apparent hate crime as described by the Chicago police department. The Jussie Smollett attack happened in Chicago and showed many that hate, homophobia, and racism are alive and well in some our most progressive cities. 'Jussie Smollett attacked' read many headlines that reverberated through the Black and gay communities, hitting Black LGBTQ people especially hard. Jussie Smollett hospitalized, but the Empire star has already recovered well. David Johns wants people to know on the heels of this Jussie Smollett news that the Black and LGBTQ communities are valued and seen.

Johns: My name is David Johns, and I’m the Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation's leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving people.‪

On Tuesday morning Actor Jussie Smollett, who plays Jamal Lyon in ‘Empire,’ was brutally attacked by men yelling racist and homophobic slurs. They beat him, put a noose around his neck, and poured bleach on him. ‬

Thankfully, brother Jussie has been released from the hospital and is home recovering.

While many have been introduced to Jussie through his current role on Empire he has been leveraging his personal and professional platforms to ensure that everyone remembers that as long as there have been Black people there have always been Black LGBTQ and same gender loving people for some time now.

His work and his life make it possible for other Black queer people to take up space, to be seen. I am thankful for brother Jussie and all he will continue to do work for those of us too often neglected and ignored.

For Black LGBTQ and Same-Gender-Loving people, this attack is a sad reminder that none of us — not even our famous entertainers — are safe from the ugly vestiges of white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and homophobia.

For each of us, this tragic incident should be a reminder that privilege - whether it be education, wealth, or fame - does not protect.

In 2017 alone, over twelve hundred hate crimes were reported based on bias against someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and the violence has only escalated. We saw a 17% increase in these hate crimes from 2016 to 2017 and the FBI reports a 16% increase in anti-Black hate crimes during the same period.

In fact, hate crimes against every racial and ethnic category counted increased in 2017. Trump has escalated the violence with racist rhetoric and destructive policies that are designed to divide and keep some of us locked out of access to opportunity. The clearest consequences of these deleterious actions are evident in these examples of vitriol, violence, even death.

For Black LGBTQ and same-gender-loving people, especially Black Trans women, face insurmountable challenges to living full, happy, and healthy lives.

As we engage in the human rights work of advocating for fundamental protections of Black lives we must ensure we’re holding space for and ensuring protections for those of us with intersectional identities.

In this moment in history let us all work better together to combat the ignorance, hatred, and violence that Black LGBTQ people face, and we need our governments and our elected officials openly to start condemning it openly, and to fight back with transformative policy, too.

The National Black Justice Coalition is encouraging intentional action designed to ensure we don’t have to return to this place again. In a world where violence and hatred surface daily, each of us has a responsibility to use our language, and to leverage our privilege to disrupt ‘jokes,’ and microaggressions designed to otherize and stigmatize. No act is too small, each one serves to dismantle the ignorance that enable hate crimes. Words matter.'

#JussieSmollett #LGBTQ #Black #AfricanAmerican #Hate #Racism #Homophobia

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