The attack against Jussie Smollett shows why we shouldn't excuse racist and homophobic ‘jokes’

It may have been white men this time, but the black LGBT+ community will continue to be targeted by everyone including our own unless people understand that discrimination must end

This month has been a trying period for the black queer community (Getty Images)

The world has had around 24 hours to process what happened to actor and activist Jussie Smollett yesterday. Smollett, star of Empire and a musician, survived an attack from two white in ski masks yelling “MAGA”, where he was not only called a f****t but also a n****r.

The attack has justly sparked outrage, from community members, to national organizations, and even politicians. However, many are still struggling to understand how this story doesn’t just reside in racism or homophobia but both; Smollett lives in the identity of black and gay simultaneously, and that matters.

The media has been very divided on how to cover this story appropriately, with many failing to discuss it in an intersectional way. Outlets were either okay with using the word “homophobic” but not the word “racist” – opting for “racially charged” instead; or completely ignoring the homophobia and focusing solely on the racism.

It has become very clear that the “MAGA” moniker is nothing more than a hate group. From the kids at Covington High antagonising indigenous people, to the attack on Smollett, the MAGA mob mentality seems to directly mimic President Trump’s rhetoric.

For the most part, calling out racism like this is easy – even when folk frame it with the watered down term “racially charged” meaning they understand the racism involved but deal with it with kid gloves. However, having a productive conversation around homophobia – especially this month, which has been a trying time for black queer men – is still something we haven’t seen enough of.

Throughout January, black queer men have endured Ellen Degeneres speaking on our behalf to absolve Kevin Hart for behaviour she had absolutely no right to excuse, and again when she used the Smollett incident to plug her own show. We have seen the second death of a black gay man in the home of prominent donor to the Democratic Party, Ed Buck – who as of today has yet to be charged with any crime in either of the deaths.

And now, the attack on Smollett – which for many of us in the community is a constant danger and a real fear that we carry around with us daily as we navigate our lives. The important thing in all of this is to look at the the situation in full, and not as if these things are all isolated incidents. Rather, they are connected pieces of the homophobic puzzle that harms people living at the intersection of blackness and queerness.

When we are in white community, it is our race that is seen first. So yes, racism can play a big role in the harm we face as black queer men, but that doesn’t negate the possibility of our queerness also being coming under attack by these very same communities, and that too needs to be recognised.

From transgender military bans to rollbacks on LGBT+ protections and lawsuits like “The Baker Case”, rhetoric from the White House is very much anti-queer. And along with anti-blackness, those ideals trickle down into white community. Although it should be said that that anti-blackness is inherently anti-queer, just the sheer mention of Smollett being a “f****t” lets us know that this targeting was specific, and homophobia played a role in the attack just as much as his race did.

But we also have to acknowledge the nuances of that particular experience. Black queer men have long struggled to navigate our own community when it comes to meaningful conversations about blackness and queerness. During these discussions, if our queerness isn’t denounced, then our need for the latter as well as our race to carry equal weight often is.

And I get why these discussions are so hard. When it comes to Smollett, many feel bringing up the aforementioned struggles in our community is an unfair pivot, considering the attack was done by two white men.

However, for those of us who have been harmed by our own, we don’t get to separate the two into neat categories that rarely intersect; they both inform each other. Next week when we aren’t trending, and when the horrific attack that Smollett endured fades from the top of the news agenda, the same folk who spoke out against the attack will be the same ones who believe it’s right to go back to defending the Kevin Harts of the world. Simply put, this moment of heartwarming “allyship” will be nowhere to be found. We’ve seen it too many times before.

So as much as it may sting to hold our own community accountable in this moment, we must because queer black people like me need you all to get it this time – and I mean really get it. Lives literally depend on the understanding that homophobic jokes are never “just jokes”.

We need you to get that although the attack may have been from white men this time around, on other occasions incidents like these have been and will, sadly, continue to be, from our own. It’s not just from the MAGA cohort (although, believe it or not, there are black Trump supporters too) but from people who proudly claim to believe in the notion that black lives matter, while excluding anyone who isn’t cisgender and heterosexual.

We need to talk about this in totality because I am a black queer man in totality, and I won’t ignore the fullness of my identity for the purpose of “acceptability”.

In this moment, I need folks to understand that homophobia has deadly consequences, just as racism or any other phobia or “ism” that discriminates against marginalised groups. This conversation may be hard, but it’s necessary. For some of us, living at an intersection with danger on both sides is a daily reality.