The meang of a film that picts sensive gay black men, and the long history of misreprentatn remedi
Contents:
WHO LOVED GAY BLACK BOYS BEFORE MOONLIGHT?
When he was young, Blan was ed to listeng to mic whose lyrics did not tell any story, such as that of Marv Gaye and Donna Hathaway. Young Chiron is alg wh the homophobic bullyg of his peers, a mother battlg dg addictn, and uncertaty about his sexualy, when Juan, a neighborhood dg aler, cis to bee his mentor. When I saw Moonlight as a gay, black man at the age of 22, I was shaken to realize that this was the first moment cema I had seen a black man reassurg a potentially gay, black male that his existence was not only valid, but also worth takg pri .
Ultimately my brother and I not only stggled wh the homophobia that was embedd Jamain culture, and wh the larger culture’s media that failed to empathetilly portray our reali — we also stggled simply to love and support each other. This was the first moment cema I had seen a black man reassurg a potentially gay, black male that his existence was worth takg pri .
In my own life, I have wanred through the isolatn and the wag-for-life-to-beg that many gay, black men experience. I learned to verbally spar wh peers, and sometim adults, who thought my shy nature warranted homophobic remarks.