Ellen points the way for African-American celebrities
Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day, and I’m hoping more celebrities — especially African-American ones — will follow the example of Ellen DeGeneres.
Ellen has just become my idol. She has taken yet another step in her amazing career by becoming a judge on America’s top-rated television show.
Her ascendance on “American Idol,” as well as her popular daytime talk show, should destroy the myth, once and for all, that outing yourself to the American public will ruin your career.
In the mid-1990s, Ellen DeGeneres came out on her nationally syndicated television show “Ellen.” The controversy threatened to ruin her television and film career, but she held her ground and maintained her dignity. Since then, she has hosted the Academy Awards and the Emmys, as well as becoming the face of Cover Girl, in addition to other accomplishments.
But still many people in the entertainment industry feel that being open about their sexuality will kill their careers. This fear is especially pronounced among African-American actors and celebrities.
Only a few have taken the courageous step to come out: Basketball player Cheryl Swoops, Felicia “Snoop” Pearson from HBO’s “The Wire” and comedian Wanda Sykes are the only names that stand out to me.
We need more.
We need to combat the bigotry in our communities about people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
And our young people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender would feel so much better about themselves if they could recognize people in the entertainment industry who are just like them.
Ellen’s new position stands to widen her demographics and will cast a positive reflection on LGBT community.
As an “American Idol” viewer, I know that her presence on the show will be a positive reflection on the gay community.
And as an African-American community leader for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, I hope that just one African-American entertainer would use National Coming Out Day to help heal our youth with his or her coming out story.
It’s not as scary as you think. Just ask Ellen.
Kimberly R. Jones is a Detroit community activist and black pride organizer. She can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.
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Comments
we always have ru paul for the african american community haha. i honestly don't even know how LGBT ppl aren't fully accepted by this country yet.
The only problem I could ever see with gays is when they try to "turn" younger, more impressionable kids. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for LGBT rights, it’s just that I think their line of thinking is a slippery slope similar to those who have impulsive urges to modify their bodies, and consequently end up ruining them. I’m all for gender reassignment operations if the person genuinely feels that they would feel more in harmony with themselves if they had a sex change, but the issue is of whether they will feel that way in a few years, or even a few months. When people get tattoos and piercings, sometimes they regret them when they’re older because they no longer have the same mindset that they did, or are simply sick of it. Unless it’s a necessary operation (implants for
breast cancer surgery, etc..), we already have seen many cases where elective surgeries lead to an addiction. I’m just afraid that LGBT people might be going down this same path by being so eager to undergo an operation. All I’m asking is that they try to do everything in their power to be comfortable and accepting of the way they were made before they decide to go get an operation.