Remembering Pride Month's history.
On Tuesday, Queer Eye star Karamo Brown virtually stopped by Daily Pop and shared with E!'s Justin Sylvester his plan for this year's Pride. Namely, the 39-year-old Real World alum is ready to tackle tough conversations about racism within the LGBTQ+ community.
"I'm spending my Pride doing other things like, having some real conversations with gay white folks. Because, I've noticed the ugly side of the gay community, the LGBT community, coming out right now," Karamo told E! "I'm dating a white man, but I'm constantly having conversations with him about his privilege. Though you are gay, [it] does not take away your privilege as a white man."
As he continued, the Netflix star said he's noticed that "a lot of white gay men" are "not understanding how segregated and how there's racism in our community." Rather than keep the communities "segregated," Karamo called for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to get "to the root of what's really going on."
Karamo continued, "So, I'm trying to spend my Pride Month reeducating my brothers and sisters and letting them know, 'Hey, as we go out in this world and fight for black lives, we also need to remember that the reason we have Pride and the equality we have today is because it was started by black women and a black trans woman, who threw the first brick to say, 'I'm not going to stand for this! Give me my rights!'"
The Queer Eye star was referring to Marsha P. Johnson, a gay rights advocate and one of the prominent figures involved in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. The demonstrations by the LGTBQ+ community, which took place in New York City between June 28, 1969 and July 3, 1969, came in response to a police raid that occurred at the Stonewall Inn.
This conversation about Stonewall comes amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.
"This is what we've been experiencing since we were little boys, this is not a new situation for us. What I think is most exhausting, emotionally and mentally and physically, is seeing more black men die in the streets, seeing the pain of our community," Karamo relayed.
Yet, the culture expert revealed he's optimistic as "more white people are stepping up," as well as people of all races. Speaking of the protesters and activists, Karamo encouraged them to take care of their mental and emotional health.
"I want people to understand that it's so important for you to check in with your mental and emotional state," the KARAMO podcast host expressed. "And that it's ok if you need to check out for a day. You have to recharge so you can come back and be better the next day."
Queer Eye season 5 is out now on Netflix.
For more ways to take action and get involved, please click here.