During Black History Month, the mainstream media recycles stories about Martin Luther King and Malcolm X while LGBTQ outlets predictably trot out RuPaul, Bayard Rustin, and Laverne Cox and other examples of great African-Americans we’re already well acquainted with.
Over the next week, we’re going to spotlight a few amazing black unsung heroes.
These people are leaders, journalists, and activists who span the entire African diaspora (i.e. not only Americans).
Next up, actress/writer/producer Lena Waithe.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
We didn’t know who Lena Waithe was until we finished the (brilliant) first season of Aziz Ansari’s Netflix show Master Of None, but now that she’s in our lives we want her here forever.
Waithe is a writer, actress, and producer who’s written for Bones and also wrote the 2011 viral video Shit Black Girls Say. You can see that hilariousness above.
She was also a producer of the 2014 flick Dear White People which also, by the way, featured a gay black character as the lead (and was written and directed by out black gay man Justin Simien). So, yeah, she’s pretty cool.
And if all that wasn’t enough, she’s even been written up in Vogue. Yes, you heard that right: a black lesbian was interviewed by Vogue, and her response to the age-old “diversity on TV” question was quite interesting:
“I think for my character it’s almost revolutionary to see a black lesbian who isn’t two-dimensional, who isn’t just there for shits and giggles. Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it’s purely there for decoration.
You can just hear it in the writers room . . . “What if we make her a lesbian?!” It’s weird because I see black gay characters on television all the time, but do I relate to them? Not always, because they’re set pieces.”
Master of None returns for Season 2 sometime in 2017, and she’s the co-creator of a Showtime drama pilot about a young black man growing up in Chicago.
If we were lesbians, Lena would be our kind of girl, but it looks like she’s a bit busy conquering the entertainment world.
1EqualityUSA
Thanks, Queerty.
Ummmm Yeah
Hero? Well I have a job too so I guess that makes me a hero as well.
1EqualityUSA
Living authentically, is being heroic. Additional societal pressures placed on some.
Kangol
Good to see this young out woman helping to create positive images of different kinds of people. Keep the Black History Week posts coming, Queerty. They’re refreshing.
Ummmm Yeah
@1EqualityUSA: Four tours of duty in Iraq is living heroically. Running into burning buildings as a job is living heroically. Going up against armed thugs every night to protect law abiding citizens is living heroically. This is putting food on the table, and she might be lucky enough to enjoy it. No comparison at all.
1EqualityUSA
Taken outside of her and to the circle around her, heroism is living truthfully. Tours of duty won our right to be free and equal, yes, and she is willing to apply herself, when society would rather she stay quiet. Scrutiny, by those with opinions about her identity, doesn’t take anything away from the noble list you compiled.
TheFinalWord
I really like her character in Master of None
XzamiIio
Oh cause she has a job she’s a hero. If she was white there wouldn’t be an article about her.
1EqualityUSA
The nature of her work and the subject matter chosen makes her significant enough to generate articles. Vocation is secondary. She sees black, lesbian characters portrayed on screen as after-thoughts. Superficial exploitation. For one to confront this and change film is immense. Decisions made from a place of introspection are bound to flourish. Strength is a fine attribute, especially in the arts.