Justice Smith Comes Out as Queer, Voices Support for Black Queer and Trans Lives

Jazz Tangcay
Updated ·3 min read

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Actor Justice Smith took to his Instagram to show his solidarity and support for Black queer lives and Black trans lives while also coming out as queer.

Smith, who has appeared in “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu,” “The Get Down” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” shared that he and “Queen Sugar” actor Nicholas Ashe are a couple.

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In his Instagram post Friday night, Smith shared a video from a protest in New Orleans.

“We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter,’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter,’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added,” he wrote.

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Using the hashtags #blackboyjoy, #blacklove and #blackqueerlove, Smith declared his love for Ashe writing, “You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much. I know that on the other side of this is change, though the fight is far from over.”

Smith went on to express the importance of including Black queer voices in Black Lives Matter protests.

“If your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black. If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black.”

Smith called for equality for Black, queer and trans voices and “the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence.”

Read Smith’s full post below:

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@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans. We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added. I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black. If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black. You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice. But the revolution is not about appeal. It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning. Which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence. There is so much tragedy on the timeline these last couple of days so I added some photos of me and Nic to show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much. I know that on the other side of this Is change, though the fight is far from over. #justicefortonymcdade #justiceforninapop #justiceforgeorgefloyd #justiceforahmaud #justiceforbreonna #sayhername #defundthepolice #endwhitesupremacy

A post shared by Justice Smith (@standup4justice) on Jun 5, 2020 at 8:37pm PDT

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