My first job ever was, I got hired by Oprah Winfrey.
— Karamo Brown
I want a big wedding.
We live in a society that has a long history of not valuing people of color or women.
I was a social worker most of my life while raising my two boys.
Literally, I look back on it now, and I often think to myself, 'Karamo you should have done better.' But that's the thing: when you're in that dark space, you can't do any better. And it's for people around you to say, 'You know what? I need to check in with you and be there to support you.'
We, as communities that are marginalized, need to open up our minds and realize that we should be asking and advocating for more of everyone. Let's get more gay black men; let's get more trans women.
I hate when I see someone who speaks English speaking to someone who speaks a different language, and they're screaming as if going louder is going to help the other person understand.
I've never done drag, but I'd love to try it.
Yes, I would definitely let the 'Queer Eye' - I mean, cameras - follow me for my marriage.
Homophobia, racism, and sexism are all rooted in the same oppression that causes a group of people to internalize the oppression they've experienced and then continue the cycle of abuse. Simply put, hurt people hurt people.
By no means am I excusing homophobic rap lyrics, but as a product of the same environments that birthed hip-hop, I fully understand why those lyrics existed.
For many gay and bisexual men of color, economic inequalities add to the pernicious effects of oppression and homophobia.
The black community can be competitive and cautious when it comes to those we want put on display for the world to see and judge. We are a prideful people who believe that anything that will make us seem 'less than' should be hidden.
We must do our part to make ourselves visible to the world. Let everyone see that being a queer parent of color is normal and happening right next door to them.
It is important to remember that if we treat people who could be allies as enemies, we can only alienate them from our cause.
I have been a proud, openly gay man since I was 18.
We're so divided as a world that we don't often have the opportunity to sit down and talk to people who are different to us. We're so ready to always be right that we sometimes forget it's OK to listen.
We're trying to get the world to see it's not always about the outside, it's about the inside.
Celebrities have a platform, and people listen to them. And there's a lot of people that we are able to touch, who aren't watching activists and aren't watching the news, that are watching what celebrities say.
I was 15 years old when I came out.
The funny thing is, we teach - as a culture, we teach people that it's OK to talk about your fitness goals... Like, I want to be more physically fit, I want to drop 10 pounds, but no one's talking about how I can spend 10 days to get happier.
We have to start making sure that churches start to talk about... black queerness in a way that's affirming. Because a lot of young black men are in the church, and that's where they start to learn this self-hate behavior.
Point-blank, there is not enough diversity in media.
Bangkok is one of those places where it's so rich and full of tradition, but they're so open to different people - different gender expressions and gender identities. As a gay man, I never once felt uncomfortable there. As a black man, I never once felt uncomfortable.
My life is an open book. There is nothing to hide here.
Often, men forget to buy their grooming supplies.
The marginalization of African-Americans within their own community based on sexuality is a construct that is more complex than the idea that 'blacks just hate gays.'
Life experiences with oppression and homophobia often become internalized and can have detrimental effects on the development of positive sexual identity for Southern black gay men.
What defines someone as a 'man' should not be the clothes they wear or how deep their voice is. It should be the content of his character, his strength in the face of overwhelming adversity, and his ability to still love and help others when the world has turned its back on him.
As one of the first African-Americans to be out on a reality program, MTV's 'The Real World: Philadelphia,' I understand the courage it takes to live your truth on a national platform, the importance it holds to LGBT communities of color, and the power it has to create a greater conversation within American culture.
We must be vigilant in sharing our stories and our truths as queer parents of color at every chance we get if we hope to see art imitate real life.
While the Internet has allowed for some extraordinary progress in creating conversations about diversity, it also allows uninformed comments that one has made in the past to live forever.
The worst thing about our political system is that people debate; I wish our politicians were able to talk to each other rather than scream while trying to gain sound bites.
There's so much toxic masculinity out there. I grew up with the notion that the more masculine you are and the less you show emotion, the more of a man you are.
I will kick my best friend out of the way if RuPaul wants to stand next to me as my best man.
We have to continue to do the work, because we can't see people lose their lives over senseless gun violence.
My favorite job, and definitely the one that means the most to me, is 'Queer Eye.'
I know a lot of people who are depressed, and they walk around, and they're smiling every day, but no one's asking them how they're really doing.
Hollywood, at the bottom of it, is about money.
Even when you look at, like, movies with some of our famous celebrities, they don't really cry and bring out their tears until, like, forced.
A lot of times, we look at people who have disabilities as, 'Oh, we can't invite these people here or there.' And I hate that, because it's inappropriate. It's so weird to me when people say they don't have friends who have disabilities.
I've been on reality TV since I was 23.
Gay men must be more effective caregivers to the women in their lives.
Historically, hip-hop is about a generation of artists rapping about the realities they see in their neighborhoods or the 'truths' they hear growing up in their homes.
Southern black gay and bi men are suffering from a self-esteem issue.
The perpetuation of family and cultural pressures to conform to prescribed masculine behaviors is what creates social isolation and distress in many young gay and trans people of color.
Encourage your friend and family member who are queer parents of color to post their stories and share it with the world. It's time for us to be seen.
In 2007, I discovered I was a father to a little boy who I did not know about. After being on MTV's 'The Real World' and traveling the world, I was greeted by a stack of papers on my doorstep informing me that I had a child.
It's been more than a decade since 'The Real World: Philadelphia' aired. I've grown up. My views have evolved, as has the media landscape.
Although someone's vote may hurt me by supporting the structures in place that hold people of colour, women, and LGBT+ people down, some people just don't realise that these structures exist. The way someone votes doesn't make them a bad person; it just means that, at the time, this was the best decision they thought they could make.
