Actor Justice Smith attended a protest Friday in New Orleans alongside his partner, actor Nicholas Ashe. On Instagram, Smith expressed his dislike at how some people would “hold their tongues” when queer or trans was added to the “Black Lives Matter” chant.
What We Know:
- Actors Justice Smith and Nicholas Ashe attended a Black Lives Matter protest on Friday in New Orleans, protesting against police brutality and racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minnesota police officer.
- On his Instagram post, Smith addressed how during the protest when people were chanting “Black Lives Matter” but people held their tongues when trans or queer was added to the chant.
- “@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans,” he wrote. “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 also mentioned Tony McDade, a 38-year-old transgender man, who was killed by a Leon County police officer on May 27, 2020.
- “I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black,” he continued. “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.”
- The post included a video of the protest where a protester is heard singing “Black trans lives are sacred, black trans lives are worthy. We matter,” and Smith included pictures of him and Ashe posing, brushing their teeth, and kissing in a photo booth.
- “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,” Smith added at the end of the post. “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.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBFCvRjhxq2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
So far, the post has received over 115,000 likes and over 2,000 comments.
