Michael Sam: I experienced more racism in gay community than homophobia in black community

Michael Sam is going to be covering Attitude's May issue, and in the interview for his cover piece, he is opening up about being part of both the gay community and the black community, as well as the challenges that come from being in both.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Michael Sam is going to be covering Attitude‘s May issue, and in the interview for his cover piece, he is opening up about being part of both the gay community and the black community, as well as the challenges that come from being in both.

Sam is aware of the longstanding whispers about homophobia in the black community, but actually, he said, he had seen nothing but support from the black community, while there were some in the gay community who had a problem with the color of his skin.

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“There are a lot of black, openly gay people,” Sam said, Queerty reported. “A lot of people have [gay] friends, cousins, brothers, sisters. … They have at least one openly gay person, at least it’s more accepting, that’s my experience. People tell me they have family members who are gay, and it doesn’t freak them out and no black person ever freaked out at me, ‘Oh, you’re gay.’ None.”

On the other hand, he said, the racism in the gay community was “terrible.”

“People have told me I’m not gay enough, people have told me I’m not black enough,” Sam told Attitude. “I don’t know what that means. You want to be accepted by other people, but you don’t even accept someone just because of the color of their skin?”

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“I just don’t understand that at all. How are you saying that, ‘Oh, I want people to accept me because I’m gay but I don’t accept you because you’re black, or because you’re white or because you’re Asian.'”

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