Queer Love in Color

By Jamal Jordan, The New York Times

Why do no gay people look like me? Jamal Jordan, a black digital editor at The Times, lamented growing up. So as an adult, he decided to give a gift to his younger self: the imagery of queer love.

Paulette Thomas-Martin and Pat Martin live together in Harlem. They are both 66 and have 13 grandchildren between them from the lives they lived before they met.
Credit
Jamal Jordan/The New York Times

As a child, I thought all gay people were white.

By the time I was 18 and living in Detroit, being gay was no longer a “problem” for me.  I was out of the closet, and my family and friends were supportive, even encouraging. Yet, as I set off for college, and grew more comfortable calling myself an adult, a man — a gay black man — I was convinced that no one would ever date or love me.

Cyree, left, and Azure, both late for appointments, outside of their home in Brooklyn.
Credit
Jamal Jordan/The New York Times

Growing up, I had rarely seen queer characters of color in the gay young adult books I read, in episodes of “Queer as Folk” I watched or issues of “XY” or “Out” magazines I stealthily bought at Barnes & Noble.

I spent most of my teenage years believing that love between two black men wasn’t even possible. To my queer white peers, an entire world of change was unfolding: Public support for same-gender marriage eventually led to its legalization nationwide, and queer people were appearing as the leads in more TV shows than I could ever watch. People even won Oscars for directing movies about gay white cowboys….

Despite taking the time to learn to love myself, building the courage to drape myself in a body-length rainbow flag and march in the Pride parade, I still didn’t know what it would look like — feel like — to receive love from someone who looks like me….

As a visual journalist, I believe pictures can connect with people in a way that other forms of media can’t. To this end, I decided to give a gift to my younger self: the imagery of queer love I’ve never seen. Queer love in color.

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