Karamo Brown

Being vulnerable is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength.

Being an openly gay black man, unfortunately I've had experiences working with individuals who've tried to exploit my blackness or my gayness in a way that doesn't make me feel comfortable, or they try to manipulate me into being a caricature of myself.

Its rare to see a proud and out LGBT person win an Oscar in a lead or supporting actor role.

The challenges of me being a father are just the same as any other father.

I have such a deeper respect for firemen knowing how much they get paid and how much they put themselves on the line.

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.

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.

Southern black gay and bi men are suffering from a self-esteem issue.

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.

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.

I have been a proud, openly gay man since I was 18.