“Show me how good it’s gonna get today, God. Dear universe, you have permission to amaze me,” Joseph Reaves said at the top of his program. “Something amazing is gonna happen to me today.”
Reaves’ Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, is a fully Black, fully Queer, fully Human, fully Divine iHeartRadio podcast that touches society, culture, faith, and more.
“Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian is the let out after the club and after service,” Reaves said in a recent interview with GLAAD. “Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian is brunch, all of those things. A place where all of us can come into the light, so all of us can experience healing, all of us can experience joy, all of us can experience pleasure.”
In a recent episode, Reaves spoke with Darian Aaron, GLAAD’s Director of Local News: U.S. South.
During Aaron’s introduction, Reaves highlighted their appreciation for Aaron’s early 2000s blog, Living Out Loud with Darian, calling it their “Black CNN.” Reaves talked about the importance of early representation of queer Black voices during the first decade of the 21st Century.
“You had Black queer men, Black gay men, however they identified, taking up space and creating representation where there was none,” Aaron said. “There was a complete void.”
Through Aaron and other queer Black blogs, stories of Black LGBTQ voices were told in the days before social media or even prominent television shows like “Noah’s Arc.”
Aaron also spoke about the power of writing as he recalled a letter he wrote to his mother, where he committed to no longer apologizing for his queer identity, despite her consistent pushback. Titled “A Letter to Mom,” it was published by frequent CNN contributor Keith Boykin on his former website.
“To see my words also liberated them and gave [other Black LGBTQ people] the courage to walk in their truth, that was the very first time that I knew I had a gift,” Aaron said. “It wasn’t enough for me to be liberated. I also needed to bring other Black queer folks along with me and make sure they can take the path toward freedom and liberation as well.”
Lynn Harris, James Earl Hardy and Keith Boykin were among the authors Reaves read in the early 2000s as a teen. Writings from Black and queer authors inspired Reaves to write poetry at an early age, with diverse subjects that included some highlighting the evolution of queer inclusivity in hip-hop.
“It was just me getting on my soapbox and saying whatever I felt I needed to say,” Reaves said.
Grappling with the struggles of coming out through poetry and writing helped both Reaves and Aaron. Reaves faced setbacks from his family, while Aaron came out in his teen years with no guide to follow.
“I did not want to live in a closet of my own making,” Aaron said. “I came out even before Ellen DeGeneres did; I had no blueprint.”
Despite the uncertainty, Aaron knew he couldn’t live a lie.
“I just knew that very early on, being closeted or living a lie or being DL was not something that I could choose for myself,” Aaron said.
“Storytelling is so important. It’s important that we tell these stories to counter those narratives because there are Black families out there who are embracing and accepting their queer kids, we just don’t hear about them,” Aaron said. “We have to amplify those stories, to counter the negative ones.”
Aaron and Reaves’ faith, both central to each of their lives, was also discussed. Black people in America have found ways to liberate themselves through Christianity, Aaron said. Noting that Black queer people can still have a relationship with Christ, but must deconstruct harmful teachings by creating a Black queer liberation theology.
“I was raised to believe that we are all God’s children and for me, as I started to come into myself as a Black gay man, as I then started to come then into my queerness, [held] this belief that Jesus took homophobia to the cross,” Reaves said to GLAAD.
Faith, identity, and storytelling are just a few of the things Aaron emphasizes when asked to inspire the next generation of queer Black storytellers.
“Read. Study. Know the folks who came before you who laid the foundation for you to be able to stand in your truth,” Aaron said to Reaves. “Your voice, your story matters.”
