Photos: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic, Peter Pettrus/AP Library of Congress, Charley Gallay/WireImage, Amy Sussman/Getty Images
kids’ lives and friends’ lives — so that AfricanAmericans could vote.
You have two 14-year-olds. How is it — raising two teens? Well, yesterday, they loved me. Today, they hate me. It just depends on the day. [Laughter.]
second men to adopt in Philadelphia. Let me tell you how it happened: I didn’t want kids, my [then] partner wanted kids. My brother was put into a situation where he and his girlfriend weren’t able to take care of the kids, so when they were three days old, my ex and I took them. It was sort of weird, because the biological mother came back into their lives and she wanted them. … So we had to go to court. When I adopted them, I thought I was doing them a favor, but I didn’t realize they were doing the biggest favor for me. It changed me. It’s a magical experience that I think everyone should experience. … My boy recently asked me, “Dad, is it OK that I like girls?” It split my heart open because he was so honest — but he doesn’t know any other world except being raised by two men. That’s the message he sends to the community. What we do is being accepted on a very natural level. That is the beauty for me. It breaks down walls of prejudice at its root.
Can you talk about your experience adopting them? I think we were among the first or
How has working in Hollywood been for you? During the whole Oscar thing, everyone
A few years ago, you produced some public service announcements with a neighbor of yours to encourage young people to vote. Yes, I worked for Bill Clinton. It was a job I took very seriously. There were several PSAs to get the underprivileged to get out and vote and explain why they should vote. We mounted several campaigns to really get these kids out to vote. It was life-changing. I can’t believe I’m doing a film about securing African-Americans’ right to vote decades ago. … We have been given this liberty that we’ve taken advantage of, and it’s important.
was saying, “Oh, he’s gay,” and “Oh, he’s black,” and I would say, “No, I’m a filmmaker.” I wear my gayness as a badge and I wear my color as a badge. I can’t change that. … I loathe dishonesty. It is very difficult coming out. As an African-American, it’s so easy to be in the closet, in the work arena and in family life. What are the main challenges about being gay and black in Hollywood? You know, there is the belief that there is a gay mafia that is there. But there are people there that stop you. There is a self-loathing that is there, and it’s not just gay men, it’s also black men. Now, it’s hard for African-American men to not embrace what I’m doing now. I come in very “masculine” and they don’t know what to do with that. It throws people off. So until I tell people I’m gay, they don’t know it, then it throws them for a loop. It’s intimidating, and it takes people a moment because they like my work and they think because they like my work they have to like me and they just aren’t sure what to think. continued on page 19
go out and find another story. voice that hasn’t been heard.
The director with his daughter Mo’Nique and Daniels
WWW.HRC.ORG
SPRING 2010
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