JUST A DECADE AGO you’d have been hard-pressed to identify many black LGBT+ people represented in politics, the arts or culture and media — or just about anywhere, in fact. But in the past few years, more and more have gained prominence. And for every Laverne Cox or DeRay Mckesson who lives openly in the public eye, a young, black LGBT+ person who switches on their TV or logs on to the internet gets to realise that their identity is valid. As Black History Month approaches, we asked some of the freshest young talent who is making waves for them in the world right now
LAVERNE COX
by Otamere Guobadia, writer