Here is Roscoe Compton-Kelly’s story, a former non-profit CEO who also is a drag entertainer.
DALLAS — In May of 2020 we handed over our platform to Black voices in our North Texas community through a series called “While I Have Your Attention.”
Those courageous souls spoke out against racial bias, race based violence, and systemic racism.
Now, as we mark another Pride Month that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, we are, once again, turning our platform over to our family, friends, and neighbors to amplify even more voices in the struggle for equality in America.
Here is Roscoe Compton-Kelly’s story, a former non-profit CEO who also is a drag entertainer:
You know, I’m considered a double minority – a black gay man here in Texas. While I didn’t have as serious an experience as other LGBTQ+ members, I was still bullied. A lot of times you were afraid to speak up. And I think a lot of times with Shantae there are things I would feel I would say or do that Roscoe wouldn’t be comfortable saying or doing. Now that I have your attention, know that I will fight for you. I will bring you joy. I will find that spark that will ignite the passion within you just like it has within me.
My name is Roscoe Compton Kelly. I am a business consultant here in Dallas, Texas and I am a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. I am a drag queen as well. Shantae is very much a glam girl. She likes things that are shiny. People laugh at me because they hear me talk about her in the third person and really it’s like this alter ego that’s been created from this.
It is very frustrating for me to see what’s happening with the state legislature. People are taking something that is an artform, and they’ve twisted it and manipulated it into a battlefield. We’re not out there harming people. We’re not trying to go in and destroy anything. We’re trying to live our lives. You’re stunting the ability for people to find themselves in a way that is unique to them. Open yourself up to different.
Being Shantae has given me such a wonderful experience of growth. I’ve been able to see so many beautiful things that have come from that. I think every day if I can put a little good in the world, then I’ve done something that can have a lasting effect for other people as I move along.
I remember when I told my mom the reaction I thought I would receive from her from a conversation we had a couple weeks prior was completely different than the conversation that we had. She was crying. I was crying. My uncle had recently contracted HIV, so in my mom’s mind immediately where she went to was he’s going to get sick and he’s going to die. Because that was the stigma that was attached to HIV at the time. It took this evolution, this movement through the years for us to get to a point where we are now. We have a great relationship.
I would tell the younger Roscoe to stay resilient. You’re going to have a lot of tears. You’re going to have a lot of rough conversations. But keep going. Keep finding that light — that spark — that’s there for you keep doing all the amazing things you did for yourself and just remember that this is just another facet of you as a human being in this world it is no different than the color of your skin your eyes the air hon your head, which very little i have left now, but keep going.
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