Blazing Trails in Tinseltown: Colman Domingo Makes Black Queer History in Hollywood With Oscar Nomination

As our nation continues to be blasted with arctic chills and snow, things in Hollywood are heating up. Some industries enter the year gradually, but movies and television make a grand entrance at the top of the year as the award season blazes on.  Like Hollywood’s version of NCAA March Madness, January-March is filled with a myriad of award shows, including the Golden Globes (January), Emmys (January),  SAG-AFTRA Awards (February), and the Academy Awards (March), also known as “The Oscars.” Unfortunately, regardless of the award show, there has been a massive void of Black representation (and awards) across the board, resulting in an estimated $10 billion of lost revenue. This is especially true for Black queer representation.  

If Hollywood were like space, straight Black entertainers would be the stars dazzling in the sky, but Black queer folks are like the galaxies far away; our existence is known, but there is far less visibility and understanding. Colman Domingo, who is Black and openly queer,  is one of Hollywood’s brightest and most well-dressed stars of 2024. He shined so brightly that his award season propelled him into history as he became the first Black gay man to be nominated for a Golden Globe, SAG Award, and Oscar while playing a Black gay historical figure. Like the iconic 90s brand FUBU, Domingo’s role as Bayard Rustin is for us, by us. 

Recent Progress Are a Silver Lining

In 2019, Billy Porter won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first openly Black gay actor to do so. Most recently, Black women had a historic night at the 2024 Emmys, with  Ayo Edebiri, Quinta Brunson, and Niecy Nash all taking home awards. Nash is openly queer and married.

However, movies have been slower to change. Lee Daniels was nominated for multiple awards for “Precious”, but those were not acting-related.  Some Black queer actors/actresses have flourished. For example, Cynthia Erivo received a 2020 Oscar nomination for Best Actress and Original Song. In 2022, Ariana DeBose became the first Afro-Latina and openly queer woman of color to win an Academy Award for acting. Then, of course, Moonlight won Best Picture after it was first mistakenly awarded to LaLa Land. 

Now that the Oscar nominations have been announced, it is confirmed that Colman Domingo’s role in Rustin has etched him into history. 

Hollywood, Award Shows & Spotlight on Biopics 

It is no secret that Hollywood loves biopics, movies that dramatize living people’s lives. See Bohemian Rhapsody. Iron Lady. Ray. Elvis. Judy. But it is rare for an Oscar-nominated biopic to be centered around a Black queer person. In fact, to my knowledge, it has never happened, especially in the Best Actor category. This changed this year with Netflix’s Rustin.

The film illuminates the story of Bayard Rustin, a Black gay man who was pivotal in orchestrating the March on Washington and other significant events in the Civil Rights movement. His story has been largely forgotten and/or untold by history due to homophobia relegating him to the shadows. Bayard is played by Colman Domingo, who already has a 2022 Emmy award for work in Euphoria. He extended his impressive resume with a recent breakout role as ‘Mister’ in 2023’s The Color Purple. 

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Why do these nominations matter? 

Domingo’s nomination alone may not be enough to spark change in Hollywood. Still, I believe it is incredibly significant and worthy of celebration for various reasons: past, present, and future. 

Past: 

Nomination honors and uplifts the legacy of Bayard Rustin: To say history has been unfair to Rustin and his work would be a severe understatement. Bayard Rustin’s work was like the movement’s drumbeat, setting the rhythm for marches and protests, driving the movement’s momentum forward. History silenced his drum. 

But history is not just a record of past events; it sets the platform for our current social consciousness and values. Who we remember, what we remember, and how we remember them are incredibly important. Hollywood certainly plays a role in crafting public discussions and narratives. By sidelining figures like Rustin, we allow a muted version of history to perpetuate, one that omits the profound contributions of Black queer individuals. 

Additionally, the spotlight on Rustin reveals the importance of acknowledging the intersectionality of struggles. Rustin's life was a testament to navigating multiple fronts of marginalization. He was Black, gay, and an activist at a time when any of these identities alone could subject one to intense hatred. Rustin's story is a powerful reminder that our struggles against injustice are not isolated; they are interconnected, and understanding this interconnectedness is crucial for building solidarity and empathy among diverse communities.

Present:

Black Writers Excel Post Strike: Screenwriters are fresh from a writers’ that lasted nearly five months. The success of Domingo’s portrayal of Rustin is partly credited to the success of a flushed-out and well-researched character, which Julian Breece wrote. Julian, who is Black, has been transparent in previous interviews about being inspired by other Black queer creatives like James Baldwin and Alvin Ailey. In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, he notes that queerness was “part of Rustin’s strategic gift” and that he wanted to ensure he captured Bayard’s unique flamboyant voice. 

He wrote the script; Colman brought it to life.  The success is an example of a Black writer capturing a Black queer voice and a Black gay actor using their gift to bring that voice to life. The problem is that we currently don’t have enough Black writers.  You can read Breece’s screenplay here.

Perfect movie for the moment: Systemic racism and the rights of queer people remain paramount issues center of current political discourse. Last week, GOP Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley stated that America was “never racist.”  Bayard and Colman likely disagree. 

Next, The Hill reports that state legislatures have introduced over 275 bills targeting LGTBQIA+ rights for upcoming sessions, and the ACLU found that over 500 anti-LGTBQIA+ bills were introduced in 2023. This was a record.  The success of Colman in Rustin is a perfect anecdote to the toxic narratives of racism and homophobia. It illustrates Black gay brilliance and perseverance. Rustin fought the tangled web of racism and homophobia in Civil Rights, but Domingo battles these issues in Hollywood and contemporary politics. Both have important legacies rooted in being Black and gay. 

Future: 

 Invest in Black gay stories. Domingo’s nomination unveils another critical takeaway- big offices and production companies can center a Black queer story and receive commercial success. It is important to note that both Domingo and Rustin are gay. Moonlight received ample accolades, but none of the male leads openly identified as queer. This nomination is the first time a large studio allowed a Black gay actor to play a Black gay historical figure in a feature film that was clearly targeted toward award season. Queen Latifah played Bessie Smith, but that was for release on HBO.

Netflix is worth nearly 211 billion dollars. Domingo’s trifecta should serve as evidence that they could reinvest some of their revenue into more Black queer stories. Or better yet, this success could spark intense competition across studios.  Imagine a biopic that discovers a Black trans lead who shines as Marsha P Johnson. Or perhaps a studio would be bold enough to cast Janelle Monae as Josephine Baker, who was radical in her queerness at the time—a perfect aura for Monae to embody. 

Billy Porter is rumored to play James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic. If this trend continues, I am confident that Porter and Domingo may be the first Black gay actors to have their names announced, but they certainly will not be the last. Here is a list of 30 Black queer actors to cast.