By Crimson Jordan
Comedy as a catalyst for change. Laughter as a social conversation starter. These are the tools openly gay artist and comedian Sampson uses in his daily work—and he loves every minute of it. “I’ve been doing it for over two decades now,” Sampson shares. “I was one of the first Black, openly gay stand up comedians in the country and I’ve used [my work] to bring awareness to a lot of our issues as LGBTQ people. It’s about visibility, dispelling myths, and just keeping it real.”
Sampson’s transparency and need to empower others is omnipresent—his Instagram is overflowing with photos of queer people of color from across the spectrum and words of encouragement. His ingrained values of realness, representation, and community also follow him everywhere he goes—including to Houston for The T.R.U.T.H. Project’s Feel My Pride Too! on Friday, June 15 at MATCH.
The one-night-only show is a multidisciplinary art experience and community event centered around queer artists of color, their art, experiences, and varying definitions of Pride. Sampson will be one of several QPOC artists to take the stage, sharing his personal Pride through comedy. “My primary reason for partnering with the T.R.U.T.H Project is because I believe in the mission of the organization and the work that it does for marginalized people in Houston,” Sampson explains. “I also appreciate any group or organization that understands the importance of fusing art and activism together to deliver important messages and to help process our traumas. Humor is a healing salve and the fact that the organization recognizes that by inviting me and including the element of humor is huge.”
Sampson hopes that Feel My Pride Too! will present attendees with a new perspective on tough and often taboo issues, and that the conversations started during the performance will continue outside of the theatre’s walls. “The T.R.U.T.H. Project aims to affirm the experiences of the community,” he says. “Even though it’s 2018, we still deal with a myriad of issues ranging from coming out to HIV to other disparities that affect our community. This show, [in particular], is all about celebrating who we are, our experiences, and being able to laugh about it.”
Comedy, for Sampson, is more than just a set of jokes—it’s an opportunity to heal. If people can laugh about a topic, he says, they can also have tough conversations on the subject and find ways to process and move forward as a community. “We have to talk about what’s been going on [in our world]—and believe we can laugh about some things—but we have to be real,” Sampson says. “I would not feel comfortable standing up and acting like nothing is going on. I don’t believe that there is a way that you can create real, honest, and effective art if it’s not somewhat conscious.”
Sampson feels the current state of the country is both a great and terrible thing. On one hand, his comedy is coming under fire more than ever—not too long ago, the KKK came to one of his shows. “I didn’t even know they liked comedy,” he jokes. On the other, it has brought folks together in the fight out of necessity. “This isn’t just people of color and LGBTQ people, this is everyone having to fight now,” Sampson explains. “They have to show up now. They have to help us do this work.”
It’s for this reason that Kevin Anderson, founder and CEO of The T.R.U.T.H. Project, emphasizes that Feel My Pride Too! is open to everyone. “The event is an opportunity to evoke conversation, in particular within the LGBTQ community,” Anderson says. “The event focuses around the voices of LGBTQ communities of color and their allies. I think that part of what is often missed is creating spaces for allies and non-allies that may just happen to show up, to be able to have conversations with the community and hear their voices. This is not just for queer communities of color, but for all. The challenge becomes asking individuals to remove their level of comfort and to actually be engaged.”
“Art is universal,” Anderson adds. “You may not be able to connect with something, you may not be able to fully understand, but when you see it through art, it causes you to create your own interpretation, and to begin engaging and asking questions.”
Feel My Pride Too! is the fourth collaboration between Sampson and The T.R.U.T.H. Project and, with each new project, Anderson says he continues to laugh and learn. “He’s a comedian, but I really call him a storyteller because of the way he’s able to weave truth with comedy—it makes it really relevant. It’s one of those things where you’re laughing, but when you get in the car afterward, you’re like, ‘Hmm…Did he say that? And how should I hold myself accountable for it?’ That’s what I love about him.”
“If you’re blessed with a platform, you should use it to love people, help people, and to create a better world for people,” Sampson says. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, hopefully for a while, but while I’m here, I would like to do the right thing. I believe that all of us contribute to that, whether we’re gay, or Black, or white, or whatever. We can all do the right thing.”
What: Feel My Pride Too!
When: Friday, June 15, 7 p.m.
Where: MATCH, 3400 Main St.
Tickets/Details: Tickets for Feel My Pride Too! are pay what you can. Suggested price is $10 per ticket. Tickets can be purchased here.
