Kwaku Darkwah Kyei-Darkwah, the son of renowned Ghanaian Broadcaster Kwasi Kyei-Darkwah, popularly known as KKD, was at the forefront of a parade recently held in England.
The parade, organized by the LGBTQ+ community, counted as one of the waves of protests held by the trans and intersex community across Europe in their quest to fight for more rights and recognition.
Wearing an unbuttoned long-sleeved shirt over a bra with jeans trousers and a handbag across his chest, and sporting a curly afro wig, the fashion brand’s sales executive and stylist made clarion calls as the group marched on.
“I just want to say to everybody new that is walking by, whether you are in support or pathetic, we are not only walking so that we can stick it to everyone. We are walking because we know we are fine. We are walking because we know we are divine. We are walking because we have rights. We are walking because we know that we are building, and we are not going to stop,” he shouted into a handheld microphone.
He also emphasized that the trans fight will continue unabated.
“What you are seeing today is going to continue happening. We will continue walking, we will continue marching, we will continue fighting. We will be on your airwaves, we will be on your TV screens. We are not going anywhere,” he emphasized in a viral video from the march.
Darkwah Kyei-Darkwah came out as gay in November 2017 in a publication by the digital magazine intomore.com.
Noting the difficulty in coming out as gay, the son of the celebrated Ghanaian broadcaster said he had gone past that stage and felt no need to conform to anyone’s standards in terms of his sexuality.
“The moment I realized I was gay happened in primary school. Someone called me gay as an insult, and I responded with ‘so what?’ I was totally fine with it, but others weren’t, and that was when the discomfort and shame with my sexuality started,” he told intomore.com.
He was featured on the website alongside other gay models with African backgrounds, discussing the issues they face as queer people of color.
“Living under my parents’ roof, I was constantly hiding. I’d get home from school and be incredibly quiet, helpful, and obedient. I stayed in my room most of the time. I was playing the role of the ‘ideal son’ so I could just skate by unnoticed. It wasn’t until I was no longer living at home that I started to realize I wasn’t anyone or anything I’d known so far in my life,” he said.
“I went through a lot of ups and downs, trying out new ways of dressing, trying out new friendship groups, and reinventing myself over and over again. I realized I did this because I was still trying to fit in a box – the stylish black guy, the cool and macho black guy, the femme, flamboyant, and fun black guy. None worked because there is a lot more to me (and any person, for that matter) than a stereotype. I am now very comfortable with my sexuality because I don’t feel I need to conform to any one image,” he added.
His father, after his son had come out, issued a message of support via Facebook.
In his long statement of support, which was later deleted from his page, KKD congratulated his son for coming out and described him as brave and courageous.
source: Ghana Web
