'Pose' actor Dyllón Burnside says the queer liberation movement isn't over just because there's marriage equality: 'There's still more to be fought for'

• Dyllón Burnside, an actor on FX's hit series "Pose," spoke to Insider about Pride Month, which has been deeply shaped by a pandemic and resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
• The 31-year-old, who's also the host of PBS's new digital series "Prideland," told Insider that marriage equality doesn't mean the fight for queer liberation is over.
• "There's still more to be fought for because those movements left people behind. And that's why we're seeing what we're seeing now," Burnside said.
• Black and brown trans femmes have historically had to fight harder in the fight for queer liberation to get "the same freedoms and liberties as their cis, straight white counterparts and male counterparts," he said.

This year's Pride Month has already been one for the history books — shaped by a pandemic, indefinite quarantine, and the resurgence of Black liberation protests across the globe.

Dyllón Burnside, an actor on "Pose," the hit series about New York City's queer ballroom scene in the 1980s, spoke with Insider two days before thousands marched through the streets of New York City in support of Black trans lives. One day later, the Supreme Court voted to amend the Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ people in workplace discrimination protections.

Burnside pointed out there is still a long way to go.

"I think we live in a time now where some folks have gained very particular freedoms, very specific individual freedoms," Burnside told Insider. "And so folks will say, 'Oh, that battle's already won. We've done it already. The civil rights movement's over. The queer liberation movement's over. It's already been won. We got marriage equality. We're good.'"

"There's still more to be fought for, because those movements left people behind. And that's why we're seeing what we're seeing now," Burnside said. "We're seeing a very necessary uprising take place in the middle of a pandemic. Our nation is sick and it needs to be quarantined and it needs to be healed."

'Black, brown femmes, and trans folks have always had to struggle to be heard.'

On "Pose," Burnside plays Ricky, a member of the House of Evangelista — one of the families competing for trophies and recognition in the ballroom scene.

One of the ongoing themes the show has been praised for grappling with is the constant threat of violence against trans women of color and femmes — a danger that remains 30 years after the show takes place. Femmes are queer people who presents in a feminine manner and identify with queer femininity.

In 2019, the American Medical Association adopted new policies intended to put an end to an "epidemic" of violence against trans women, particularly trans women of color. In 2019, 26 transgender and non-binary people were killed, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Of those 26, 91% were Black women.

This year's Pride Month alone has seen the killings of two trans Black femmes — Dominique "Rem'Mie" Fells and Riah Milton.

Black and brown trans femmes have historically had to fight harder for their rights in the fight for queer liberation, according to Burnside.

"They have always had to struggle for the same freedoms and liberties as their cis, straight white counterparts and male counterparts, that part isn't any new," Burnside said.

Burnside emphasized the fight for Black lives must focus on all Black lives.

"This conversation has to be intersectional," Burnside said. "It has to be about the Black men that are being killed at the hands of police and the trans women that are being killed at the hands of Black men. That encompasses all of what's happening."

LGBTQ people in the south rarely have their stories told

Burnside was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, and proudly claims his southern roots. That's why he was so excited to host "Prideland," an online PBS series focused on southern queer voices that was released June 12th.

"I love the South and I thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight the stories of the folks who are living there, who we don't normally get to hear from, whose stories that we don't know," said Burnside, who was born in Pensacola, Florida. "Generally, when we talk about the lives of the LGBTQ folks, we're thinking about folks on the coasts."

"Keep fighting, keep telling your stories, be encouraged," Burnside said. "There are folks who want to hear from you."

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