Karamo Brown

When I think of Karamo Brown, another member of the Fab Five from the famous show Queer Eye, I think of his incredible smile. He is always the first to encourage the best in every person they help on the show. The part he plays on the show is the cultural influencer. He brings up discussions of self-confidence, which is often one of the biggest struggles of the people they all help.

.

Karamo was born in Houston, Texas to his two Jamaican parents. He is the youngest of four, with three older sisters. Knowing he was gay from an early age, Karamo came out to his family when he was only fifteen years old. He grew up in Florida where he went to high school in Parkland, where they had a recent shooting. After the tragedy, Karamo became a very active voice in the Never Again MSD, a movement started by students encouraging the government to tighten gun laws nationally. Following high school, Karamo went to college at Florida A&M University, where he graduated with a degree in social work. I personally find this very fitting because of the social justice work he does now. Just the way he talks to people on the show, it makes sense he studied and worked as a social worker in his past.

.

Karamo’s television career took off when he was a part of MTV’s hit reality TV show Real World: Philadelphia in 2004. This debut made him the first out black gay man on reality TV in the history. He stared in and hosted a number of other shows before he became the culture expert on Queer Eye in 2018.

.

His heavy role in activism makes him such a great fit in the Fab Five team building the spirits of the men they help. He acts as a counselor in a LA LGBT Center to help the youth in that particular area. Not only does he work in the city of LA, but his activism spreads nationwide. Karamo is working with the Center for Disease Control and the National Black Justice Coalition as an ambassador for general health and wellness. This role helps him advocate for specific health care policies and understanding relating to his particular race. In 2018, he received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award.

.

One of my favorite moments of Karamo is in season one episode two. He is talking to this extremely insecure and self-deprecating man, Neal. He is thirty-six and stayed home building apps in his apartment covered in dog-hair, where he let no one visit. Neal and Karamo were having a discussion about Neal and the wall he has built up. Neal expressed, “I don’t know why I have a wall. I just know that I do. I feel like I’m protected. I’m safe” Karamo promptly and eloquently responded, “That’s the thing about when people put up walls. They end up keeping other people out, but they are also keeping themselves in”. Walls stunt the growth of people's confidence and spirits. It keeps them from learning and becoming their true selves. Karamo and his ability to touch people's lives inspire me everyday.

Karamo (on left) and Tan (on right)