University of Wyoming students learned what it is like to be black and gay all day after watching comedian Raneir Pollard perform in the Wyoming Union Ballroom last Friday, Oct. 10
Pollard, whose catchphrase “Black and gay all day” also happens to be the name of his website, had his audience laughing about topics from natural disasters to naked old people in locker rooms.
The performer said that he has been touring colleges for three years now, but cannot really say when it was that he first started acting.
“It is hard for me to say, because I feel like I am that kid that has been in every school play and was doing this since preschool. But, as far as really pursuing the goal hardcore, when I moved out to L.A. in 2008, that’s when I started doing stand-up,” he said.
Even with his years of experience, Pollard said that performing at UW was his best show yet.
“I swear to you, this has to be my best school experience,” Pollard said. “Such a huge audience. You guys were just so active, I am just on cloud nine. It is hard because now I have to remind myself I am not famous.”
Pollard went on to joke about how, in the wake of any sort of apocalypse, he would come back to the isolated land of Wyoming and be the comedic relief for the country’s last survivors.
Brooke Grenier, a sophomore in the business administration program that attended Pollard’s show, said that the performer’s subject matter was different from what she was used to, but that she still enjoyed it.
“It was really cool that he was talking about how proud he was to be gay,” she said. “I think it was very important that they invited someone that was not just a run-of-the-mill comedian. It definitely offered a different perspective.”
The comedian offered his perspective on content in his play, explaining its importance to him.
“It’s definitely a big part of publicizing myself,” Pollard said. “I like to make it clear that I’m gay. My parents sort of have this argument. They think I’m very funny and personable, and I understand their argument in believing that if I did not tell people I was gay, I probably could have made it further and just said it after I got to a certain level of success. But, I want to make it very big, and to say when I get there that I told people I was gay from the very beginning.”
He went on to discuss his reasoning behind this decision.
“There is an underlying tone with telling kids that they should hide that they are gay, people telling them that it is inherently wrong and believing that you are inherently wrong leads you to not love yourself,” Pollard said. “That is such a big struggle to get over. And let me tell you, it is such a waste of time to start back there. It is just so unfortunate what so many gay youth have to go through. They do not have the support, and I would like that if somebody is going through that, if they could look to me and realize how ludicrous everyone around them is.”
The performer explained that the support for homosexuality has been growing, and that he is proud to be a part of the movement.
“I definitely do not think that I am the only one sending this kind of message, but I am proud to be another speaker for this movement,” he said.
Pollard finished with one last piece of advice for other hopeful entertainers.
“You have to have that faith in yourself and you have to have the faith to go through those periods of ‘no.’ It is so easy to give up, it will always be that way. And everybody that has ever given up has the best reasons, but and the end of the day, you should have picked it back up and started over. It is never to late,” he said.
