Have a conversation with Dua Saleh, and one thing is certain: The Sudanese-born, Minnesota-raised artist-actor thinks considerably deeper than practically anyone you’ve met.
Saleh, who’s transgender, nonbinary, and queer and uses they/them pronouns, was kind yet pensive upon our first meeting during their photo shoot last December. Just weeks later, we meet at an unassuming coffee shop in Glendale, where they’re seemingly refreshed and fulfilled after throwing an afternoon barbecue among neighbors. Wearing baggy jeans, black combat boots, and curly hair—a shift from their usual cornrows—Saleh gets right down to why they’re in the suburban area, just north of Los Angeles: They encountered a stalker at their previous apartment in East L.A.
“I kept gaslighting myself about it until my team was like, ‘This is strange,’” Saleh tells Tidal. “So I’ve only been here for a little while, but I’m making my environment a safe space for me and also for trans and queer folks.”
Despite the scare, Saleh has made a home out of their new location and unconventional artistry. Saleh makes community building an intention in their creative work, whether making a call to action in their 2023 promotional single “Daylight Falls,” dedicated to victims of genocide in Darfur, or challenging the cisgender gaze as Cal Bowman in the Netflix series Sex Education. Currently, they garner attention on social media for anti-trans and queer violence and ongoing international genocides, keeping their purview on sociopolitical activism.
“As somebody who did previously organize, I know there’s a lot more work that goes into organizing, a lot more community input and interaction,” Saleh explains between sips of a matcha latte. “So far, the ways that I have been able to interact have been through digital spaces and nonprofit spaces. There’s so many people who are going through things and I think if you have a platform, use it.”
Read the full Profile on Tidal Mag
