Walker CreateSpace Independent Publishing Willis also recommends " Black of Both Sides," which details the intersection of Black and trans identities from the mid-19th century to today and, in doing so, highlights the lives of integral Black trans figures like Lucy Hicks Anderson and James McHarris, who have often been overlooked. Riley Snorton University Of Minnesota Press Willis recommends shopping at Loyalty Books, a Black-owned LGBTQ bookstore in Washington, D.C. Raquel Willis, founder of Black Trans Circles at the Transgender Law Center and the former executive editor of Out magazine, recommends " Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility," an anthology of essays analyzing the triumphs and limitations of representations of transgender people in pop culture. 'Trap Door' (2017) edited by Reina Gossett, Eric A. "She famously said, 'Without community, there is no liberation,'" David said. 'Your Silence Will Not Protect You' (2017) by Audre Lorde Silver Pressĭavid's second recommendation is Audre Lorde's posthumous collection of speeches and poems, " Your Silence Will Not Protect You," as it "reminds us of the importance of community in achieving equality."
"I didn't fully understand my queerness until I read this book, which reflected, at the time in the early 2000s, the complexities of being Black and gay." "This was the first book I ever read that reflected some of the things I was feeling when I was a young Black boy," he said. Dorsett said the book "makes you feel very nostalgic and makes you feel seen."
#Black gay pride quotes series#
'Coffee Will Make You Black' (1994) by April Sinclair Open Road Mediaįilmmaker Sekiya Dorsett recommends reading April Sinclair's " Coffee Will Make You Black," the first book in a series that chronicles Jean "Stevie" Stevenson's adolescence growing up in 1960s Chicago.
"There are so many layers that both reflect the long history of white supremacy that the United States is founded upon and the present moment, that it constantly astounds me," she added. "Welp, this book, which once seemed like a total apocalyptic futuristic fable, now just seems prophetic," Johnson said of her third recommendation, Octavia Butler's " Parable of the Sower," a science fiction novel set in the 2020s during which the world has collapsed amid worsening wealth inequality and climate change. 'Parable of the Sower' (1993) by Octavia Butler Grand Central Publishing She said that "Sister Outsider" gave her the framework to help her "put word to the why behind that feeling" of not belonging and that it has become one of those books she regularly returns to. Johnson's second choice, " Sister Outsider," was recommended by a friend after Johnson, then in her 20s, described her experience of "feeling like I didn't belong squarely in the Black community (because of my sexual orientation), nor the lesbian community (because of my Blackness)." 'Sister Outsider' (1984) by Audre Lorde Crossing Press "As a young, Black, queer woman, I was desperate to see (or read about) people who looked like me, someone to help validate my feelings," Bell wrote in an email. Eboné Bell, editor-in-chief of Tagg Magazine, said " Zami" was the "perfect 'coming out' read." 'Zami: A New Spelling of My Name' (1982) by Audre Lorde Crossing PressĪudre Lorde, a self-described "black, lesbian, feminist, mother, poet, warrior," referred to this book not as an autobiography but as a "biomythography," which combines elements of autobiography, history and myth in chronicling Lorde's life. Johnson recommends shopping at Charis Books in Atlanta, one of the nation's oldest LGBTQ bookstores, which she discovered as a Black queer college student in the '90s. " The Days of Good Looks: The Prose and Poetry of Cheryl Clarke, 1980-2005," is a collection of the writer's poems and essays throughout the years, including "Lesbianism: An Act of Resistance" and "Black, Brave and Woman, Too" - essays that established Clarke as a Black lesbian feminist icon. Kendra Johnson, the executive director of Equality North Carolina, said a friend recently sent her an essay from Clarke's "Lesbianism: An Act of Resistance," which reminded her how much Clarke's work resonated with her when she was younger and "how women loving women is still such a radical thing in the face of all our history and our struggles as LGBTQ folks." 'The Days of Good Looks' (2006) by Cheryl Clarke Da Capo Press Bar, a Black-owned bookstore in the Bronx and the only independent bookstore in the borough. After this book, David recommends that readers check out "Conversations With James Baldwin," a collection of interviews with the writer edited by Red Stanley and Louis Pratt.ĭavid recommends shopping at The Lit. history and the other about the connection between race and religion. " The Fire Next Time" includes two essays, one about race in U.S.