Senator John Kennedy's reading of All Boys Aren't Blue sparked unexpected attention for George M. Johnson’s work. The memoir, central to discussions on censorship and queer Black identity, was always intended as a manifesto. Johnson subsequently published Flamboyants, celebrating often-ignored Black queer historical figures from the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson emphasizes the importance of recognizing the contributions of Black queer individuals in shaping history, noting how these narratives have been sanitized and erased over time. Flamboyants aims to reclaim this legacy and highlight its significance in contemporary culture.
"It affected me, sure, but it also put the book in places it never would've reached. Someone out there saw that clip, ordered the book..."
"I knew it was special, but I couldn't have predicted it would become the center of a national conversation about censorship, education, and the erasure of queer Black truth."
"Black queer people shaped the Harlem Renaissance... but history sanitized that part."
"Flamboyants celebrates what Johnson calls 'our Avengers' - a lineage of Black queer luminance too powerful to ignore."
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