Baldwin: Queer, Black and Unbound

Since its both LGBT History Month and Black History Month, I want to introduce you to one of my favourite authors. I only discovered James Baldwin a couple of years ago, but I was challenged once I watched the documentary version of his book ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ and I was bowled over by his detailed, precise and often acerbic accounts of what happened during the civil rights movement. I also found out he was gay. For me that was a huge thing as it inspired me to write like I am for you.

I am still trying to consume his works. The last piece I drank in was ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ via a movie adaptation by Barry Jenkins. I was in awe of the cinematography, but the story was a common one of young men in the 70s accused of a crime he didn’t commit, the prison industrial complex and the struggles that encompasses all told through a relationship between two lovers.

The main thing I learnt is works like this don’t appear overnight. Over the last week, I’ve had struggles and bumps in the road. I might be in a different time as well, especially for a black queer trans non-binary creative. However our voices still need to be heard when a lot of people want to hear our stories.

I was always encouraged to write this blog due to my mentor Taz Thornton releasing a TED Talk called ‘A Dangerous Rainbow’ (which you can watch here https://youtu.be/jOpzUb7eoP8) going out on a limb to speak about LGBTQ issues, so I would advise go watching it to understand her angle on this. Either way, I won’t stop talking about the rights deserved by my trans siblings but all of the LGBTQ community.

Until then #embraceinfinity folks.