Everything that I’d been told about my future as a “good black kid” shattered when I was 15 years old, and came out to my mother months later my older brother would come out as well. As a child, I was considered gifted because of my love for books and conditioned to think that obedience equaled safety in America. With every viewing since then, I see both the glaring differences and similarities between my journey and Chiron’s. When I saw Moonlight as a gay, black man at the age of 22, I was shaken to realize that this was the first moment in cinema I had seen a black man reassuring a potentially gay, black male that his existence was not only valid, but also worth taking pride in. Can’t let nobody make that decision for you.” Juan responds, “At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you gone be. Chiron then asks Juan if Blue is his truer name. During an outing to the beach Juan recalls a woman in Cuba giving him the nickname, Blue.
Young Chiron is dealing with the homophobic bullying of his peers, a mother battling drug addiction, and uncertainty about his sexuality, when Juan, a neighborhood drug dealer, decides to become his mentor. Even two years after its release, there is a scene in it that still reaches me. The 2016 film Moonlight is about Chiron - a black boy gradually becoming a man in America’s ghettos - coming to terms with his sexuality in three chapters. She is very, very inspirational to me.Sign up for our newsletter to get submission announcements and stay on top of our best work. Literally from the struggles of the early 1900s, to becoming someone who's just broken so many barriers in film. "Looking at the dynamic life that she lived, there's so much that I learned from the book.
Lewis praises Tyson for her authenticity and transparency in sharing her story. Her memoir walks readers through her life before and after the fame, and exposes the pain and hurt she felt as a Black woman living in America.
The late Cicely Tyson is a legend in the Black community for her roles in movies like 'Sounder' and TV projects like 'Roots.' Though she played many different roles during her 60-year-long career, her portrayal of a powerful black woman was constant, garnering her the love, respect, and matriarch status of Black women from all walks of life. 'All Boys Aren't Blue' touches on complex topics such as consent, toxic masculinity and gender identity, and Lewis believes this book has "broken barriers" young, Black, queer men of color. Appealing to young adults, Johnson walks readers through the trials and tribulations he faced as a boy in addition to the joys he experienced along the way. This book is a memoir/manifesto about Johnson's early life growing up as a young, gay Black man. And it felt like there was a lot of synergy there." "All Boys Aren't Blue" But that journey, she takes us through, you know, it's just such a different perspective. "I think a lot of the folks that Brittney, references, and mentions made me realize, 'yeah, this is this is what feminism looks like.' It also helped me answer the question how do you find yourself? Your purpose, passion and joy? I think we've all got different superpowers, and you've got to figure out what yours is. Lewis says that this book "aligns with her own journey as a Black feminist." Walking readers through her own personal experiences with the problems facing Black women, Cooper demonstrates that "eloquent rage" is a reminder that women don't have to be complacent, and that their passion and fury is what makes them iconic. However, Brittney Cooper takes this stereotype and recharacterizes it in this collection of essays. The trope of Black women being aggressive is something many people would like to disappear. In honor of the legacy of Juneteenth, Lewis says these three books should be at the top of your reading list: "Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower" It wasn't a family tradition, but, as a Black person being in Black spaces, learning more and sharing our Black experiences across the diaspora, I realized we get to acknowledge this any way we want." As someone with Caribbean parents, Lewis didn't grow up celebrating Juneteenth but became more aware of its significance after the fatal 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin.