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A Black Queer History of the United States

Part of ReVisioning History

Author C. Riley Snorton, Darius Bost
Hardcover
$28.95 US
Beacon Press
6"W x 9"H | 20 oz | 12 per carton
On sale Jan 20, 2026 | 232 Pages | 9780807008553
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The first-ever Black history to center queer voices, this landmark study traces the lives of LGBTQ+ Black Americans from slavery to present day

Gender and sexual expression have always been part of the Black freedom struggle

In this latest book in Beacon’s award-winning ReVisioning History series, Professors C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost unearth the often overlooked history of the Black queer community in the United States.

Arguing that both gender and sexual expression have been an intimate and intricate part of Black freedom struggle, Snorton and Bost present historical contributions of Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming Americans from slavery to the present day to highlight how the fight against racial injustice has always been linked to that of sexual and gender justice.

Interweaving stories of queer and trans figures such as:
  • Private William Cathay/Cathay Williams, born female but enlisted in the Army as a man in the mid-1860s
  • Josephine Baker, internationally known dancer and entertainer of the early 20th century who was also openly bisexual
  • Bayard Rustin, prominent Civil Rights activist whose well known homosexuality was viewed as a potential threat to the movement
  • Amanda Milan, a black trans woman whose murder in 2000 unified the trans people of color community,

this book includes a deep dive into the marginalization, unjust criminalization, and government legislation of Black queer and trans existence. It also shows how Black Americans have played an integral role in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, countering narratives that have predominantly focused on white Americans.

Through storytelling and other narratives, Snorton and Bost show how the Black queer community has always existed, regardless of the attempts to stamp it out, and how those in it continue to fight for their rightful place in the world.
C. Riley Snorton is professor of English Language and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and the author of Nobody Is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low and Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, which won numerous awards including the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction, the Sylvia Rivera Award in Transgender Studies from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, and an honorable mention from the American Library Association Stonewall Book Award Committee.

Darius Bost is Associate Professor of Black Studies and Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Bost is the author of the award-winning book, Evidence of Being: The Black Gay Cultural Renaissance and The Politics of Violence (University of Chicago Press, 2019).
C. Riley Snorton View titles by C. Riley Snorton
Darius Bost View titles by Darius Bost
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Authors’ Note

Introduction

PART I: PROOFS OF EXISTENCE

CHAPTER ONE
The Erotic Life of Colonialism and Slavery

CHAPTER TWO
By Any Other Name

CHAPTER THREE
On the Outs

CHAPTER FOUR
Werk!

PART II: WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT OUR LIVES

CHAPTER FIVE
Coming Together

CHAPTER SIX
Survival Is Not a Luxury

CONCLUSION
After We’ve Created Our Own History

Notes
Index
“A Black Queer History of the United States isn’t just a book—it’s a balm, a battle cry, and a beautifully subversive remix of the American story. With wit, rigor, and archival elegance, Snorton and Bost have queered the timeline, centering the lives, loves, and legacies of Black LGBTQ+ folks from the colonial past to the chaotic now. They don’t just fill the gaps; they flood them—with kinship, resistance, and receipts.”
—Cheryl Dunye, writer-director, The Watermelon Woman

“Moving through small towns and social movements, A Black Queer History of the United States shows how Black queer and trans life has always been a site of world-building. This book doesn’t ask to be centered, instead it just starts speaking, and everything else rearranges. I needed it. We all do.”
—Tourmaline, author of Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson

“A Black Queer History of the United States explores and collects the untold and told stories of how the most vulnerable people in this nation worked to shape its culture. C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost can now add their names and this volume to the list of trailblazers, movements, publications, and performances they’ve so skillfully researched for this groundbreaking endeavor. From the colonial-era agitators to contemporary poets, Bost and Snorton know who we are and tell our story, reminding us not only that we’ve always been here but also that we are what’s best about and for America.”
—Jericho Brown, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry (2002) for The Tradition

About

The first-ever Black history to center queer voices, this landmark study traces the lives of LGBTQ+ Black Americans from slavery to present day

Gender and sexual expression have always been part of the Black freedom struggle

In this latest book in Beacon’s award-winning ReVisioning History series, Professors C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost unearth the often overlooked history of the Black queer community in the United States.

Arguing that both gender and sexual expression have been an intimate and intricate part of Black freedom struggle, Snorton and Bost present historical contributions of Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming Americans from slavery to the present day to highlight how the fight against racial injustice has always been linked to that of sexual and gender justice.

Interweaving stories of queer and trans figures such as:
  • Private William Cathay/Cathay Williams, born female but enlisted in the Army as a man in the mid-1860s
  • Josephine Baker, internationally known dancer and entertainer of the early 20th century who was also openly bisexual
  • Bayard Rustin, prominent Civil Rights activist whose well known homosexuality was viewed as a potential threat to the movement
  • Amanda Milan, a black trans woman whose murder in 2000 unified the trans people of color community,

this book includes a deep dive into the marginalization, unjust criminalization, and government legislation of Black queer and trans existence. It also shows how Black Americans have played an integral role in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, countering narratives that have predominantly focused on white Americans.

Through storytelling and other narratives, Snorton and Bost show how the Black queer community has always existed, regardless of the attempts to stamp it out, and how those in it continue to fight for their rightful place in the world.

Creators

C. Riley Snorton is professor of English Language and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and the author of Nobody Is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low and Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, which won numerous awards including the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction, the Sylvia Rivera Award in Transgender Studies from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, and an honorable mention from the American Library Association Stonewall Book Award Committee.

Darius Bost is Associate Professor of Black Studies and Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Bost is the author of the award-winning book, Evidence of Being: The Black Gay Cultural Renaissance and The Politics of Violence (University of Chicago Press, 2019).
C. Riley Snorton View titles by C. Riley Snorton
Darius Bost View titles by Darius Bost

Table of Contents

Authors’ Note

Introduction

PART I: PROOFS OF EXISTENCE

CHAPTER ONE
The Erotic Life of Colonialism and Slavery

CHAPTER TWO
By Any Other Name

CHAPTER THREE
On the Outs

CHAPTER FOUR
Werk!

PART II: WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT OUR LIVES

CHAPTER FIVE
Coming Together

CHAPTER SIX
Survival Is Not a Luxury

CONCLUSION
After We’ve Created Our Own History

Notes
Index

Praise

“A Black Queer History of the United States isn’t just a book—it’s a balm, a battle cry, and a beautifully subversive remix of the American story. With wit, rigor, and archival elegance, Snorton and Bost have queered the timeline, centering the lives, loves, and legacies of Black LGBTQ+ folks from the colonial past to the chaotic now. They don’t just fill the gaps; they flood them—with kinship, resistance, and receipts.”
—Cheryl Dunye, writer-director, The Watermelon Woman

“Moving through small towns and social movements, A Black Queer History of the United States shows how Black queer and trans life has always been a site of world-building. This book doesn’t ask to be centered, instead it just starts speaking, and everything else rearranges. I needed it. We all do.”
—Tourmaline, author of Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson

“A Black Queer History of the United States explores and collects the untold and told stories of how the most vulnerable people in this nation worked to shape its culture. C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost can now add their names and this volume to the list of trailblazers, movements, publications, and performances they’ve so skillfully researched for this groundbreaking endeavor. From the colonial-era agitators to contemporary poets, Bost and Snorton know who we are and tell our story, reminding us not only that we’ve always been here but also that we are what’s best about and for America.”
—Jericho Brown, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry (2002) for The Tradition

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