Black History Month is here (with an extra day of it this year), and I am coming off celebrations and observances. With my church, part of this month’s services was devoted to Black History moments, voiced by us members; I had the honor of being the voice of Bayard Rustin, the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and known to us who are both Black and LGBT as “Brother Outsider.” Because he was openly gay, some leaders in the Movement considered him a liability. Hence, he was relegated to working behind the scenes, but never in the forefront. However, that didn’t stop him from being involved in every form of civil rights movement from the 1940s until his death in 1987.
Of course, as a novelist, the trailblazers of Black LGBT writers come to mind, the ones who paved the way for us today such as James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, E. Lynn Harris, Samuel Delany, Ann Allen Shockley, and Audre Lorde. On Twitter, I had the joy of hearing about Black authors who write my favorite subgenre, queer romance. Since the website Queer in Color brought these amazing LGBT (and LGBT ally) contemporary authors to my awareness, I hereby carry it forward in inviting you to reach out to and support them, via their website or Twitter profile. Thanks to them, my to-be-read pile has grown!
B.L. Morticia (blmorticia.wordpress.com, @BLMorticia)
Riley Hart (rileyhartwrites.com, @RileyHart5)
Giovanna Reeves (giovannareaves.com, @GiovannaReaves)
LaQuette (laquette.com, @LaQuetteWrites)
Christa Tomlinson (ChristaTomlinson.com, @ShockZ314)
Bryan T. Clark (btclark.com, @BryanTClarkx2)
Avril Ashton (avrilashton.com, @AvrilAsh)
Alyssa Cole (alyssacole.com, @AlyssaColeLit)
Rheland Richmond (rhelandrichmond.com, @RhelandRichmond)
A.E. Via (authoraevia.com, @AuthorAEVia)
Adriana Herrera (adiranaherreraromance.com, @ladrianaherrera)
Brea Alepou (brea-alepou.com, @Brea_Alepou)
Jack Harbon (jackharbonbooks.com)
N.G. Peltier (ngpeltier.com, @trinielf)
Xen Cole McCade (blackmagicblues.com)
Enjoy these creative voices, o romance lovers. Believe in dreams and never give up.
W.D. Foster-Graham, Author 