It’s Pride Month – and the 50th anniversary of UK Pride no less – so we’re encouraging everyone to activate their allyship, by immersing themselves in the LGBTQ+ culture, history and community. We’ve selected 5 LGBTQ+ books we think you should be reading this Pride:
- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
An amazing gay black pioneer in the world of literature, Baldwin’s novel is one of the first records of queer POC experiences in American literature. It explores Paris in the 1950s, with an American unable to repress his impulses despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he finds himself falling for an Italian bartender and is tortured by his two identities.
- The Stonewall Reader by New York Public Library
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, The Stonewall Reader presents a collection of first-hand accounts from the activists who spearheaded the movement, alongside real-time news articles, diaries and periodic literature. The anthology focuses on the confrontations between police and gay rights activists during the event in 1969, the five years before and the five years after. The Stonewall uprising is considered the most significant event in the gay liberation movement, and the catalyst for the modern fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States.
- A Decolonial Black Feminist Theory of Reading and Shade: Feeling the University by Andrea N. Baldwin
An inspirational book that highlights the practices and politics of indifference in higher education systems throughout the United States. Baldwin illustrates how these institutions are complicit in maintaining dominant social norms that perpetuate difference. This book will appeal to those interested in black feminism, gender and women’s studies, queer studies and affect theory.
- Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities by Twist, Vincent, Barker and Gupta
Questioning the meaning of non-binary in the 21st century, this powerful collection of personal essays represents the breadth of non-binary lives across intersections of race, class, age, sexuality and faith. Accounts include the challenges faced by a wide range of people, including a non-binary pregnant person and a non-binary person within the Quaker community. Highlighting the fact that there is no right or wrong way to be non-binary, this is a very thought-provoking read.
- Sista!: An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean descent with a UK connection by Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (Lady Phyll)
Showcasing 31 contributors, this book offers a mix of biography, essays, fiction and poetry discussing intersectionality, LGBTQ+ in ethnic minorities and queer love in the diaspora. Described as a joyous and groundbreaking UK-based anthology, it is also the companion volume to Team Angelica’s 2015 anthology “Black & Gay in the UK”.
If you’re looking to further expand your workplace’s understanding of the LGBTQ+ experience and activate your allyship this Pride month (and all year round), Tell Jane offers a wealth of LGBTQ+ and gender awareness workshops delivered in-person or virtually by ED&I practitioners with lived experience and tailored to your organisation’s ED&I aspirations. To discover more, get in touch by emailing hello@telljane.co.uk
