Essays

Read Black, Read Queer, and Do It All Year

Book content creator Lindsey G. discusses the importance of intersectionality and explains why intentionally highlighting Black queer stories matters not only during months like Black History Month, but year-round.

By Lindsey G.

Lindsey G., known as “Booksandbanter”, is a book creator who centers marginalized and diverse voices in her work. She reads across genres but primarily enjoys romance and fiction. While she often gravitates toward love stories, she noticed something she didn’t love — a lack of Black and queer representation in literary spaces. Lindsey is passionate about amplifying Black and diverse stories and advocating for greater inclusivity and visibility for all within publishing. You can find her on TikTok and Instagram.

I’ve almost always been a bookworm. Like many others, I was an avid reader as a child but took a break in college. I rediscovered my love of reading as an adult, but as a queer Black woman, it took time to find titles that always resonated with me. Most of the books I encountered at first centered people whose voices and experiences didn’t reflect my own, which felt discouraging.

I’m incredibly grateful for Black reader spaces. Discovering Black book influencers, especially other Black women, made me feel seen. For the first time in my adult life, I read about characters with lived experiences like mine — and I can’t stress this enough: representation matters.

I also sought out titles with queer representation and found that the ones receiving the most visibility were often overwhelmingly white. And I hated that.

Simply put, it often feels like it’s either Black or, when it should be Black and, and that nuance frequently gets left out of conversations about identity and inclusion. You can search for queer book recommendations and find them, but they’re often predominantly white. Or you can walk into a large bookstore and notice two things: first, Black authors don’t receive the same level of promotion, and second, when they do, their books are rarely queer stories. That’s an issue.

Again, Black queer people aren’t Black or. They’re Black and.

This Black History Month, I chose to exclusively highlight Black queer literature through a series called Everything but the Straights (sorry, straight folks), which centers Black queer stories throughout February.

Black queer stories matter. They brim with culture and joy, and the authors behind them create work that deserves recognition year-round.

As someone who primarily reads romance and fantasy — we’re talking messy love stories, tender romances, sweeping adventures — I can say with confidence that Black queer authors truly write it all. You just have to seek it out.

Granted, I may be making lighthearted bookish videos online, not breaking new ground, but I hope this series and conversations like these encourage readers and booksellers to think more intentionally about intersectionality in what they read and what they stock on shelves. From Black History Month to Pride Month and everything in between.

Read Black. Read queer. Do it all year.