Share With Pride

Happy Pride Month!‍🏳‍🌈 Here are some book suggestions to celebrate.

1) Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color by Gilbert Baker, memoir of the late activist who designed the original rainbow Pride flag. Baker chronicles his beginnings as a repressed child of the 1950s and closeted war veteran, and his foray into gay liberation activism, which led to the now iconic flag’s creation.

2) We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation provides a rich visual history of LGBTQ pride, from the underground communities and post-Stonewall Pride protests, to AIDS activism and the present generation of activists continuing to fight for their rights and liberties.

3) Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen takes readers across numerous, tight-knit LGBTQ communities in the American South. Allen interviews many queer Southerners about their identities and experiences, providing intersections of race, class and religious spirituality often unseen in mainstream perceptions of the community.

4) Everything You Want to Know About Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Brynne Tannehill serves as a primer for anyone curious about the increasingly visible, often misunderstood transgender community. A trans woman herself, Tannehill dispels misconceptions and myths surrounding trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people, while also answering questions often considered uncomfortable or difficult.

5) Queer Love in Color by Jamal Jordan is a photo book that provides a rich tapestry of American LGBTQ couples and families across cultures, races, ethnicities and age groups. Jordan includes interviews with each of his subjects, showing the many forms love in the LGBTQ community can take.

6) The Shared Heart: Portraits and Stories Celebrating Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Young People by Adam Mastoon is a candid photo collection illustrating the various experiences of homosexual and bisexual people in their late teens and early twenties. Each of the youth featured in Mastoon’s collection relay their own stories of coming out and self-acceptance of their sexual identities.