“A Black Queer History” with C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost

If you have not read A Black Queer History of the United States yet, you are so lucky to have this fantastic book in your future! And lucky for me that this is also an excellent opportunity to speak to two dream guests: C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost speak about gender trouble in the Black queer archives, how Black and queer histories need to be thought together and why grounding oneself in community is part of what it means to survive.  References:C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost’s A Black Queer History of the United States (2026)C. Riley Snorton’s Nobody is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low (U of Minnesota Press, 2014)C. Riley Snorton’s Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (U of Minnesota Press, 2017)Darius Bost’s Evidence of Being: The Black Gay Cultural Renaissance and the Politics of Violence (U of Chicago Press, 2019)Cathy J. Cohen “Deviance as Resistance: A New Research Agenda for the Study of Black Politics” (2014)William Cathay/Cathay WilliamsPhil BlackThe Funmakers BallCheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon WomanErica R. EdwardsMarsha P. JohnsonStreet Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR)Combahee River CollectiveNational Black Justice Coalition“Black Lesbian Thought” with Briona Simone [email protected]@uic.edu@windycitybqSaul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune FrostJellicle BallEssex Hemphill’s Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry      Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:     Why do Black and queer history need to be thought of together? How are they sometimes separated?     Darius speaks about the book having two parts. What is each about?     Riley speaks about gender and sexual deviance as forms of survival or escape. What does this mean? Can you name an example?     What does Darius say about the relationship between civil rights ideology and non-normative gender?     Why is it important to speak about collectives as well as individuals when engaging with Black queer history?