A Black Queer History of the United States (ReVisioning History), C. Riley Snorton & Darius Bost

Description

A Black Queer History of the United States (ReVisioning History)
Hardcover – January 20, 2026
by C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost

A Black Queer History of the United States is a groundbreaking and essential work that places Black queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming lives at the center of American history for the first time.

In this landmark volume from Beacon Press’s award-winning ReVisioning History series, historians C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost argue that gender and sexual expression have always been integral to the Black freedom struggle. From slavery to the present day, the fight for racial justice has been inseparable from struggles over bodily autonomy, sexual freedom, and gender self-determination.

Through richly researched storytelling, the authors recover the lives and contributions of Black queer and trans figures often erased from mainstream narratives, including Private William Cathay (Cathay Williams), Josephine Baker, Bayard Rustin, and Amanda Milan. These histories reveal how Black queer Americans shaped political movements, cultural life, and resistance strategies—even as they faced marginalization, criminalization, and state violence.

The book also examines the systemic forces that targeted Black queer and trans communities, from discriminatory laws to policing and incarceration, while highlighting the central role Black Americans have played in building modern LGBTQ rights movements—challenging narratives that center whiteness in queer history.

Powerful, corrective, and deeply necessary, A Black Queer History of the United States affirms that Black queer life has always existed, always resisted, and continues to shape the ongoing struggle for justice, dignity, and liberation.