Pride Month Spotlight: George M Johnson

By Takiyah Ward

George M Johnson is an Award-Winning Black Non-Binary Writer, Author, and Executive Producer located in the LA area. They are the author of the New York Times Bestselling Young Adult memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue discussing their adolescence growing up as a young Black Queer boy in New Jersey through a series of powerful essays. As a former journalist, George has written for major outlets including Teen Vogue, Entertainment Tonight, NBC, and Buzzfeed. In 2019 was awarded the Salute to Excellence Award by the National Association of Black Journalists for their article “When Racism Anchors Your Health” in Vice Magazine.Their second memoir WE ARE NOT BROKEN was released in September of 2021. It received the Carter G. Woodson Award which recognizes books that “accurately and sensitively depict the experience of one or more historically marginalized racial/ethnic groups in the United States”. The book also received the Nonfiction Honor Book in the YA category from the International Literacy Association.

With book bans plaguing schools across the nation, Johnson's books have become the most banned in the country. But they will not let that deter them from shedding light on the stories of youth who see the world as they do. Johnson has become a staunch advocate against book bans and continues to shed light on their experience as a young queer child hoping to see their stories reflected in the world around them. They continue this work in a number of literary ways and public speaking roles so that the next generation can feel seen, represented and empowered. We applaud you George!!

You can see more of George’s work here