NY Times Bestselling Author George M. Johnson presents Flamboyants – Kansas City, MO

EVENT OVERVIEW: Rainy Day Books in partnership with BlaqOut, present George M. Johnson, for their new book, Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known on Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 7PM at Unity Temple on the Plaza. Johnson will be in discussion with D. Rashaan Gilmore, founder and CEO of BlaqOut, a grassroots movement organization which seeks to organize and mobilize the Black LGBTQ community in Kansas City (Missouri) and develop a leadership core.

ABOUT THE NEW BOOK: Flamboyants

From the New York Times–bestselling author of All Boys Aren’t Blue comes an empowering set of essays about Black and Queer icons from the Harlem Renaissance.

In Flamboyants, George M. Johnson celebrates writers, performers, and activists from 1920s Black America whose sexualities have been obscured throughout history. Through 14 essays, Johnson reveals how American culture has been shaped by icons who are both Black and Queer – and whose stories deserve to be celebrated in their entirety.

Interspersed with personal narrative, powerful poetry, and illustrations by award-winning illustrator Charly Palmer, Flamboyants looks to the past for understanding as to how Black and Queer culture has defined the present and will continue to impact the future. With candid prose and an unflinching lens towards truth and hope, George M. Johnson brings young adult readers an inspiring collection of biographies that will encourage teens today to be unabashed in their layered identities.

Praise:

“A sincere and beautifully illustrated ode to queer Black figures who shaped the Harlem Renaissance.” —Kirkus

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: George M. Johnson (they/them) is an Emmy nominated, award-winning, and bestselling Black nonbinary author and activist. They have written on race, gender, sex, and culture for Essence, the Advocate, BuzzFeed News, Teen Vogue, and more than forty other national publications. George has appeared on BuzzFeed’s AM2DM as well as on MSNBC. They are also a proud HBCU alum twice over and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. Their debut memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue, was a New York Times bestseller and garnered many accolades. It was the second-most banned book of 2022 in the United States, according to the American Library Association. For their work fighting book bans and challenges, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) honored George with its Free Speech Defender Award, and TIME Magazine named them one of the “100 Next Most Influential People in the World.” While writing their memoir, George used he/him pronouns. Originally from Plainfield, New Jersey, they now live in Los Angeles, California.

ABOUT BLAQOUT: Since their founding in 2017, BlaqOut has solidified a place as a disruptive innovator in the field of HIV testing and prevention, telehealth, and PrEP/PEP access. By focusing their efforts on improving healthcare access and wellness outcomes for the most marginalized, BlaqOut has created new pathways to better care for their core membership, Kansas City’s Black, LGBTQ+ community.

The result of these innovations? BlaqOut is now able to serve everyone in need of our easily accessible, no-cost services, like comprehensive STI screenings and treatment, lab screenings, health insurance navigation, and transportation.

BlaqOut’s vision is a world where all Black people of queer and trans experience live with dignity and are free from racial injustice and health inequity. BlaqOut’s mission is to create a community where Black people of queer and trans experience are connected and supported, have access to safe spaces, and enjoy sufficient resources to help them thrive. Our mission is summarized in this mantra and emblazoned on our hearts: Our lives. Our health. Our way.

Visit their website to learn more and get involved.

EVENT DATE & TIME: Thursday, September 26, 2024, at 6:30 PM

EVENT LOCATION: Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W 47th St, Kansas City MO 64112

ADMISSION PACKAGE: $21.00 (plus Eventbrite Ticket Fee) includes 1 Hardcover of Flamboyants, 1 Admission Reservation. General Admission Seating.

PLEASE NOTE: Patrons will have their books signed at the event.

DISCLAIMER: All author event sales are final and non-refundable. Eventbrite ticket fees are non-refundable.