Celebrate Pride Month with Mississippi Authors

On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Grenwich Village, New York City as part of an ever-growing harassment campaign against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people. In response, the bar staff, patrons, and nearby residents took to the streets to riot. The Stonewall Inn riots are commonly seen as one of the catalysts of the gay rights movement. The United States typically celebrates Pride Month in June as a way to honor and recognize the Stonewall Inn riots.

Pride Month is a month-long celebration of LGBTQ people, history, and communities. Though most people associate Pride Month with rainbow flags and large parades, Pride Month is also a time for remembering the past and moving to the future. Memorials are held to remember those LGBTQ lives lost to hate crimes and HIV/AIDS. Likewise, Pride Month is a time when activists shine a light on discriminatory laws and practices that target the LGBTQ community to this day such as bathroom bills, employment discrimination, and youth homelessness.

Many Pride Month celebrations have been canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the parades may be canceled, you can still celebrate Pride Month from your own home. One way to do so is read a book! In a time where LGBTQ books are some of the most banned and challenged books by schools and public libraries, just reading a book by a LGBTQ author can be a sign of support. We’ve compiled a list of books written by LGBTQ authors from Mississippi or about LGBTQ Mississippians for you to read, discuss, and enjoy.

Fiction

• The Intersection of Law and Desire
  Jean M. Redmann
• The Color Purple
  Alice Walker
• A Time Before Me
  Michael Holloway Perronne
• Sweet and Low
  Nick White
• The Bitterweed Path
  Thomas Hal Phillips

Plays 

• Perfect Arrangement
  Topher Payne
• A Streetcar Named Desire
  Tennessee Willliams
• The Boys In the Band
  Mart Crowley

Poetry

• He Will Laugh
  Douglas Ray
• Flag of Ecstasy
  Charles Henri Ford

Memoir

• Everybody's Got Something
  Robin Roberts
• I'm Just a Person
  Tig Notaro
• Mississippi Sissy
  Kevin Sessums
• Out of Sync
  Lance Bass

Non-fiction

• The Best of Craig Claiborne
  Craig Claiborne
• Coming out of the Magnolia Closet: Same-Sex Couples in Mississippi
  John F. Marszalek III
• Men Like That: A Southern Queer History
  John Howard
• The Queer South: LGBTQ Writers on the American South
  anthology featuring MS authors Eddie Outlaw, Douglas Ray, and Kevin Sessums, among others

If you know a LGBTQ Mississippi author we’ve missed, please let us know in the comments! If you’re interested in purchasing any of these books yourself, we highly recommend purchasing them from a LGBTQ bookstore like Mississippi's own Violet Valley Bookstore. And if you want to explore beyond Mississippi authors, consider the books and resources on these lists.

The Ultimate LGBTQIA+ Pride Book List
The 20 Best LGBTQ Books of 2019 
9 Books About Being Southern and Queer as Hell
17 Books By Queer Asian American Writers
10 Young Black LGBTQ Authors Reclaiming Their Space Through Words
Resources for Parents and Families of LGBTQ Individuals (ALA)
Resources for Families of LGBTQ Youth
5 Resources for Coming Out as LGBTQ
Coming Out - A Handbook for LGBTQ Young People
Older Adults on Coming Out Later in Life
6 Resources Every Trans Person (and Ally) Should Know About
Understanding Non-Binary People: How to Be Respectful and Supportive