BLACK.QUEER.RISING. is a special series where The Takeaway looks at Black, LGBTQ+ trailblazers and changemakers. We've gotten the chance to talk to artists like Big Freedia and Moore Kismet about their music, activist like #BlackLivesMatter founder Alicia Garza, and New York Congressman Richie Torres.

George M. Johnson was a member of 2022's TIMES 100 Most Influential People list, and they are an author, journalist, and activist. Their New York Times bestselling young adult, nonfiction “memoir-manifesto” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” centers on growing up Black and Queer in America, and it is the second most banned book in the U.S. right now, as book bans are on the rise all over the country.

Recently, the book was banned in Escambia County, Florida at a time where the state's governor has taken drastic moves to ban the teaching of Black history; diversity, equity, and inclusion education; and critical race theory.

To close out our Black History Month special series, we revisit our conversation with George M. Johnson who joined us back in October 2022 to discuss their banned-book and what Black.Queer.Rising means to them.