All Boys Aren't Blue
by George M. Johnson
86 jurisdictions · Banned 2021-2025 · Published
All Boys Aren't Blue is a 2020 memoir by George M. Johnson, banned or restricted in over 80 U.S. jurisdictions since 2021, primarily cited for its LGBTQ+ content and depiction of Black queer identity.
Why it was banned
Conservative parent groups and state legislatures have repeatedly targeted the memoir for its frank depictions of George M. Johnson's experience growing up as a queer Black man. The book has been the single most banned title nationally in multiple PEN America index years. Cited reasoning consistently combines objections to LGBTQ+ content with broader objections to depictions of Black male identity.
Cited reasons
- LGBTQ+ content
- sexually explicit material claim
Primary states
Florida, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania
Why it matters
All Boys Aren't Blue is one of the few mainstream memoirs that names Black queer adolescence as a subject worth its own book. Its removal from school libraries is a direct demonstration of how book bans target the intersection of race and sexuality, erasing Black queer kids from the record before they can find themselves in it. Johnson's response to the bans, touring banned-book events nationally, has made the book a public symbol of the censorship movement.
Themes
- Black queer identity
- memoir
- LGBTQ+
- coming of age
Where to buy
The Ledger recommends Black-owned booksellers. Each stocks this title or can order it.
- MahoganyBooksNational Harbor, Maryland · Founded
Independent bookstore specializing in books written for, by, and about people of the African diaspora.
- Semicolon Bookstore and GalleryChicago, Illinois · Founded
Chicago's only Black woman-owned independent bookstore, with a mission to raise literacy rates among Chicago Public School students.
- Harriett's BookshopPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania · Founded
Named for Harriet Tubman, focusing on women authors, artists, and activists.
- Marcus BooksOakland, California · Founded
The oldest independent Black-owned bookstore in the United States, named for political activist Marcus Garvey.
The Ledger may earn commission on affiliate links. All commissions route to Black-owned booksellers.
Related banned books
Books in the catalog that share themes with this one.
Documented by The Ledger. A record of what Black America built and what was taken.
Book cover via Open Library. Editorial use under fair use.