In this age of book burning, let’s share queer history!

Essex Hemphill and the Radical Power of Black Queer Love

30 years after his death, love remains a dangerous word.

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When the poet and dancer said bye to his friends, he often reminded them to “Take care of your blessings.”

Hemphill’s persistent goodwill feels vital in an age of rising authoritarianism and bigotry. Not only do the poems of Hemphill help preserve our sanity, but they can also serve as startling reminders that our greatest weapon is our love for each other.

Born in Chicago in 1957 and raised in Washington, D.C., Hemphill was a major figure of the Black LGBTQ+ arts movement of the 1980s. His best-known work, (1992), fearlessly interrogates internalized homophobia and racism in Black communities, as well as the ungraspable loss of HIV/AIDS.

But for all of its inventiveness, Ceremonies has been out of print for most of the 21st century.

Fortunately, in March of this year, re-released Ceremonies along with unpublished work that demonstrates Hemphill’s daunting talent and queer social vision. This vision is very much the opposite of the rising fascist ideologies that view human…