For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home

Brief Description: In 1974, playwright Ntozake Shange published For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf. The book would go on to inspire legions of women for decades and would later become the subject and title of a hugely popular movie in the fall of 2010. While the film was selling out movie theaters, young black gay men were literally committing suicide in the silence of their own communities. When a young Rutgers University student named Tyler Clementi took his own life after a roommate secretly videotaped him in an intimate setting with another young man, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire young people facing harassment. Their message, It Gets Better, turned into a popular movement, inspiring thousands of user-created videos on the Internet. Savage's project targeted people of all races, backgrounds and colors, but Boykin has created something special "for colored boys." The new book, For Colored Boys, addresses longstanding issues of sexual abuse, suicide, HIV/AIDS, racism, and homophobia in the African American and Latino communities, and more specifically among young gay men of color. The book tells stories of real people coming of age, coming out, dealing with religion and spirituality, seeking love and relationships, finding their own identity in or out of the LGBT community, and creating their own sense of political empowerment. For Colored Boys is designed to educate and inspire those seeking to overcome their own obstacles in their own lives. Biographical Note: Keith Boykin is a popular TV commentator, inspirational speaker, and New York Times best-selling author. Keith has provided political commentary for CNN, MSNBC, and CNBC, and he previously co-hosted the weekly TV series "My Two Cents" on BET Networks. Educated at Dartmouth and Harvard, Keith attended law school with President Barack Obama and served in the White House as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, where he helped organize and participated in the nation's first ever meeting between a sitting president and leaders of the LGBT community. Keith has traveled extensively across four continents, and was appointed by President Clinton, along with Coretta Scott King and Rev. Jesse Jackson, to the U. S. presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe. He was a star on the Showtime television series American Candidate and has since appeared on numerous national media programs, including Anderson Cooper 360, The O'Reilly Factor, The Tyra Banks Show, The Montel Williams Show, Judge Hatchett and The Tom Joyner Morning Show. A founder and first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition, Keith has spoken to audiences, large and small, all across the world. He delivered a landmark speech to 200,000 people at the Millennium March on Washington, and he gave a stirring speech about the AIDS epidemic in front of 40,000 people in Chicago's Soldier Field. All of Keith's first three books were nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, including his third book, Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America. Keith won the Lambda Literary Award for his second book, Respecting The Soul, while his first book, One More River to Cross, is taught in colleges and universities throughout the country. Keith was an associate producer of the feature film Dirty Laundry, and he currently writes a weekly column for BET.com. He was a star on the 2004 Showtime television series American Candidate and has since appeared on numerous national media programs, including Anderson Cooper 360, The O'Reilly Factor, The Tyra Banks Show, The Montel Williams Show, Judge Hatchett and The Tom Joyner Morning Show. A founder and first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition, Keith has spoken to audiences, large and small, all across the world. He delivered a landmark speech to 200,000 people at the Millennium March on Washington and he gave a stirring speech about the AIDS epidemic in front of 40,000 people in Chicago's Soldier Field in July 2006. Each of Keith's three books has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, including his most recent book, Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America. Keith won the Lambda Literary Award for his second book, Respecting The Soul, while his first book, One More River to Cross, is taught in colleges and universities throughout the country. Keith is an associate producer of the 2007 feature film Dirty Laundry and is working on his fourth book. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Keith currently lives in New York City. Table of Contents: Introduction -- Growing Pains -- Back to School / Craig Washington -- Guys and Dolls / Jarrett Neal -- Pop Quiz / Kevin E. Taylor -- Bathtubs and Hot Water / Shaun Lockhart -- Strange Fruit / Antonio Brown -- The Family that Preys -- Teaspoons of December Alabama / Rodney Terich Leonard -- A House is Not a Home / Rob Smith -- Mother to Son / Chaz Barracks -- I'm Coming Out! -- Pride / James Earl Hardy -- Age of Consent / Alphonso Morgan -- The Luckiest Gay Son in the World / David Bridgeforth -- Coming Out in the Locker Room / Rod McCullom, DeMarco Majors, Wade Davis, Will Sheridan -- When I Dare to Be Powerful / Keith Boykin -- For Colored Boys -- To Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide / Hassan Beyah -- Mariconcito / Emanuel Xavier -- Chicago / Phill Branch -- Better Days / Jamal Brown -- One Day a DJ Saved My Life / Jonathan Kidd -- When the Rainbow is not Enough -- No Asians, Blacks, Fats, or Femmes / Indie Harper -- Alone, Outside / G. Winston James -- When the Strong Grow Weak / Kenyon Farrow -- Faith Under Fire -- The Holy Redeemer / Victor Yates -- Coventry, Christ, and Coming of Age / Topher Campbell -- Religious Zombies / Clay Cane -- Preacher's Kid / Nathan Hale Williams -- Love is a Battlefield -- I Still Think of You / Jason Haas -- Bad Romance / Darian Aaron -- Afraid of My Own Reflection / Antron Reshaud Olukayode -- Just the Two of Us / Curtis Pate III -- Hey, You / Erick Johnson -- My Night with the Sun / Mark Corece -- Love Your Truth / B. Scott -- Boys like Girls -- The Night Diana Died / Daren J. Fleming -- Many Rivers to Cross / Andre St. Clair Thompson -- Becoming Jessica Wild / Jose David Sierra -- In Sickness and Health -- Umm... Okay / Tim'm T. West -- Thank You, CNN / David Malebranche -- The Test / Charles Stephens -- The Voice / Ron Simmons -- It's Only Love That Gets You Through / Robert E. Penn -- Power to the People -- We Cannot Forget / Victor Yates -- Poetry of the Flesh / Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano -- Casualties of War / L Michael Gipson -- How Do You Start a Revolution? / Keith Boykin -- Acknowledgments -- Contributors. Marc Notes: Address[es] longstanding issues of sexual abuse, suicide, HIV/AIDS, racism, and homophobia in the African American, Latino, and Asian-American communities, and more specifically among young gay men of color. The ... book tells stories of real people growing up gay, seeking love, finding their own identity, and ultimately creating their own sense of personal and political empowerment--P. [4] of cover. Publisher Marketing: New York Times bestselling author and CNBC commenter Keith Boykin expands on the "It Gets Better" project by bringing together 25 essays by men of color on the topic of surviving growing up gay. In 1974, playwright Ntozake Shange published a choreopoem called For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf. The book/play/poetry would go on to inspire legions of women for decades and would later become the subject and title of a hugely popular movie in the fall of 2010. While the film was selling out movie theaters, young black gay men were literally committing suicide in the silence of their own communities. In the same time period, a young Rutgers University student named Tyler Clementi took his own life after a roommate secretly videotaped him in an intimate setting with another young man. In response, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire young people facing harassment. Their message, It Gets Better, turned into a popular movement, inspiring thousands of user-created videos on the Internet. Savage's project targeted people of all races, backgrounds and colors, but Boykin has created something special "for colored boys." The new book responds to the crisis of youth development and suicide in the black community, and more specifically among young gay men of color. For Colored Boys is designed to educate and inspire those seeking to overcome obstacles in their lives. About the Author Keith Boykin is the editor of The Daily Voice online news site, a CNBC contributor, a BET TV host and a New York Times best-selling author of three books. Educated at Dartmouth and Harvard, Keith attended law school with President Barack Obama and served in the White House as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton. Keith was a star on the 2004 Showtime television series American Candidate and has since appeared on numerous national media programs, including Anderson Cooper 360, The O'Reilly Factor, The Tyra Banks Show, The Montel Williams Show, Judge Hatchett and The Tom Joyner Morning Show. He lives in New York. Review Citations:

Library Journal 03/01/2014 pg. 48 (EAN 9781936833153, Paperback)

Contributor Bio:  Boykin, Keith Boykin is a graduate of Harvard Law School who served two years in the White House as a Special Assistant to President Clinton. He is the former Executive Director of the National Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership Forum.