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George M. Johnson
George M. Johnson
Born	George Matthew Johnson; 1985 (age 39–40)
Occupation	Writer
Language	English
Education	Virginia Union University (BA) Bowie State University (MD)
Notable works	All Boys Aren't Blue
Website
	www.iamgmjohnson.com

George Matthew Johnson (born 1985),^[1] more commonly known as George M. Johnson, is an American author, journalist, and activist. A queer African American, they are best known as the author of the memoir-manifesto All Boys Aren't Blue (2020).

Early life and education

Johnson spent their early childhood in New Jersey and later, Virginia.^[1] They described their family as loving and affirming of Johnson prior to them officially coming out at age 25.^[2]^[3] Johnson attended the HBCU Virginia Union University, where they became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.^[4]^[5] They attended graduate school at Bowie State University.^[6]

Career

Johnson's writing has appeared in Teen Vogue, Entertainment Tonight, NBC, The Root, BuzzFeed, Essence, Ebony, them, and TheGrio.^[4]

They gained wider prominence for their memoir-manifesto All Boys Aren't Blue (2020).^[2] The book is a collection of coming-of-age essays describing Johnson's memories of growing up with particular focus on their Black, queer identity. The essays center pivotal experiences, including affirming relationships with family members, their understanding of masculinity, sexual encounters, and experiences of sexual abuse.^[1] The book was selected for YALSA's Teens' Top 10 and the ALA Rainbow Book List, and received a starred review from Kirkus.^[7] The Root included Johnson on their list "100 Most Influential African Americans in 2020."^[8]

As of November 2021, All Boys Aren't Blue was one of the most frequent targets of book bans and challenges amid an "unprecedented" period of book banning according to ALA.^[9] It was removed from libraries in eight states due to claims of "sexual obscenity" for its descriptions of queer sex and masturbation.^[9] In response to the claims, Johnson stressed the sexual education value of the book and context for those descriptions, saying in a Time interview, "I am using my story to teach kids about the mistakes that I made the first time that I was having sex, so they don’t make those same mistakes. I am teaching kids about not feeling guilty when sexual abuse happens, and how to recognize sexual abuse...And how to fight back against those traumas that you can hold on to for so very long. So they’re leaving very, very important context out, intentionally of course, to try and say my book is pornographic."^[9]

In 2021, they released a second memoir, We Are Not Broken, focused on Black boyhood and their grandmother, Nanny.^[10] The book was named a secondary honoree for the Carter G. Woodson Book Award.^[11]

Personal life

Johnson is queer and non-binary.^[4]^[5]

Works

The (________) They Don't Teach You About College (2016)
All Boys Aren't Blue (2020)^[12]
We Are Not Broken (2021)^[13]^[14]
Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood (contributor) (2021)
Property of No State (2022)^[15]
Stonewall, illustrated by Theo Lorenz (2022)^[16]
Five Second Violation (2023)^[15]
Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known (2024)^[17]

Awards and honors

Year	Work	Award	Result	Ref.
2019	“When Racism Anchors your Health" in Vice	National Association of Black Journalists' Salute to Excellence Award	Winner	^[18]
2019	All Boys Aren't Blue	Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Literature and Language Arts	Selection	^[19]
2020		Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography	Nominee	^[20]
2021		ALA Rainbow Book List	Top 10	^[21]
		YALSA's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults	Selection	^[22]
		YALSA's Teens' Top 10	Selection	^[23]