This class serves an introduction to Black queer writing and the theories that feed into and are inspired from said writing. We will read poetry, fiction, and essays by writers who revolutionized and made possible Black queer expression in the United States. What is the necessary vocabulary for Black writers left out of white academic and creative circles? When white gender and sexuality theory has no interest in Blackness or the Black experience, who stepped to the plate and gave voice to those often ignored and vilified for their unique experiences? Authors such as Essex Hemphill, Audre Lorde, Pat Parker, E. Patrick Johnson, Loraine Hansberry, Alice Walker, James Baldwin, Melvin Dixon, Reginald Shepherd, Thomas Glave, L Lamar Wilson, R Erica Doyle, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs are just a handful of writers we will read together in class. Assignments include a midterm paper, weekly responses, and a final project.