This week, Nyasha Junior recalled a childhood spent inside an AME church. Read that and other essays from the New York Times, Slate, The New Republic, and more.
"Future Queer: Where Is Gay America Going Next?" — The New Republic
Alexander Chee ponders where gay America is heading next and reflects on how much has changed in a New Republic piece. "The future I can’t imagine, but want to imagine, is one where we’re all at peace, working toward something else," he writes. Read it here.
Neil Gilks / Via newrepublic.com
"Jennicet Gutiérrez and the Politics of Pride" — Slate
Jennicet Gutiérrez may not have shown the best manners when she interrupted President Obama at a pride event this week, but she's much more than just a "heckler." In a Slate essay, J. Bryan Lowder explains why the activist was right in cutting Obama off. "Queer activism must, by its very nature, be disruptive," he writes. "I can guarantee you that more people are talking and thinking about trans immigrants today than were before Gutiérrez took her stand." Read it at Slate.
"Black Church Taught Me How to Be Black" — BuzzFeed Ideas
For Nyasha Junior, black church is not only a place of worship but also a part of her home and family. In an essay for BuzzFeed Ideas, Junior remembers a childhood spent inside an AME church, where she first realized that black lives matter. Read it at BuzzFeed Ideas.
Mladen Antonov / Getty Images
"The Terror" — The New York Times Magazine
Junot Díaz recalls getting jumped in middle school and the terror he felt for years after the beatdown. "Before that attack, I had felt fear plenty of times — which poor immigrant kid hasn’t? — but after my beating, I became afraid. And at any age, that is a dismal place to be," he writes in a New York Times Magazine piece. Read the entire essay here.
Luke Shuman / Via nytimes.com
