Sweet Tea

The work of E. Patrick Johnson is extraordinary in how it documents the lives of Black gay men and women in the South. The selections for our reading this week are a small part of a large archive of work that Professor Johnson has assembled to help us more fully think about and understand the lives of queer Black southerners. In response to these materials, reflect on questions that reading selections from this book raise for you. What themes do you see in the book? What new things do you learn? What questions are unanswered for you? What meaning do you make from this reading?

These questions should frame the first part of your discussion board post, which should be in four parts this week. After thinking about those questions, think collectively about southernness in Johnson’s work. As you read more of his work, think about what the south means in his book and for the men and women in the stories.

Organize this week’s discussion post into three parts:

1. Respond to these questions: what questions emerge from reading selections from this book raise? What themes do you see in the book? What new things do you learn? What questions are unanswered for you? What meaning do you make from this reading?

2. In a second part, analyze the south and southernness in the materials using at least three examples from the text that explore the meanings of this idea.

3. Finally, talk about how the south and southernness are a part of your story. Where and how does Professor Johnson’s work overlap with your story?