American writer and activist George M. Johnson was BOTD in 1985. Born in New Jersey and raised in Virginia, they studied at the Virginia Union University and Bowie State University. They are best known for their 2020 book All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto, a collection of essays describing coming out, Black queer identity and politics, and descriptions of sexual experiences and sexual abuse. Critically acclaimed and a national bestseller, it was named book of the year by Amazon.com and Kirkus Reviews, and has been optioned for a television series. It has also been banned from school libraries in at least eight American states including Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia and Texas. In 2021, a member of Florida’s Flagler County School Board filed a criminal report arguing that the book violated state obscenity laws because it contained sexually graphic material, including descriptions of queer sex and masturbation. Johnson has spoken eloquently in the book’s defence, arguing for the importance of Black and queer narratives for teenaged readers. In 2021, they published a second memoir, We Are Not Broken, focusing on their boyhood and family relationships. They have also written on race, gender, sex, and culture for Essence, The Advocate and Teen Vogue. Their recent work includes the non-fiction book Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known, published in 2024. Johnson identifies as queer and non-binary, and lives in New York. Their relationship status is unknown.