Author Leah Johnson On Being Young, Black, Queer And In Love

This week on Code Switch, we've been talking about the joys and complexities of Black romance. On the podcast, we delved in historical Black romance with authors who write about Black love during slavery, Reconstruction, the roaring '20s, the civil rights movement. But with Valentine's Day upon us, we didn't want to leave out Black romance that takes place in the here and now.

So we called up Leah Johnson, author of The young adult novel follows Liz Lighty, a high schooler who has always felt "too Black, too poor, and too awkward" for her rich, mostly white, midwestern town. When Liz's financial aid falls through, she decides her only option is to run for prom queen in order to win the scholarship she needs to afford her dream college. Romantic antics ensue. The book dives into the struggles of growing up Black and queer in a place where that's not the norm, butkinds of love: platonic, familial and romantic.