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  • The Millions

    Toni Ann Johnson: “It’s More Complicated Than Forgiveness”

    by Ashley Perez Nov 28, 2022 5 minutes

    Toni Ann Johnson’s collection Light Skin Gone to Waste, tells the story a young Black family’s arrival to the blue-collar town of Monroe, New York, in 1962. Through linked stories following the Arrington’s through the years, Johnson casts critical lens on race, class, and colorism. “If you’re born Black in Monroe, New York, in the 1960s, it doesn’t matter if your daddy gets rich, if your mom is good-looking, or even if you’re almost light enough to pass,” writes Johnson. “You’re an alien, always, even if this is your hometown.”

    Through its multiple narrators, Johnson’s Flannery O’Connor Award-winning book mines conflicting identities and the complexity of being Black in America. I had the pleasure of chatting with Johnson about her wonderful book, her approach to structure and point of view, the Los Angeles literary community, and more. 

    Our L.A. literary community, which you’re a part of, is incredibly supportive, interesting, and fun

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