All Boys Aren't Blue is a memoir published by George M. Johnson in 2020. Johnson is a self-described queer Black American whose pronoun preference is "they." Johnson is a published author, a working journalist, and a liberal activist supporting the right of everyone to live the life they desire as long as it is not hurting anyone.
All Boys Aren't Blue became something akin to a prequel—or a companion piece at least—with the publication of We Are Not Broken in 2021. Both books cover much of the same territory relative to dealing with prejudice and bigotry for irrational reasons related to skin pigment and sexual preference. Whereas the sequel deals with adolescence and early adulthood, All Boys Aren't Blue deals with these issues during the author's boyhood, as the title suggests.
This focus on racism and sexual bigotry at such an early age has inexplicably made the book a subject of controversy in the age of right-wing political control reacting to fears about children learning new things at school. The American Library Association declared Johnson's memoir to be the third most challenged book in school districts in 2021. By the next year, it had earned the dubious distinction of moving up one spot to become the second most challenged book. Justification for these challenges and subsequent removal or banning of the book from school libraries range from references to specific sexual practices deemed pornographic to violation of vaguely composed regulations against books promoting the right of the LGBTQIA community to enjoy constitutional protections.
All Boys Aren't Blue has yet to face organized opposition to student library inclusion due to being poorly written. Critical reception to the book outside media promoting extreme conservative agenda has been overwhelmingly positive. Among other respected entities, Johnson's memoir received rave reviews in the New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and from the Chicago Public Library. In 2021, Nathan Hale Williams directed a short film adaptation comprised of dramatic readings from the first three chapters. Gabrielle Union optioned rights to develop a television series based on the book. As of summer of 2023, this series will still in development.
