Truly Blessed
Truly Blessed
Truly Blessed tells a powerful visual story about a community’s response to discrimination, both racial and religious.
Published by King Koala Press in Italy, this 128 page volume features 60 striking black and white photographs using the deepest black ink available in the world by one of Italy’s finest book printers.
With a forward by Jeffrey Q. McCune, PhD, Frederick Douglass Professor of African-American Literature and Culture at the University of Rochester, an extensive interview with Chris Suspect by Ibarionex Perello, host of The Candid Frame, and a testimonial by Maggie Steber, Guggenheim Fellow, National Geographic Woman of Vision, Leica Medal of Excellence Recipient, and a member of VII Foundation, Truly Blessed uses photography to forge a conversation between the sacred Black church and secular sexual/erotic spaces, capturing sites where the body, mind, and spirit converge. It is a recognition of all that the discourse of the “sacred” attempts to extract, as well as a reminder of all the ways that sexual-secular-sacred trinity lives in the Black queer world without apology and without need for permission.
Background
American society is highly segregated, and it should come as no surprise that the American LGBTQ+ movement is mostly represented by White gays and lesbians. Black gays lack their own prominent voice or representation on a national level. Despite the support of prominent national, African American leaders like Obama and Oprah show for gay culture in general, many Black gays feel they do not provide a voice for their community. In communities, Black families may accept their children’s sexuality but not openly, compared to many White families who proudly accept their children’s sexual orientation.
In Washington, DC’s gay clubs African American often face discrimination. This can take the form of bogus dress codes or even charging significantly higher drink prices to Black people to discourage them from returning. In addition, many profiles on gay dating apps say, “no Blacks.”
To live freely, these men and women in “Truly Blessed” create their own venues to express their erotic lives. They gather at private parties organized in homes, restaurants or underground venues friendly to their lifestyle.
The Black Baptist Church is also notoriously intolerant of homosexuality, so the people you meet in “Truly Blessed” are also ostracized in the churches of their upbringing. To counter this, they established their own church, The Community Church of Washington, D.C., in Anacostia. Here, under the leadership of the Rev. Aaron B. Jones-Wade, PhD, they are fully accepted and worship freely. “Truly Blessed” takes the viewer into both realms, the erotic and the religious, juxtaposing the erotic freedom expressed at the private parties with the traditional solemnity of their church. Despite the striking visual contrast between these two realms they both embody the self-empowerment and determination of a wonderful community.
Release Date March 4, 2024
Details
Book Size: 8.25” x 10.25” x 1.18”
128 pages, 3 variant 1/2 cover book wraps
Cover: 300 gr Uncoated black paper + golden lamina
Cover Belt: 10/12 cm h 4/0 + silver plastic
Inside Pages: Paper premium coated matt 150 gr Print 2/2
OFFSET deep black+ Pantone Stitched volume
Edition of 500
ISBN: 9788894797220
Sample Spreads
Important Note
If you are in not in the United States, please order from King Koala in Italy for more favorable shipping rates.