I remember the first day I met my cousin’s partner. It was the 1980s.
I heard a knock at the door and my cousin – who had, like so many other Black men of that era, been afraid to fully announce his sexuality – stood next to a tall, skinny white man I did not recognize.
They walked into our home together and sat in the white room, the room that was mostly there for decoration, the room the kids were not allowed to enter. But I know my cousin felt safe in that room with my family and his new partner that he wanted to introduce to us. But he had also made it clear, on his visit from his home on the East Coast, that he would not stop everywhere. He had not felt as welcome at other homes in my expansive community.
I thought about him – he died years ago – as I read about Audre and her grandmother, Queenie, in Junauda Petrus’s “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them.” Their relationship is precious and it's clearly one of the places where Audre, who has developed a bond with Mabel, feels safe and protected.
“I leaned on her lap and she rubbed my back and I started to cry,” Audre said on Page 136, “because I didn’t want to leave she home to be with my mom, who was too tired all of the time to be with me and can’t cook like Queenie. Queenie told me that she will always be here, so don’t worry.”
Audre had places and people who would accept her fully. I love that this was her experience. My cousin and so many others in the LGBTQ community were not as fortunate. But I think that’s an important component of allyship with any marginalized community: to offer safety in a world that has been so unkind to so many.
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Discussion question
Sources of healing take many forms in the book: nature, foods, and music, to name just a few. How do these types of healing help Audre and Mabel ease and survive their experiences of trauma? What healing practices are important to you and your community?
Mary Ann Key Book Club Discussion: The Stars and the Blackness Between Them
Multiple dates and locations
Join your neighbors in a discussion of our 2025 season selection: The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus. Learn more and register online.
Mary Ann Key Book Club: A Conversation with Junauda Petrus
Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 6:30pm
Minneapolis Central Library
Join the Mary Ann Key Book Club for an exclusive evening featuring Junauda Petrus. Petrus will be joined in conversation by Star Tribune columnist and book club partner Myron Medcalf. The conversation will conclude with a Q&A and book signing with the author. Media partner: Star Tribune. Sponsor: Friends of the Hennepin County Library.
Register to attend in-person.
Register to watch the Zoom livestream.
Teen Lit Con: A Conversation with Junauda Petrus
Saturday, April 26, 12:30 p.m.
Two Rivers High School, 1897 Delaware Ave, Mendota Heights, MN
For teens. Connect with Junauda and engage in activities centered around the book at Teen Lit Con, an event where YA authors, books, teens, and fun collide. The free event runs 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and is open to the public, but the event and activities are focused on teens. The goal is to give teens the opportunity to meet authors, learn about writing and publishing, and enjoy the literary fun. All readers of YA literature are welcome, but we want teens to feel that this event is for them.
Twin Cities Pride has compiled a list of community resources that offer information and support to the LGBTQ+ community in the Twin Cities.
Rich Queer Aunties with Christabel. This podcast explores the diasporic experience of living authentically by delving deep into cultural legacy burdens. Christabel, a nurse leader, writer, and African Auntie, shares insights and practical resources such and self-care strategies, mindfulness practices, and deep cultural analysis.
Author Talk: Michael Lee
Monday, March 31, 6:30-7:30pm
Nokomis Library
Author Michael Lee’s biography, “When the Band Played On: The Life of Randy Shilts, America’s Trailblazing Gay Journalist,” tells the intimate story of Shilts’ life, emphasizing his controversial legacy as a change agent who used his journalism to amplify the voices of medical providers, public health researchers, patients, and activists during the early HIV/AIDS crisis. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Learn more here.
Author Talk: Carol Rucks and Mary Junge
Saturday, April 5, 1-2:30pm
Arvonne Fraser Library
Local poets Carol Rucks and Mary Junge will read from new collections "Night Travelers" and "Creatures of Promise," respectively. They will talk about their writing process and writing group. Q&A to follow with the option to share work of your own. Books will be available for purchase and signing following the event. This program is funded with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Learn more here.
About the Mary Ann Key Book Club
The book club was inspired by a Star Tribune column written by Myron Medcalf – the great-great-great-grandson of Mary Ann Key.
“I’m honored to partner with Hennepin County Library to launch the Mary Ann Key Book Club, named after the matriarch of my family, who was enslaved in Georgia in the 1850s. Purchased for $1,000 at the age of 14, Mary Ann Key persevered. Her body was in bondage, but slavery never stole the freedom of her heart, mind and soul. This book club is about focusing on the truths of the past, our challenges in the present and the possibilities of the future…”
– Myron Medcalf
This program is supported by Friends of the Hennepin County Library. Their generous financial support is helping to provide greater access to print and eBook copies of the featured books. Media partner: Star Tribune.
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