Hostage: A Short Story
Three black brothers talk about homophobia, AIDS-phobia and rap music — at gunpoint.
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THREE BROTHERS. ONE BEDROOM. ONE GUN.
LeRon arrives at the family home after a devastating doctor’s visit. His mother is out. His two brothers are home. Before the afternoon is over, the bedroom they once shared will become a courtroom.
BROTHERHOOD ON TRIAL.
At gunpoint, LeRon demands answers for a lifetime of ridicule, rejection and silence.
THEY CALLED HIM A SISSY. NOW HE’S CALLING THE SHOTS.
Old wounds become evidence. Childhood memories become testimony. And three Black brothers are forced to confront homosexuality, AIDS, masculinity, family—and one another.
“Hostage” appeared in the 1991 anthology Certain Voices (Alyson Books). It was Randy Boyd’s first published work.
“Randy Boyd… definitely knows how to write well. From the opening, the reader is hooked… ‘Hostage’ is exciting and offers relevant criticism of the mainstream Black community’s wish to ignore its gay members.”
— The Washington Blade, September 1991