Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

Devon is a high school graduate from Georgia waiting to go to NYU in the fall. She dreams of going to school for sociology but is expected to be a nurse because that is what her father is pushing her to do. After her mom struggles with her mental health and spends time in a treatment facility over her relationship with Devon’s father, Devon travels with her to Maryland to stay with her grandmother.

Devon knows that she is queer. Although she has had sex with a boy, she only has romantic attraction to girls. However, she has only ever kissed two girls—once in fifth grade to “practice,” and her best friend, Amy, when she was drunk.

Where Devon’s grandmother lives in Parish Point, Maryland, it is rural and mostly white, making Devon—who is Black—feel uncomfortable around many of the residents. When she goes to the grocery store on her first day there, she has an awkward interaction with a woman who comments on her hair and even tries to touch it. The woman’s sister, Sarah, whom Devon is immediately attracted to, stops the woman. The two chat, and Sarah says she regularly goes to the library that Devon’s grandmother runs, so they will see each other there.

A week later, Sarah comes to the library to invite Devon over to her house for a party. The party is mostly Sarah’s college friends, and Devon is relieved that she is not the only Black person there. The two spend the time sitting close to each other and flirting, eventually kissing before Devon leaves.

Sarah and Devon regularly hangout throughout the summer. Devon struggles internally with the thought of leaving her at the end of summer, but also worries about how her parents—specifically her dad—will react to the news that she is queer. She recalls when she kissed the girl in fifth grade and was caught that her dad said there are “no gays” in their family.

Two weeks before the summer ends, her mother tells her that she has gotten a job in Baltimore. She and her dad are getting a divorce, and she will be staying in Maryland. She also asks Devon what she plans to do about Sarah, informing her that she has already figured out they are dating.

The conversation sparks Devon to speak with Sarah. They discuss just being friends or trying a long-distance relationship, ultimately agreeing to just continue as things are and see where it goes. Devon considers this and her future, thinking about how their relationship may work or how she might meet someone in New York. Either way, she agrees that she should just “live in the moment.”