The Black Boy Narratives
A Project By Christian Loriel Lucas
The Black Boy Narratives aims to provide a safe space for the humanity of Black males. A vision of writer Christian Loriel Lucas (Funky, "Let it Be Me"), this project will collect anonymous stories from Black males, ages of 5-25. These stories will inspire the next monologues to be presented on stage in a local theater.
The next edition of the play will include new monologues inspired by new interviews and the play will be written with the help of some JCPS students.
2023
Lucas presented her play as a staged reading at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. Redline Performing Arts performed the readings, while the audience was also treated to poetry by youth artists, music, and a panel discussion.
2025
Students at a local Louisville school will assist Lucas in composing the next edition of her play. The students will interview Black boys at their school, in their families, and in the neighborhoods.
The play will then be performed at a local theater.
To establish a new, creative avenue for Black male voices
To use writing and oral storytelling to promote self-expression, reflection, and healing
To demand that the humanity of Black men and boys be acknowledged and protected
After starting a family and landing a steady job, Christian Loriel Lucas published her first book of poetic prose in 2011. Since then she's studied creative writing at the University of Louisville, where she received her M.A. in English in 2020. She's gone on to publish several pieces of work, including her most recent short story "If You Live in Marion Heights" (Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, 2022) and her first play, The Black Boy Narratives (Sweet Girl Press, 2024).
Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Christian currently lives and works in Louisville, KY, where she is a professor of English at Simmons College of Kentucky. She lives with her husband and two children.
Christian is the founder and publisher of Sweet Girl Press, which is set to release her forthcoming fiction chapbook This Chapbook is (a) Ghetto (2025).
For more info on Christian and her growing list of work, visit www.christianloriel.com
