Point of View

My Government Means to Kill Me is written from the first-person point of view, exclusively through the lens of Trey Singleton, a young gay Black man who moves to New York City in the 1980s. Newson chooses to write the narrative through Trey’s point of view in order to develop an intimacy between the protagonist and the reader. Through this point of view, Newson upends the erasure of queer identities, struggles, and accomplishments that is discussed throughout the novel. By way of example, Rustin reminds Trey that “there was a great many more than two” gay men involved in the Civil Rights Movement, however, they’re voices were ignored because of their sexuality (200). To subvert the historical dismissal of queer narratives, Newson employs the first-person lens to grant validity, reverence, and space to queer experiences. If the author had chosen to write My Government...