Book
Prejudice tried to close the door on his potential.
Talent, hard work, and leadership pushed that door wide open.
"
When schools first integrated in the 1950s, Geoffrey Newman became one of the only Black children in an all-white school. His teachers told him he was destined for failure, for no reason other than the color of his skin. Geoffrey Newman proved them all wrong.
Better to Cry Now chronicles Geoffrey's road to success in arts education, from discovering his artistic talent while also succeeding academically, to pioneering a theater program for an up-and-coming college, to becoming chair of the drama department for Howard University, to ultimately serving as dean for the entire arts program at Montclair State University, nurturing many stars along the way. In sharing his story, Geoffrey also shares the challenges of persevering despite racial prejudice and coming out to the world as a gay man in a loving, committed relationship.
With this insightful memoir, Geoffrey shows us the grit and grace needed to forge our path, define our own success, and stay true to who we are.
2025 NONFICTION BOOK AWARD WINNER:
Better to Cry Now: Shaping The Flow of a Gay Black Man
By Geoffrey Newman
Testimonials
"Better to Cry Now holds significant meaning and value from my perspective, for it chronicles a pathway to one's very best life in the presence of existential obstacles. Geoffrey's journey narrates the life of a charming, optimistic, gay, Black man who had the creativity and tenacity to live life on his terms, and in the manner that Zen teacher Norma Wong encourages: "Envision the brightest story. From the brightest story of the future we can imagine, it becomes possible to map the actions and goals to arrive at the places we conjure in our creative mind." Geoffrey' vision for his dazzling future was the catalyst that catapulted him toward living his brightest story in every area of his professional and personal life."
-Sandra Bowie
Former Vice-President for Arts Education at New Jersey Performing Arts Center and former Executive Director of the Billy Holiday Theater in New York
"I like the warm, vernacular tone of Geoffrey Newman’s memoir, Better to Cry Now; reading the book is like having a conversation with a wise old friend. His life is a classic American success story, with the Civil Rights movement and the Gay Rights movement as part of the backdrop of his life. He’s lived through changing times, and he’s helped to change the times. I admire his perseverance and unflagging good cheer..."
-Chip Deffaa
The author of nine books and 20 plays and a music and theater critic for the New York Post
"Geoffrey Newman has written a memoir that is, engaging, honest, hopeful, and purposeful. He reminds us that the emotional scars and wounds we carry within us begin to heal first when we confront the pains that caused them with perception and honesty, and then when we take positive action, when we commit ourselves to the process of change – in how we see ourselves, how we see others (not as adversaries
or challenges, but as flawed human beings like ourselves) and in how we see our world around us (not as a space that exists only as a force that acts upon us, but as a space in which we can experience our best selves), it is then that we can construct a space in which we can be, finally and unafraid."
-Richard Wesley
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