We are rocking and rolling through another list of recommended reads!! This month is dedicated to telling “Her” story as we celebrate Women’s History Month! Much like every month I try to mix it up to include graphic novels, coming-of-age stories, diasporic and world literature, stories of the American dream, romance, and historical fiction. Nothing like adding a few more literary reads to your library!!
Check out March’s List Below:
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts ~Rebecca Hall
Maame ~Jessica George
Queenie: Godmother of Harlem ~Elizabeth Colomba
The Middle Daughter ~Chika Unigwe
Behold the Dreamers ~Imbolo Mbue
The Sun is Also a Star ~Nicola Yoon
Such a Fun Age ~Kiley Reid
Twice As Hard : The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, from the Civil War to the 21st Century ~Jasmine Brown
And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!
“Where there is a woman there is magic.” — Ntozake Shange
This past weekend I had the great opportunity of serving as the inaugural keynote speaker for the first Culpeper Con (Culpeper, VA)!! I had such a blast presenting my work “Telling Black Girl Stories in Comics and Graphic Novels!”
Huge Shout Out to Andrew DeNicola and the Culpeper County Library!!
Check out some of the pics and the presentation below:
In addition to serving as the keynote, one of the local papers the Star Exponent would do a feature interview, see here!
New Month and a New Set of Hot Topics!! Check them out below :
Living History…Medal of Honor awarded to one of the first Black U.S. Special Forces officers…Nearly 60 years overdue, on March 3rd President Biden awarded retired Army Colonel Paris Davis the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military’s most prestigious decoration, for Davis’ acts of valor as a commander during the Vietnam War. Now 83 years old, retired Army Colonel Davis was one of the first Black officers to lead a U.S. Special Forces team in combat.
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Course correcting the history of gynecology…In partnership with the “Under-Told Stories” project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, Alabama artist Michelle Browder is looking to change the historical narrative around the history of gynecology.
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For all my Skateboarders!!… This month the U.S. Postal Service is set to launch its latest collection of artistic stamps celebrating the “Art of the Skateboard.” The image below features the work of four skaters-turned-artists on photographs of skateboards, curated by art director Antonio Alcalá. Crystal Worl (Alaska)-Tlingit/Athabascan heritage with a blue-indigo salmon graphic; William James Taylor Junior (Virginia) concocted a red-and-orange abstract design; Di’Orr Greenwood (Arizona) celebrated her Navajo roots with a bright palette depicting eagle feathers, as well as the sun’s rising and setting tones; and lastly, Federico “MasPaz” Frum (Columbia-born/Washington, D.C.) created a stylistic jaguar. The collection will be available for purchase beginning March 24, 2023.
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Keeping with the theme of Women’s History Month, Marvel just dropped a surprise new TV series on Disney+ MPower about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s roster of female heroes. The four-part docuseries is now streaming in its entirety on the service. Executive produced by Zoë Saldaña, “the show blends footage from MCU movies and shows with new animation and interviews with Marvel stars to explore some of the franchise’s top stars and their long and complex history.”
The four episodes of MPower are “The Women of Black Panther” (which focuses on Danai Gurira’s Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, Florence Kasumba’s Ayo, and Letitia Wright’s Shuri), “Captain Marvel” (which also features Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau from the upcoming The Marvels movie), “Scarlet Witch” (which also includes Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness and even Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis) and “Gamora” of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise (whose story also obviously dovetails with her sister, Nebula, played by Karen Gillan). See the trailer below:
All four episodes of MPower are streaming now on Disney+.
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Painter Spotlight!! Providing a voice for Black maternal mortality and morbidity through art…Chicago-based artist/painter Ashley January shows her vision and past experiences of the above in her solo exhibit, “Human I Mother I Black”! See some of her work below:
(Photo credit Ashley January, left-COVID Shelter in Place With Baby, 2020; top right-Quinn and Ashley Study #2, 2020; top bottom-Crystal and Dylan Study, 2020)
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. This year’s 2023 theme is about how we can #EmbraceEquity!!
How will you forge women’s equality and #EmbraceEquity? Check out some available resources and things you can do to celebrate!!
Challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion
See the Google Doodle for the day…The vignettes within each “GOOGLE” letter highlight just a few of the many areas in which women around the world support each other to progress and improve each other’s quality of life. In honor of women across the globe who are supporting each other across all aspects of life — Happy International Women’s Day!
So to jump start Women’s History Month, I wanted to share an event that I will be participating in on March 17th!! Pass My Crown: The Woman’s Voice in Hip Hop-Past, Present & Future!!
This event will be an open discussion/dialogue about women in Hip Hop currently as well as historically. A few of the topics that will be explored include: the subject matter of lyrics, dress, feminism/womanism, culture appropriation (the Black woman aesthetic), the overt and covert misogyny, activism, what’s next for women in Hip Hop, and how a multitude of women’s voices need to be heard.
It’s gonna be a HOT one!! Check out the details below:
March 17th, 2023 (Doors Open at 6:15 pm)
Virginia Commonwealth University- Academic Commons 1107
1000 Floyd Avenue, Richmond, VA 23284
If you are in the Richmond area you do not want to miss this event!!
March is Women’s History Month!! Each year the National Women’s History Alliance designates a yearly theme for Women’s History Month, this year’s theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”
The 2023 theme recognizes “women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling including print, radio, TV, stage, screen, blogs, podcasts, news, and social media.” How appropriate and timely!!
Black Future Feminist 