This month we continue bringing in those literary gems!! Now don’t forget to stop by your local bookstore (virtually or in-person) and pick up your copies!! Enjoy!!
Woman of Light: A Novel ~Kali Fajardo Anstine
African Town ~Irene Latham & Charles Waters
Mademoiselle Revolution ~Zoe Sivak
Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology ~Edited by Vince A. Liaguno & Rena Mason
I Rise ~Marie Arnold
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau ~Silvia Morena-Garcia
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!!
“We read books to find out who we are.” ~Ursula K. Le Guin
For all those who were hovering the social media timelines waiting to see what would drop at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, no need to wait any longer!! Marvel Studios officially dropped this teaser trailer for the much anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever!! I could not just drop this one in the regular listing of new trailers, this needed a post ALL BY ITSELF!!
From the opening moment, with a remix version of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” and Nakia standing on Wakandan shores deep in thought. The only lines spoken are from Queen Ramonda (played by Angela Bassett) and they are full of emotions. It is literally like a musical motion picture, with featured moments. We see several return characters including Okoye and Ayo, Shuri (with a new haircut…I like!!), Nakia, M’baku, Agent Ross and some new faces one particular that I am siked about RiRi Williams/Ironheart (played by Dominique Thorne), Aneka (played by Michaela Coel), and a first glimpse at the film’s villain, Namor (played by Tenoch Huerta). What this teaser trailer does well is project the future not just of one the MCU’s most advanced nation, but of the Black/African diaspora!!
And this trailer would not be complete without a shout out to T’Challa!!
Literal chills up and down my spine!! Patiently waiting….But Sooooo Ready for this one!!
Check out the new poster as well!!
Photo Credit: Marvel Studios….Latest Black Panther: Wakanda Forever film poster, Released on July 23rd, 2022
Nothing like opening your email after coming back from an international trip and seeing yourself featured in your universities newsletter.
Upon my return from Belgium, what do I see in my inbox a feature where I contributed my thoughts as part of the Leaders for Inclusive Learning (LIL) program that I participated in during 2021-2022.
Here are a few excerpts where I discuss the importance of one-on-one student engagement and alternative methods of evaluating student learning:
“Not all students are open to engaging in the classroom. It can be intimidating . One-on-one conversations allow professors to get to know their students in a way that can be more comfortable than a large classroom…”
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“There are other ways to evaluate student learning, and the LIL program got me to broaden my thinking. I have a lot more fun formulating the syllabus now…”
I also speak to a specific change that I made when updating my syllabi, regarding office hours/check-in sessions.
“I used this time to check in and learn about a student without them feeling worried or having the conversation just focused on grades…we often talked about something outside of the class, and many of the students were free and open.”
I really enjoyed my experience with LIL! I was not only able to gain new knowledge and resources, but I was also able to gain a new network of colleagues on the VCU campus that may not have happened otherwise. The fact that this program began during the pandemic, really speaks to the access afforded to faculty as well as the specific attention given towards transforming the classroom.
To read more of about the LIL program, my thoughts along with my fellow LIL cohort members see here!!
In collaboration with Georgia State University’s Department of African-American Studies, the Auburn Avenue Research Library (AARL) hosted Dr. Grace D. Gipson, who presented on the topic This Fourth of July is Yours, not Mine? Understanding Frederick Douglass’ “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”.
In the shadow of America’s most revered holiday, Independence Day (2022), Dr. Gipson discusses the historical significance and contemporary relevance of Douglass’ July 5, 1852 speech, commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Dr. Gipson use Douglass’ biting oratory as a lens to examine the ongoing structural underpinnings of systemic anti-black violence that continues to thwart freedom for Blacks in the United States.
See the presentation below:
I always appreciate the opportunity to annually collaborate with Auburn Avenue Research Library and discuss this poignant speech! It is a speech that we have to constantly refer to, so the conversations around freedom and justice do not go silent!!
Black Women are Supreme…As in today June 30, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in as our first Black woman on the Supreme Court!!
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., administers the Constitutional Oath to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the West Conference Room, Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2022. Dr. Patrick Jackson holds the Bible. Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
Cheers to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!! Now that has a nice sound to it!!
Official photograph of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson taken by Supreme Court Photographer Fred Schilling, 2022.
As noted in her own words, “I have dedicated my career to public service because I love this country and our Constitution and the rights that make us free!”
A few months back I got a chance to meet this amazing Black feminist scholar Dr. Jaimee Swift and her research, personality, and grind truly impressed me. During this encounter, she shared an upcoming event that I had to make sure to share with you!! I’m all about sharing the wealth with the masses. Check out the event below:
2nd Defend Black Women March
Honoring Marielle Franco: Celebrating the Power of Black Feminisms in Latin America & The Caribbean
July 29-31, 2022–Malcolm X Park (Meridian Hill Park)
HEADSHOTS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: SARA GÓMEZ, MARIELLE FRANCO, NANNY OF THE MAROONS, ANDAYE, OLUWATOYIN SALAU, MAMA TINGO, MARY JONES, bell hooks, and NEHANDA ABIODUN. THEIR HEADSHOTS ARE IN BLACK AND WHITE AND THEY ARE CONNECTED BY A COLORFUL MURAL BACKGROUND. Photo Credit: Black Women Radicals/Defend Black Women March
On last month, I had the opportunity to present a paper on “#BlackGamersMatter: Gaming and the Black Imaginary” at the Beyond the Page-“Present Encounters: Digital Humanities Meet Afrofuturism” at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA).
Dr. Gipson presenting at the Present Encounters: Digital Humanities Meet Afrofuturism (Temple University)
And if you are interested in checking out the full symposium see the following videos below:
Part 1: Welcome remarks by Joseph P. Lucia, dean of Temple University Libraries; Keynote Address by Dr. Reynaldo Anderson, associate professor of Africology and African American Studies: “Afrofuturism: The Second Race for Theory,” See here
Part 2: Discussion with curator, art director, illustrator Eric Battle, and illustrators Damali Beatty and Nilé Livingston for the Black Lives Always Mattered!: Hidden African American Philadelphia of the Twentieth Century original graphic novel, See here
Part 3: Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio project presentations in the Scholars Studio Innovation Lab, See here
Part 4: “Virtual Blockson” presentation with Jasmine Lelis Clark, See here
So we are almost half way through 2022, but the reading doesn’t stop. Before I get you ready for your summer reading, just want to finish out the spring with some breezy balcony and patio reading. This month’s list is all over the globe…literally, I figured I would share a few treats by giving you some historical references, a little bit of self-preservation and cultural identity, mixed with a dash of U.S. midwest and Caribbean roots, and topping you off with some sassy satire.
Jameela Green Ruins Everything ~Zarqa Nawaz
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations ~Mira Jacob
Olga Dies Dreaming: A Novel ~Xochitl Gonzalez
The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family ~Bettye Kearse
American Street ~Ibi Zoboi
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!!
We write because we believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained. ~Nikki Giovanni
Have you ever just looked at an image or a still shot of something and became overwhelmingly excited and stunned at the same time?? Well those are my exact emotions when I saw the image below:
For even more of the above emotions check out the Empire Exclusive picture, see here!!
The image above is from the upcoming film, “The Woman King.” It is inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey (now known as present-day Benin), which was one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its story follows Nanisca (Viola Davis), General of the all-female military unit (for additional context the women who inspired Black Panther’s Dora Milaje), and Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), an ambitious recruit, who as a team “fought enemies who violated their honor, enslaved their people, and threatened to destroy everything they’ve lived for.”
Davis debuted the trailer for the film at this year’s CinemaCon in April.
Hook … Line … and Sinker … I’m sold!! To see Viola Davis in a “kick-ass” role (literally and figuratively), as well as see the history of a group of Black women warriors unfold on the Hollywood screen is music to my ears! Now that is “Representation Matters” in action!!
“The Woman King” was co-written by Dana Stevens and Gina Prince Bythewood who also serves as the director. The film is also produced under Viola Davis and her husband Julius Tennon’s company, JuVee Productions (along with . Not only is the film on point behind the camera but it also includes a dynamic cast, which includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and John Boyega. According to Prince-Bythewood, “we were intentional of creating an ensemble of the dopest actors of this moment from all over the diaspora.” AND the musical score will be coming from the legendary Terence Blanchard. I’m already on the edge of my seat waiting for this one to hit theaters!!
“The Woman King” is set to be exclusively in theaters on September 16, 2022.
So this past weekend I had the pleasure of being featured in two news outlets VCU News and USA Today!!
For VCU News, I was interviewed about one of my Spring courses, “Say Her Name: Humanizing the Black Female Voice in Television.” I got a chance to surprise my students with one of the actress [Cherokee Hall who plays “Extra Extra”] from the STARZ television series “P-Valley”.
Check out some of the story here:
It’s important to Gipson that the course engages with what’s happening in the world. The representation of Black female actors and the characters they take on has always been essential to the success of television as a medium,” she said.
However, Hollywood is not quick to showcase, celebrate, and even hire them. Television has made strides, but it has been inconsistent and slow moving,” she said, adding that many of the women whose work the course studies are breaking barriers and re-setting television culture. I want students to see how television and film are a way to tackle issues and problems.
Now for the USA Today article, I switch gears and offer some social commentary on the Dave Chappelle incident and whether America can still handle a joke!!
Here are a few of my thoughts below:
But the combustible cultural moment we are living in — one roiled by political discord and pandemic restrictions — certainly is testing that joke and let joke philosophy, says Grace Gipson, assistant professor in the department of African American studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.
I feel like in his day Richard Pryor took things to an extreme maybe even greater than what we see today, but no one was bum rushing the stage, says Gipson. Today, it seems like people are free to show their anger beyond heckling.
Black Future Feminist 