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!!
Cheers to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!! Now that has a nice sound to it!!
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!”
Happy Summer!! As we prepare to enter into sweltering heats, take vacations on the beach, spend time with loved ones and friends, let me make sure I get you ready for some summer reading! Summer is always an exciting time for me, and a time to take advantage of some leisure reading!
This month, just like every month before….I GOT YOU!! Nice mix of stories from all different directions and perspectives!!
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!!
“There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.” ~Michelle Obama
On this past Wednesday, I had the opportunity to be a featured contributor for a Juneteenth Reading List on VCU News!! I am always excited when I get to share a some resources and good reads/finds!!
The recommended reading list consists of various faculty on the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) campus. The list is meant to inform and celebrate the Juneteenth holiday. As noted by Elinor Frisa,
VCU News asked faculty, as well as staff from VCU Libraries, to suggest books that help readers understand and celebrate Juneteenth and all that it represents.
For my featured selection, I chose ‘We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy’ by Natalie Baszile.
Readers also get the opportunity to see the ways in which Black farmers use the land to discuss race relations, create identities, showcase the harvest as a healing tool and explain how it passed down through generations. I recommend this book as it is filled with rich history (past and present), it speaks to the importance of land ownership for Black Americans and it does not rely on one type of farming story. “We Are Each Other’s Harvest” is an inspiring book that informs, encourages and serves as a guide to the future legacy of Black American farmers.
To see the full feature and article, click here!!
As we prepare to celebrate the now federal holiday, Juneteenth, it is important that is not simply a day-off but a day of remembrance and liberation. And to get you in the spirit, I have compiled a few things to get you started!
Check it out below:
Film & Television/Podcasts
Cookbooks
Resource Guides
Black people can’t breathe. This is because these are crisis ridden times. Crisis and catastrophe wrought by mass incarceration, inadequate housing, climate change, environmental degradation, police brutality, war and the stress upon our everyday lives. Historically, Black communities globally have been made subject to horrific circumstances from involuntary migration, to enforced servitude, Jim Crow segregation, mass incarceration, police brutality and now coupled with a pandemic and climate change. This is as juxtaposed with a multiplicity of environmental conditions including inadequate access to healthy food, toxic waste, unclean water and pollution. Black communities have disproportionately experienced the impact of environmental waste, pollution, climate change and lack of access to healthy food resources and equitable healthcare services. This has also more recently meant involuntary migration illustrated with the rise of Black climate refugees worldwide. Statistics indicate that Black people in the U.S. are 75 percent more likely to live close to oil and gas refineries, have disproportionately high rates of asthma, due to environmental factors, and are more frequently made subject to pollution and toxic waste. Our conference this year specifically focuses on the theme of crisis, catastrophe and sustaining community. We are particularly interested here in the ways that the Black community has responded to these circumstances over time in thought and action.
This conference seeks to bring together scholars, activists, public intellectuals and community stakeholders interested in presenting on the theme of crisis, catastrophe and sustaining community in relation to the history and culture of African Diaspora communities.
Papers related to (but not limited to) these topics might be ideal:
For more information and submission guidelines, please click here !!
Deadline for submissions is August 1st, 2022
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Conference Committee:
Co-Chairs: LaShawn Harris, Michigan State University and Oscar de la Torre, UNC-Charlotte
Tyler Parry, University of Nevada, Los Vegas
Adam McNeil, Rutgers University
Grace D. Gipson, Virginia Commonwealth University
Crystal Eddins, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
For more information write to the committee at: conference@aaihs.org
Note: The goal is to have an in-person conference but this is subject to change given the current pandemic. Hybrid options may be available as we are an organization that does take seriously inclusivity of all interested in participating in this timely event. Masks will be required and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test (24 hours before attending) must be provided to the organization before attending.
*Repost from AAIHS
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:
Power…Strength…Fierceness…Beauty…Action…Simply Speechless
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.
Tune in on this Thursday May 12th at 3 pm/ET as Dr. Robinson and I continue our discussion n Blackness and horror with a discussion on the 1997 film, Eve’s Bayou!!
Check it out on Auburn Avenue Research Library Facebook Live and YouTube!!
This discussion explores the 1997 film Eve’s Bayou. Actress Kasi Lemmons made an auspicious debut as a writer and director with this delicately handled, wrenchingly emotional drama, hailed by critic Roger Ebert as one of the best films of 1997. Eve’s Bayou begins with ominous narration: “The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old.” From that point the story moves backward in time and memory to Louisiana in 1962, when a young girl named Eve (Jurnee Smollett) witnesses a shocking act on the part of her womanizing father (Samuel L. Jackson). But what really happened? And can Eve be certain about what she saw when there is more than one interpretation of the facts? Less a mystery than a study of deeply rooted emotions rising to the surface to affect an entire family, the film has the quality of classic Southern literature, with layers of memory unfolding to reveal a carefully guarded truth.
Just in case you want to refresh your memory of the movie, check out the trailer below:
I know I missed you guys on last week, but I am back and I came with that newness!! Check out this week’s new trailer alerts:
Bling Empire (Streaming on Netflix May 13th)
Night Sky (Streaming on Prime Video May 20th)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Streaming on Disney+ May 27th)
Hollywood Stargirl (Streaming on Disney+ June 3rd)
Season 5-The Chi (Streaming on Showtime June 24th)
Season 5-Cobra Kai (Streaming on Netflix September 9th)
Don’t Worry Darling (In theaters September 23rd)
Dear Mama-Limited Series (Streaming on FX Fall 2022)
As always, if you missed episode #4, I got you covered!!
We dug deep on this one, as it hit a personal note for both Dr. Robinson and I!
Check out the episode below:
To close out Women’s History Month, Dr. Robinson and I sat down to chat about the latest horror film on Prime Video, “Master” starring Regina Hall (directed by Mariama Diallo). This film hits very close to home for both of as we can identify with both main protagonists!! To see what we have to say (cause trust me, we got ALOT) check out our latest episode on this Thursday March 31st at 3 pm/ET on Auburn Avenue Research Library Facebook Live and YouTube!!
See the trailer below, and then check it out!!
Black Future Feminist 