Excited to share another upcoming event that I will be participating in this Thursday with my friends at Suffolk Public Library!!
Suffolk Discovers: Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism expresses notions of Black identity, agency and freedom through art, creative works and activism that envision liberated futures for Black life. With musicians such as Sun Ra, Parliament, and Janelle Monáe, visual artists like Wangechi Mutu, and authors such as Octavia Butler, Afrofuturism imagines the potential of African diasporic futures without the effects of colonialism, capitalism, and racism among other things. In recent work like the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther movies though, there is a strain of doubt introduced into the hopefully utopian vision of Afrofuturist societies such as Wakanda.
Thursday, April 18th, 2024, 6-7:30 pm
North Suffolk Library (Conference Room), 2000 Bennetts Creek Park Road Suffolk, VA 23435
During the panel discussion we will explore the following questions/thoughts:
It’s Women’s History Month and what better way to celebrate than by highlighting a few books by some AMAZING women writers!! Even put in a few extra ones for you!! And as always, Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!
Check out March’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:
How to Live Free in a Dangerous World ~Shayla Lawson
Colliding With Fate ~A.E. Valdez
Under the Udala Trees ~Chinelo Okparanta
So Let Them Burn ~Kamilah Cole
The Black Girl Survives in This One ~Edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell
With Love, Miss Americanah ~Jane Igharo
Believe ~Leigh-Anne Pinnock
Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now ~Dana L. Davis
Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix ~Ibi Zoboi
Night Wherever We Go ~Tracey Rose Peyton
Photo collage of March Book Recommendations
As an Extra Bonus…Got a ton of books, but need to organize them? How about “Quotes by Iconic Women Bookends” created by Kristen and Lindsey Archer! Some of the icons available to purchase include, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Michelle Obama, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Katherine Johnson, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Angela Davis, Sojourner Truth, Kamala Harris, Sonia Sotomayor, and Gloria Steinem. You can find these at Uncommon Goods.
And as always, remember you can always go back and check out 2023’s lists and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!
On Tuesday, I will be participating in a roundtable discussion on “Medicine, Marginalization, and Resistance: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.” As a 2023 Humanities Research Center (HRC) Fellow at VCU, the goal of the fellowship is to “foster intellectual exchange and to enhance the quality of research at VCU by exposing faculty to different perspectives and methodologies.”
The event takes place on March 12, 2024, 3-4:30 pm on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University [Virginia Room B-University Student Commons].
Join us for a roundtable discussion of medicine, marginalization and resistance with the HRC’s residential fellows Grace Gipson, Adin Lears, Gabriela León-Pérez, and Victoria Tucker. The fellows will discuss their work during their 2023-24 residency, exploring health humanities topics ranging from Black womanhood and disability in Marvel Comics’ Misty Knight, conceptions of medicine and the body in late medieval England, the health and well-being of Indigenous immigrants from Latin America to the US, and the experiences and contributions of Black nurses in Virginia during the transition from segregation to desegregation.
The presentations will be followed by a panel Q&A. All are welcome!
Cover Art for Heroes for Hire #4 (May 2011), Art by Doug Braithwaite
Misty Knight (played by Simone Missick) in the television series Marvel’s “Luke Cage”
During the roundtable, I will be able to discuss one of the chapters in my book project on Marvel Comics “Misty Knight” discussing Blackness, womanhood, and disability.
If you are in the Richmond Area come and check it out!! You can register for the event here!
As we close out one month of celebration we continue and celebrate another one, Women’s History Month!!
Women’s History Month runs from Friday, March 1, to Sunday, March 31.
Similar to Black History Month, Women’s History Month started out as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California — Women’s History Week.
In 1980, the National Women’s History Project (now known as the National Women’s History Alliance) led a consortium of women’s groups and historians in their efforts to lobby for national recognition. By February of that year, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week.
While International Women’s Day, held on March 8, came first, Women’s History Month serves as an extension of ongoing campaigning to achieve gender equalitythroughout our world.
Presidents after Carter continued this proclamation of National Women’s History Week in March, until Congress passed Public Law 100-9 in 1987 designating March as Women’s History Month.
Every year, the National Women’s History Alliance chooses a theme to celebrate Women’s History Month. This year’s theme is:
This year’s theme recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions.
Women from every background have long realized that an uneven playing field will never bring equality or justice. Many feel the critical need to speak up and work harder for fairness in our institutions and social interactions.
From Mae Jemisin to Frida Kahlo to Ruth Bader Ginsburg a number of important women from history are celebrated during this month, as well as emerging figures in the female rights and gender equality space.
Nothing like closing out the month with a couple of Black History Month events!! This week I am excited to share two events happening this week in which I’m taking part in!
First on the list is an event in which I will be celebrating with my sorors for “Delta Week” and serving as the featured speaker for their event, “Black Women in Hip Hop.”
This event takes place on today February 26th at 7:13 pm on the Virginia Commonwealth University campus (Richmond Salons I-II). Excited to take part in this annual event and drop some knowledge about a few Black women icons in hip hop!
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The next event takes place on Wednesday!! My department is hosting our annual Black History in The Making awards ceremony in which we recognize African American students at Virginia Commonwealth University, who exhibit what it means to be “Black History in the Making!”
The Black History in the Making Awards were founded in 1983 by Dr. Daryl Dance, the distinguished scholar of African American and Caribbean literature, who served as program coordinator during the 1983-84 academic year. Dr. Dance established the Black History in the Making Awards to recognize the achievements of African American students.In the founding year, Dr. Dance invited academic units and organizations to recognize a student who has made an important contribution. The nominating units established criteria for selecting recipients. Since the inaugural awards, more than 550 students have been recognized by more than 50 departments and organizations.
In addition to recognizing VCU Black students, this year our keynote speaker will be none other than Richmond-native, VCU alum and Chief Diversity Officer for the U.S. House of Representatives Dr. Sesha Joi Moon!
We are making our way through February, can’t believe we are pretty much half way through the month! Nice selection film and television headed your way next month!! Check them out below:
Kung Fu Panda 4 (In theaters March 8th)
Apples Never Fall (Streaming on Peacock March 14th)
Season 2-Invincible-Part 2 (Streaming on Prime Video March 14th)
Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 (Streaming on Disney+ March 20th)
Palm Royale (Streaming on Apple TV+ March 20th)
Shirley (Streaming on Netflix March 22nd)
We Were the Lucky Ones (Streaming on Hulu March 28th)
On last night I had an opportunity to attend the 24th Black History Month Lecture put on by VCU Libraries. Dr. Shirlene Obuobi, M.D., a Ghanaian-American physician (cardiologist) and cartoonist, served as this year’s speaker, delivering a lecture/talk on “Narratives & Identity: Comics As Tools for Advocacy and Self-Reflection.” Talk about being hyped!! As soon as I saw the announcement, back in January, I was already intrigued… comics …. medicine….Black woman cartoonist and writer…YOU GOT ME!!
Dr. Obuobi’s talk touched upon so many important issues and conversations. Many of these included being a Black woman physician, her experiences during pre and post medical school, patient-care, the big picture of traversing the medical field, battling insurance companies, universal healthcare, and the role of comics in telling these stories. I have always been of the mindset that comics are one of the greatest mediums for telling stories, giving voice to the voiceless, and highlighting global and national issues. And to see the way that Dr. Obuobi incorporates many of her own personal experiences within the medical field really shines a light that is often dim. In many ways through her comics we are getting a snapshot into her career.
Not only was I thoroughly impressed with her talk but to see how she has been able to weave her personal and professional through a variety of outlets, everything from her regular contributions on “Well + Being” (via The Washington Post), being featured in the Medical University of Vienna’s Art, Action, Attitude/Body exhibit, as well as numerous academic journal articles.
As a self-taught artist, Dr. Obuobi is exuding #BlackGirlMagic!! Check out some of the panels below:
When I say I was in a total #FanGirl moment watching this presentation/lecture, just pure amazement!! The little Black girl in me was jumping for joy!! Dr. Obuobi’s lecture was inspiring, entertaining, engaging, and super informative!!
#FanGirlMoment…Dr. Obuobi and myself holding her novel “On Rotation”!
In addition to her work as a cardiologist, Dr. Obuobi is a brilliant writer, her first book a romance novel titled “On Rotation” hit shelves June 2022. Her second novel, “Between Friends and Lovers” is set to premiere July 2024!
To find out more about Dr. Obuobi, check her out on the following social media outlets:
111 years ago today on January 13th, 1913 on the campus of Howard University 22 college-educated, distinctive, devoted, delightful, dedicated women lit the the torch into the eternal Delta light!! They envisioned a new day of more than just a social life, they desired a larger vision, purpose, and vision that laid a foundation to build upon. A strong and solid legacy that remains even today!
As I embark upon 21 YEARS in this AMAZING, ILLUSTRIOUS sisterhood, I just have to give thanks to #The22 founders!! Thank you for paving the way for a young woman like me to be a part of this wonderful sisterhood now and forever more.
May we continue the legacy of our founders of Sisterhood, Scholarship, Service, and Social Action!!
Oh to be a Delta Girl!! #SigmaMade #SoonToBe21YearsIn
Black Future Feminist 