BlackFemaleStarPower – Page 6 – Black Future Feminist

Dr. G’s Reflections…”Another School Year in the Books!!”

Posted on May 29, 2023May 25, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

2022-2023 another school has come and made its mark in the universe. You know I have to say it every time I write these reflections, I LOVE WHAT I DO!! However, this year is the beginning of what is going to be a continuous cycle of the floodgate of tears! This year’s class of 2023 is really special as this is the first class of students that I have seen since they were freshmen entering VCU!! Many of these students have been in at least two of my classes…I have watched them grow and mature…I have seen their struggles and their wins…I’ve met their parents, relatives and children…And seeing them walk across the stage and become graduates…It is truly a blessing to see the impact one can make in a matter of a few short years. Just take a look and see below….

Memories from VCU AFAM Graduation-Spring 2023

Not only is this year been special because of the new graduates, but also because I made it through a major career milestone. I made it through the half-way point of my tenure-track process…the third-year review!! Gathering documents, writing professional statements, obtaining references from students, updating my CV, experiencing teaching evaluations, and so much more…talk about an intense process…But I made it!! I will admit not only was this an experience of strength and dedication, but one of reflection. Going back and looking at all the work that I have done in these three years just blows my mind. I know I’m a hard worker, but just looking back and seeing it all documented on paper (physically and digitally) takes it to another level. This review process also showed me how wide and vast my community of support is and the impact they make on me. Shout out to all those who looked over my essays, shared their past experiences with the process, gave insight, gave an encouraging word, served as cheerleaders, calmed my nerves, took me out for a drink, or were just a listening ear. I think some folks do not realize the role they have in either bringing someone down, or elevating them to the highest heights! All in all, and in all honesty I am thankful for both because I know who to continue to take with me on my journey and who to let go.

In addition to my own research endeavors, I was super excited to mentor and advise several of my Capstone students as they presented at the 2023 VCU Undergraduate Research Symposium!! I was thoroughly impressed with their research projects and super proud to see them share it with the VCU community!!

AFAM Capstone Students presenting at the 2023 VCU Poster Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creativity

2022-2023 as noted in the title has definitely been one for the books! I had three chapters come out in edited collections, a solo article on the role of Black girl storytelling in comic books, served as a keynote for VCU Dentistry school and Culpeper, VA’s first “CulpeperCon”, and to culminate everything I received my universities inaugural “Faculty Champion Award”.

In addition, to witnessing the success of my VCU students and my own, I also got a chance to celebrate one of my mentees and BFF intern Jaya Robinson as she graduated from high school and is headed to Spelman College (AUC Love!!)!

I will say this at the end of every semester and school year, I am always hyped and re-energized. Whatever feelings I had, depending on the type, were further magnified or lessened to make room for the good. So as I prepare for another productive summer, I can’t help but reflect on the highs, stress, joys, and wins!

Till the next season…

~Dr. G

New Trailer Alerts!!, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Posted on April 20, 2023April 19, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

Check out this week’s new set of trailers!! Getting you ready for the Spring and Summer !!

Polite Society (In theaters April 28th)

Queen Cleopatra (Streaming on Netflix May 10th)

Class of ’09 (Streaming on FX May 10th)

High Desert (Streaming on Apple TV+ May 17th)

Muted (Streaming on Netflix May 19th)

Fast X (In theaters May 19th)

Talk To Me (In theaters July 28th)

Celebration

I Love My DST!! 20 Years of Sisterhood, Scholarship, and Service!!

Posted on April 17, 2023April 17, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

April 17th, 2003… 20 Years Ago today I became a member of the #1 Sorority in the land…Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

I remember the day like it was yesterday on the campus of Clark Atlanta University!! It was a sea of red marching through the promenade! And I saw the light…and it was Crimson and Cream!!

And on that day not only did I become a Soror of DST, but also a part of the 24 Vibrant Visionaries of Virtue. As part of the 24 VVV, I was the #20 (S/O to the back of the line) and known by many names… “Love Jones,” “Malcolmina X,” “Harlemshake,” “Digable Planets,” and “Bob Marley”!

Check out some of the many memories below:

Through the years SO MUCH has happened, but I will say this we have definitely embodied our name Vibrant, Visionaries of Virtue!! To this day we are doctors, lawyers, business owners, counselors/therapists, educators, nurses, researchers, STEM leaders, entrepreneurs, accountants, bankers, executive directors, court administrators, and just awesome, amazing women!! We About That Business!!

And OHHHHH the stories we could tell!! Never a dull moment with the #24VVV!!

All in all, I would not have it any other way than to cross the burning sands and come into Delta Land with these ladies!

Cheers to 20 More Years!! OO-OOP

Feature Spotlight

Dr. G Featured at CulpeperCon 2023!!

Posted on March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

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!

Dr. G's Weekly Hot Topics, On The Radar

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics!!

Posted on March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

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)

You can also follow her artistic journey here!

Celebration, On The Radar, Resources

Happy International Women’s Day!! #EmbraceEquity

Posted on March 8, 2023March 8, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

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
Collective Activism
Wear Purple
Shop Women-Owned Businesses
Explore the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum site
Add some women-authored books to your library
Watch a film/documentary/tv series focused on Women
Listen to a podcast Cite Black Women, NATAL, Truth Be Told, Body Trauma, Imperfectly Phenomenal Women
Give the gift of a bottle of Black woman-owned wine (Brown Estate, Monte Rosso, McBride Sisters , Darjean Jones Wines, Wifey Brands)
Tune into the UN Women program, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” (3/8- 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. EST)
International Women’s Day Resources
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!

New Trailer Alerts!!, On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts

Posted on March 7, 2023March 6, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

It’s getting hot in here!! The trailers are dropping like hotcakes!! Don’t believe me, check them out below:

Watcher (Streaming on Hulu March 10th)

The Crossover (Streaming on Disney+ April 5th)

Praise This (Streaming on Peacock April 7th)

Ghosted (Streaming on Apple TV+ April 21st)

Citadel (Streaming on Prime Video April 28th)

Peter Pan & Wendy (Streaming on Disney+ April 28th)

I’m a Virgo (Streaming on Prime Video Summer 2023)

The Blackening (In theaters June 16th)

On The Radar

Save The Date!! March 17th…”Pass My Crown: The Woman’s Voice in Hip Hop-Past, Present & Future!!” Event

Posted on March 2, 2023February 26, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

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!!

New Trailer Alerts!!, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Posted on February 28, 2023February 26, 2023 by drblackfuturefeminist

Closing out the month with some fresh new trailers of film and television set to hit screens next month! Check out the trailers below:

Luther: The Fallen Sun (Streaming on Netflix March 10th)

UnPrisoned (Streaming on Hulu March 10th)

Swarm (Streaming on Prime Video March 17th)

Rabbit Hole (Streaming on Paramount+ March 26th)

A Thousand and One (In theaters March 31st)

Love & Death (Streaming on HBO Max April 27th)

Celebration, Holiday Celebration!!, On the Desk...

It’s Valentine’s Day!!

Posted on February 14, 2023February 14, 2024 by drblackfuturefeminist

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my BFF Family and Friends!! As a way of sharing my appreciation, here is a music playlist as well as film list to get you in the spirit!! Enjoy!!

Here is a playlist I created called “Black Love Through Music” on Spotify

And if you need a few suggestions of what to watch while cozied up on the couch, hanging out with that special someone, or with your crew check out this list of films to watch: