Tag: #BlackGirlMagic

Posted in On the Desk...

One the Desk

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

To Be Young Gifted and Black: Finding Black Excellence in “The Hill We Climb”

Sweet Baby Jesus!! Today (and yesterday) we witnessed #BlackExcellence and #Herstory in multiple ways, from the swearing in of Madame Vice President Kamala V. Harris, to the inspiring benediction by Rev. Dr. Silvester Beaman, to the full display of Black fashion (Pyer Moss, Christopher John Rogers, Sergio Hudson), to the powerful and poignant National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman !! My cup runneth over and I was filled with pure joy and happiness.

However, one moment in particular that stood out for me was witnessing 22-year old Amanda Gorman recite her poem The Hill We Climb on the Capitol steps this morning! Gorman’s poem was more than just words on a paper, but a call to the past, a moment to reflect, a call to action, and a space to inspire. Glowing and shining like the North Star, Gorman stunned audiences with her long yellow coat and crisp white shirt, with a ruby red headband atop her braids … listening to her reminded me of watching Maya Angelou share her poem On the Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton’s 1992 inauguration.

“Now we assert: How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?“

Gorman’s words, poise, and presentation inspired me as a fellow Black woman and it is my hope and prayer that her action and representation inspires not only young girls, but women of all ages to make their voices heard!

National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman delivering her poem “The Hill We Climb”
during the Biden-Harris Inauguration on January 20th, 2021

Everything about this occasion reads dignified, graceful, and refreshing! She had such a natural flow…literally and physically! Gorman’s eloquent moment in so many ways channeled the legacies of Shirley Chisholm, Maya Angelou, Ella Baker, Toni Morrison, and Fannie Lou Hamer!! The foundations they established laid the groundwork for a young Black woman like Amanda Gorman. Ahhhh they would be so proud! The acknowledgement of this moment is essential and should not be forgotten, if anything we should continue to see more moments like this one!

Let me tell you the ancestors are truly smiling today!!

“For there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it, If only we’re brave enough to be it.“

To see the full video and transcript, please see here!

~Dr. G.

Posted in On The Radar

On The Radar

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

The one great thing about scrolling through my Apple News app on my phone is finding jewels and nuggets regarding exciting new projects that showcase voices often not heard. And today was one of the many days where I scrolled up on an upcoming collaborative multi-faceted art project When We Gather.

When We Gather is a 3-minute art film meant to inspire, celebrate, and reflect on the momentous occasion of celebrating the history making inauguration of the first African American and South Asian Vice President Kamala Harris. Directed by Codie Elaine Oliver (Black Love-OWN Network) with performances by acclaimed artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Okwui Okpokwasili, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Dell Marie Hamilton, Jana Harper, Lisa E. Harris and Samita Sinha.

Envisioned by Campos-Pons, she notes, “When We Gather offers an empowering moment to heal and unite the country through creative energy.” As she brought the artists together, their performance provides something of an awakening. “The circle shows us how we can remain connected even while we are separated due to this pandemic or due to the state of the nation. All of these factors have informed the collaborative choreography and spoken word of this global collective experience.”

Narrated by award-winning actress Alfre Woodard, the film highlights literary and choreographed dance movements from various backgrounds and traditions as it pays homage to Black women heroines. Now as a result of the pandemic, the performances were woven together from three different cities/locations (Brooklyn, Nashville, and Houston).

Before it launches on January 27th (7 pm/ET), starting today viewers can check out the interactive platform When We Gather, which shares behind-the-scenes stories of Black women heroines from the past, present, and future.

After hearing Vice President Kamala Harris, during her nomination acceptance, call forth the memory of her mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris, while also invoking a moment that acknowledges generations of all women creates a moment of unity and empowerment!! In essence, magic in the making!! When We Gather accepts the call from Harris to celebrate all “mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, girls; cis and trans and serves as a “collective answer to her invitation.”

Streaming of the film will be available free until February 15th, 2021.

Such a shining a moment that I look forward to watching!!

~Dr. G.

Women represented in the “When We Gather” film-Photo by Tommy Oliver

Posted in On The Radar

Monica Rambeau…WandaVision…I’m here for it!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

So let me just start out by saying when I saw the flyer below I immediately felt like a kid in a candy store and they had all of my favorites right at the front door (yeah pretty excited)!! As a Black woman who studies and is a comic book fan this is quite significant and major! Even with the success of the 2018 Black Panther blockbuster (R.I.P. Chadwick Boseman) and I would even add the Dora Milaje and Shuri on the big screen, there is still a need for regular and consistent images in film and television (particularly in the comic book realm). Thus, this (re)introduction of Monica Rambeau into the WandaVision series on Disney+ is a major move!! Monica Rambeau is a force to be reckoned with in the comic book universe (at one point she helmed the title of Captain Marvel)!! And the fact that actress Teyonah Parris is in the role gave it extra cool points!! Glad to see that she is getting some just due as an actress, Ms. Parris got talent!

As you will see throughout my posts, I am very much an advocate for more diverse representation of Black women within the comic book medium. It is crucial that comics display a continuous diversity of characters!! Little Black girls and boys should not have to wait until they are adults before they see someone that looks like them within pop culture (and honestly society as a whole).

Now even in my excitement with everything about the series, I do have my reservations as I am hoping that Rambeau’s character (in particular) will not be surface-level and that she will have a long-lasting impact!! There is SO much potential and SO many opportunities with this character…

WandaVision premieres its first two episodes on today January 15th via Disney+!!

~Dr. G.

Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau in the new “WandaVision” on Disney+
Posted in Resources

Let’s Talk About Race-Black Lives Matter

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

Previously Posted on Happy Mama Happy Mini (June 2020)

Over the past few months, we have been struggling through a global pandemic—one that has disproportionately affected Black and Brown communities—while also trying to find some sense of comfort and happiness. However, we as country and even the world have recently witnessed a national outpouring of anger, frustration, passion, and protests in response to the ongoing pain of racial injustice and police brutality. With the recent national attention regarding the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, it is essential to create dialogues about these events and how we make meaning of them to invest in a better society. 

As stated by Black feminist and civil rights activist Audre Lorde, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” Thus, as we continue to have discussion in our schools, churches, community events, and our homes it is important that we engage in these differences, while simultaneously equipping ourselves and others. Having the knowledge can lead to fruitful conversation and some sort of change. 

This knowledge can be found in a variety of resources, tools, books, films/documentaries, and community efforts. 

Below you will see a guide that seeks to equip us with the knowledge in hopes to bring about change: 

Multimedia

Graphic Novels/YA/Children’s Books

  • Dear Martin (2017) ~Nic Stone
  • The Poet X (2018) ~Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Bayou (2009) ~Jeremy Love
  • Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice (2018) ~Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins,and Ann Hazzard
  • Saturday (2019) ~Oge Mara
  • The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist (2017) ~Cynthia Levinson
  • Each Kindness (2012) ~Jacqueline Woodson
  • “Resist: 35 Profiles of Ordinary People Who Rose Up Against Tyranny and Injustice” (2018) ~Veronica Chambers
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (2020) ~Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
  • Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation (2020) ~Damian Duffy & John Jennings
  • March [Trilogy] (2016) ~John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
  • The Hate U Give (2017) ~Angie Thomas
  • ‘Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans’ ~Roland Laird w/Taneshia Nash
  • Skin Like Mine (2016) ~LaTashia M. Perry
  • I Am Enough (2018) ~Grace Byers
  • Hair Love (2019) ~Matthew Cherry
  • Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History (2017) & Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History (2019) ~Vashti Harrison

Films/Documentaries

  • I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
  • Race (2016)
  • Do the Right Thing (1989)
  • Fruitvale Station (2013)
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
  • Selma (2014)
  • The Hate You Give (2018)
  • Pariah (2011)
  • Get Out (2017)
  • Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (2018)
  • Dear White People [Film (2014) & Netflix series (2017-2021)]
  • 13th (2016) [Netflix]
  • When They See Us (2019) [Netflix]
  • Seven Seconds (2018) [Netflix]
  • Time: The Kalief Browder Story [Netflix]
  • See You Yesterday (2019) [Netflix]

Books

  • White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide (2016) ~Carol Anderson
  • How to Be An Antiracist (2019) ~Ibram X. Kendi
  • Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (2018) ~Monique Morris
  • From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (2016) ~Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
  • Between the World and Me (2015) ~Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • So you want talk about race (2019) ~Ijeoma Oluo
  • White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism (2018) ~Robin Diangelo
  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race (2017) ~Beverly D. Tatum
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the age of Colorblindness (2020) ~Michelle Alexander
  • Parable of the Sower (1993) ~Octavia E. Butler  
  • ‘Choke Hold’: Policing Black Men (2018) ~Paul Butler
  • Citizen: An American Lyric (2014) ~Claudia Rankine
  • Bad Feminist (2014 ) ~Roxane Gay
  • Heavy: An American Memoir (2019) ~Kiese Laymon
  • Racism Without Racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of Racial Inequality in America (2017) ~Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
  • The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (2018) ~Richard Rothstein
  • No Ashes in the Fire (2019) ~Darnell L. Moore
  • ‘When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir’ (2020) ~Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
  • ‘Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower’ (2019) ~Brittney Cooper
  • ‘Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism’ (2018) ~Safiya Umoja Noble

This is not an end all, be all list, but meant to ignite and continue dialogues that can be difficult, but are very necessary. Hopefully, this list will also lead to the creation of building other resource guides that can be used in the fight against anti-Blackness and anti-racism. 

“We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.” ~Ella Baker

Posted in On the Desk...

On the Desk…

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” ~Frederick Douglass

It is nothing like finding a good book, a cup of coffee (or your drink of choice), and curling up on your couch as you float in literary heaven. I am always thankful when I get the opportunity to flip through pages, listen on Audible, or digitally swipe through the Kindle pages.

Here in this space, I will offer my suggestions of good books to add to your reading list (whether personally and/or professionally). This will be an opportunity to share books with you and hopefully get some recommendations from you as well. As they say, “sharing is caring.”

So make sure you stay tuned, you never know what may cross my desk!!

Happy Reading!!

~Dr G

Photo by Charlotte May on Pexels.com