It’s Day 2 of the Reclaiming Her Time: The Book Journey!! Another productive day in the writing game! I really felt the juices flowing today, so when I say I was riding the wave … I was moving and shaking!
Now I know I dived right into this new adventure on yesterday, so I just wanted to give some backdrop to what is taking place! So this “Reclaiming Her Time” journey is all about my first book manuscript titled, Reclaiming Her Time: Exploring Black Futures in the Black Female Superhero…when I say I am super excited about this project words cannot even begin to express! This project is very much like my baby. You gotta feed it, nurture it, give it sustenance and so much more! Never did I think I would get an opportunity to write about something that I treasure and love so much….Black Female Superheroes, but the day has come.
I am currently working on a chapter about Regina King’s character Sister Night/Angela Abar in the HBO/Max series “Watchmen.” Her specific story in this award-winning television series is one that engages with many topics including self-agency, being perfectly imperfect, historical trauma, family legacies, and so much more. Watching her story play out is one that inspires, excites, and adds another layer to the greatness that is a Black woman!! She is one of the many Black female comic book heroes that I will be examining in the book.
So over the summer, you will get a chance to see how this all plays out. The inner workings, the highs and lows, and all the wins!! I am super amped that you will be a part of this journey with me!!
So I know it has been quite a while since I’ve dropped some HOT TOPICS, but it’s never too late to share…especially when SO MUCH is happening in the world!! Day to day there is always something going on, particularly within pop culture.
And without further ado, check out this week’s Hot Topics!!
Ever wanted to know more about Black cowboy culture? With the Paramount+ series Lawmen: Bass Reeves and the Netflix film The Harder They Fall , I know my interest has been piqued. And as a fan of westerns and cowboy culture, this new photography book celebrating Black Rodeo Culture in the US will definitely be making its way to my coffee table!! Dropping in April of this year, Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture: Photographs by Ivan McClellan highlights decades of work capturing the many journeys of what it is like to be a part of contemporary Black rodeo culture in America.
Referring to the minimum amount of time a rider has to stay on a horse or other livestock in order to register a score during a competition, Eight Seconds provides a visual glance into world that is often forgotten!
New Beats Solo headphones campaign features some #BlackGirlMagic with WNBA star Angel Reese, track & field star Sha’Carri Richardson, and tennis champion Naomi Osaka!!
This all-new line of Beats Solo Buds can be purchased in four new colors including Matte Black, Storm Gray, Arctic Purple and Transparent Red, retailing at $79.99. For the new Solo headphones, you can purchase them in Matte Black, Slate Blue and Cloud Pink ($199.99), which all three ladies are sporting in the campaign.
Now here is another documentary, that I AM DEFINITELY looking forward to watching, however with this one we will have to wait a little minute lol…On May 15th CNNannounced that CNN Films, in partnership with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, acquired the documentary feature Luther: Never Too Much, from award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter (CNN Films John Lewis: Good Trouble).
Today starts a new personal and professional journey! Over the next couple of months, I will be sharing my writing journey as I begin the completion of my first book manuscript project. As part of being a university professor, I have embarked on an evaluation process called tenure and promotion. Thus, writing and completing the book is essential to the evaluative process.
Now I will say this I am a mix of emotions from excited, to anxious, to nervous, to invested, to even being curious! So with each post, this will be like a check-in or place for accountability. Writing these posts will help me to focus and be honest with myself. Some days will be good, some days may be just blah, and some days will be a mess. Each day will bring me closer to the final goal, which is a completed book project!
Photo by Jessica Lewis ud83eudd8b thepaintedsquare on Pexels.com
So today’s post is to bring you along on this journey, give you some insight, and prepare you for a roller coaster ride (hopefully you hang in there with me)! Coinciding with this new beginning, I also started on another journey, something like a journey within in a journey. While there is a larger journey and goal, I will also take some small ones that will definitely go towards the larger end goal. With that said, I completed my first day of a Summer Writing Sprint that I am participating in with Well Academic! For two weeks during a dedicated time I will be writing with other scholars across the map. Nothing like being with a group of like-minded thinkers and writers getting together for a structured time to get the work done!!
You know what?? I made it through!! Day 1 was a success, I completed my daily goals and was able to map out what I will do on tomorrow!
Not too much more to say, except I look forward to taking you on this journey! Keep in mind the days will vary, so just think of each day as a new surprise! Feel free to drop any words of wisdom, inspiring quotes, or just to say hello!
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.
Black Future Feminist 