As summer comes to a close and fall approaches, grab a book or two to make the transition a smooth one. So as the month closes, see August’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:
Blood in the Water ~Tiffany D. Jackson
This Motherless Land ~Nikki May
Colored Television ~Danzy Senna
Red Clay ~Charles B. Fancher
Weird and Wonderful You ~Zaila Avant-garde
The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic ~Lindsey Stewart
Sky Full of Elephants ~Cebo Campbell
The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them ~Ekow Eshun
When The Harvest Comes ~Denne Michelle Norris
Great Black Hope ~Rob Franklin
Sunstruck ~William Rayfet Hunter
Flirting Lessons ~Jasmine Guillory
As always, don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!
And remember, you can always go back and check out previous lists in the “Resource” section of the website!
Wednesdays will be dedicated to “Joyful Black Spaces” and will be highlighted by guest blogger Lauren N. Jackson. Lauren serves as the Director of First and Second Year Experiences at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and is the founder of three initiatives to support Black women and girls; “Black Girls Study,” “Leadership Development for Women of Color,” and the “LeadHERs Mentoring Program.” Lauren is also currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Justice from VCU.
What are Black spaces? Black spaces are intentional spaces and environments designed to uplift and empower the Black community. These spaces bring JOY because they allow Blacks to rid themselves of the daily microaggressions, racism, and prejudices often experienced in society, and allows them to fully embrace their Blackness; their uniqueness, dialect, identity, and culture. Black spaces include spaces like: higher education institutions, restaurants, churches, museums and the like.
Today’s #BlackJoy moment we will focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, also known as, HBCUs. In 1838, the first HBCU, Cheyney University was established. At a time where Black education was limited at predominantly white institutions and when racial segregation and discrimination were prevalent in American society, Cheyney, like other HBCUs were founded to address this inequality and provide educational opportunities for Black students.
Since then, HBCUs have played a vital role in shaping the educational landscape for African Americans in the United States. They continue to produce scholars who make significant contributions around the world in various fields like STEM, literature, politics, sports, and arts. Prominent figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Morehouse College), Booker T. Washington (Hampton University), Thurgood Marshall (Howard University), Toni Morrison (Howard University), Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State University), Terrance J (NC A&T), and Kamala Harris (Howard University) are among the distinguished graduates of HBCUs. HBCUs serve as beacons of hope where students feel a sense of pride, identity, belonging, community, and most importantly, JOY!
For all my RVA peeps a special shout-out to two of our local HBCUs – Virginia State University (Etrrick/Petersburg, VA) and Virginia Union University (Richmond, VA). I would also like to shout-out the visionary of #BlackFutureFeminist and the #30DaysofBlackJoy series, Dr. Grace D. Gipson who is a proud alumna of Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta, GA)!
Want to get more insight about HBCUs through the lens of the media? Grab some friends, a few Black-owned snacks, and watch these movies, TV shows, and documentaries.
Graduation Season is in effect! The school year is coming to a close. Travel Plans are being made! And Summer is just around the corner! With that said, it’s time for you to get your summer reading list together! And I am here to help you make some selections so that you can drift into that literary dreamstate!
Check out May’s List Below:
Last Summer on State Street ~Toya Wolfe
What the Fireflies Knew ~Kai Harris
Anywhere You Run ~Wanda M. Morris
The God of Good Looks ~Breanne McIvor
The Three of Us ~Ore Agbaje-Williams
Dances ~Nicole Cuffy
Before I Let Go ~Kennedy Ryan
You Think You Know Me ~Ayaan Mohamud
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!!
“Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.”
The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse “is an immersive multimedia art exhibition that traces 100 years of African American cultural influence and artistic expression.” This statement really does sum up so eloquently what visitors will see and hear when visiting this exhibition at the VMFA.
So upon walking through the doors, I am greeted with smiles and hello’s by a few VMFA workers, I pick up a brochure and I immediately see a thing of beauty… SLAB, 2021 (1990 Cadillac Brougham d’Elegance with custom accessories) [see below]…before you even walk into the actual exhibition one has to take a drive-by (rather walk-by lol) this classic vehicle, which in many ways sets the tone.
(“SLAB, 2021”-By: Richard FIEND Jones [aka International Jones] at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, VA, Picture Courtesy of Grace D. Gipson)
This clean ride brings some joy into my heart and definitely made me smile. But what would come next stops me in my tracks. In the distance, I hear this faint but “chill up your spine” sound reminiscent of “Strange Fruit” sung by Billie Holiday. And as i get closer of course my ears do not deceive me at all, it’s this one lyric “Black bodies swingin’ in the southern breeze” on loop… One moment you hear and see Billie Holiday and then the next you hear and see Jill Scott, while simultaneously you see this video of a little Black girl on a swing enjoying the simple pleasures in life! I was like WOW, I’m just getting started and they GOT me!!
The Dirty South in so many ways is about identity, preservation, labor, expression, pain, joy, faith, tradition, and so much more. There were many moments when I would either get goosebumps or this tingle of my spine ( a couple of times I felt both) after hearing a jarring sonic sound, or gazing at an image that left me speechless. With each room I never knew what to expect, which made the exhibition like this exploratory adventure. But it was also like a Southern scavenger hunt, where I had this internal list of artists and themes that I knew I would have to find. Some of these artists/creatives that I would find included Bisa Butler, Romare Bearden, Kara Walker, Nick Cave, Clementine Hunter, Fahamu Pecou, Sun Ra, Deborah Roberts, among many others!!
(A collage of various works [Fahamu Pecou, Kara Walker, Renee Stout, Clementine Hunter and Bisa Butler] that are part of “The Dirty South…” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, VA, Picture Courtesy of Grace D. Gipson)
The Southern Black experience and culture was truly present so much so that I definitely had a few out of body moments where my spirit momentarily left, eventually making its way back to my body. So often the south gets placed into a singular box, but this exhibition made it very clear that is definitely not the case. As I always say #RepresentationMatters and that message was loud and clearly (literally and figuratively)!! Your thinking of the South will definitely be transformed. Blackness is unapologetically centered, but is enhanced by a spiritual conjuring, the regional inclusions, the Black queer voice, the labor, the children, the sonic vibrations, and the persistence of Black folks from the past all the way to the future!! So many stories, so many voices, so many points of view, just so much to take in…this was a time where I welcomed the feeling of being overwhelmed….My cup runneth over!!
Another moment worth mentioning that really made a huge impact was the way in which children were represented. I appreciated that not only did I see the pain and trauma, but also the way in which many of the images of the children were so innocent, simple and carefree. Some of the photographs like the one below took me back to my childhood days of going to church with mama and grandma and dozing off into a brief slumber on their lap, or flipping through the hymnals and singing along with the choir….ohhhh the memories.
(Top-“Ali and Quentin in Church” [1988]; Bottom l-r- “Ali” and “Ali and Quentin on Avenue S” [1988] By: Marilyn Nance at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, VA, Picture Courtesy of Grace D. Gipson)
Nothing was off limits in The Dirty South, trust you will get it all and some!! Valerie Cassel Oliver, who serves as the exhibition curator creates a playing field that hits several home runs!! You will leave having many definitions of what the south represents. And without spoiling the last feature of the exhibition, I will say this just make sure you are prepared for every emotion to seep out of your body, just make sure to release and let it go…
Mississippi, Georgia (Atlanta), Alabama, Tennessee (Memphis), Texas (Houston), Louisiana (New Orleans), Florida (Miami) even parts of Africa and the galaxy have space in the The Dirty South exhibition. So if you have a chance, or you will be in the Richmond area it would be worth your while to stop by and check out this amazing aesthetic, cultural, and sonic experience!!
(“Strange Fruit” [1989] By: David Hammons at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA, Picture Courtesy of Grace D. Gipson)(“DJ Screw in Heaven 2 [2016] By: El Franco Lee II at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Richmond, VA, Picture Courtesy of Grace D. Gipson)
The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse will be at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through September 6th, 2021.
Black Future Feminist 