We wanted to test what would happen if we empowered Black women to be the authors of their own lives—with the understanding that they, and they alone, know what their families need. We wanted to explore what would happen if institutional power and resources were used in the service of Black women and not for their confinement and destruction.
Tag: Black Women
Farah Jasmine Griffin on the Legacy of Black Feminism—and the Black, Feminist Future
“I think the future of black feminism will either help to change the world or how we deal with the end of the world as we know it. And maybe these two things aren’t antithetical.”
How Black Feminist Scholars Remember Toni Morrison in the Classroom
To mark Morrison’s birthday today, black feminist scholars talk to Ms. columnist Janell Hobson their own best practices, their favorite texts from Morrison and how they choose to teach it in the classroom.
Black Feminist in Public: Veronica Chambers on the Power and Meaning of Beyoncé
“I think people who dismiss her as somehow being a lightweight or a pretty girl with some lucky breaks—as if you can create at that level without thinking critically!—that is actually just another sign of misogyny and how women are discounted for what they create. When we make exquisite things, people assume there are fairies in the night who do it with magic dust instead of looking at the work and the research and the effort that goes into it.”
What Tank and The Bangas Taught Me
When I saw Tank and the Bangas headline at the Apollo Theater, I saw a woman like myself—Black, voluptuous, creative—commanding center stage with her nine-piece band.
WATCH: Mothers of Color Called for Justice During the “State of the Mama” Address
While President Trump prepared to deliver his “State of the Union” address, Mothering Justice Michigan Executive Director Eboni Taylor offered an address to highlight disparities and inequalities Black mothers face and to challenge the public and policymakers to take action.
What the Moms 4 Housing Movement Reveals About the Homelessness Crisis
The optics were chilling: men in riot gear with AK47s drawn stormed into a home where homeless Black women and their children were seeking shelter in the cold, wet winter months. The images from the scene challenge us to examine how race and gender inequality are embedded in the DNA of our homelessness epidemic.
Black Feminist in Public: Celebrating Tricia Rose’s Milestone Year
Rose’s classic study, Black Noise: Rap Music and and Black Culture in Contemporary America, turned 25 this year—and was also named one of the top books of the 20th century by Black Issues in Higher Education. To mark the occasion, the American Studies Association featured a panel celebrating Rose and Black Noise featuring hip-hop and black cultural scholars. Rose sat down for an interview with Ms. to talk about hip-hop, feminism and the state of popular culture.
(Still) Unbought and Unbossed: Where Black Women Stood in 2019
What Black women need is more than a seat at the table. They need to be seen and valued and heard at the table, with the confidence to speak truth to power without retaliation. Better yet, our tremendous contributions should be matched with political and economic power.
How Attacks on the Affordable Care Act Hurt Black Women
The consistent chipping away at the law by conservative lawmakers and judges means those families could mean a return to millions of women losing the ability to properly care for the health of their families.