audre lorde
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PageTurners: The Literary Journey of Black Voices
Black history has been passed down from generation to generation through storytelling. Stories of religion, trauma, love and family have been the backbone of our communities, and the most recent releases from Black authors continue that tradition. In a time where meeting and being together in person is near impossible, using literature to have deep…
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'Writing to Make a Difference in This World,' Roxane Gay Launches a MasterClass
“You don’t need to be brave when you’re writing; you need to acknowledge that you’re terrified—and do it anyway,” so says author-educator-activist Roxane Gay, who has arguably produced some of the bravest writing of the past decade. Whether deconstructing (and humorously challenging) what it means to be a feminist in Bad Feminist, or plumbing the…
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With a $2 Million Gift, Spelman Will Launch the First-Ever HBCU Queer Studies Chair in Honor of Audre Lorde
“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid,” wrote activist, poet, author and feminist icon Audre Lorde, who in life and legacy has become a beacon for subsequent generations on the intersections of race, gender and…
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Turning a New Page, the Schomburg Literary Festival Is Going Virtual—and Global—for 2020
OK, so let’s articulate the obvious: There will be no tents or stages at the Schomburg Literary Festival this year. There will be no road-tripping or traveling to New York City’s beloved Harlem or electric anticipation in the line for in-person author signings. There will be no flipping through the fresh, crisp pages of a…
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15 Inspirational Audre Lorde Quotes You Need to Read Right Now
Lorde may be gone from this Earth, but her words will continue to live on and inspire year after year.
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Book Excerpt: 'Love as Political Resistance' From adrienne maree brown's Pleasure Activism
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from adrienne maree brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, a collection of original and curated works drawing from the black feminist tradition to challenge us to rethink the ground rules of activism. Audre Lorde taught us that caring for ourselves is “not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and…
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Unapologetic: Activist and Author Charlene Carruthers Says Radical Movements Require Radical Honesty
If you ask activist and author Charlene Carruthers whom she hopes will read her new book, she’ll mention teenagers and veteran activists—but first on her list is black women and girls. “My greatest hope is that black women and girls love this book, and appreciate this book. Because if black women and girls like it…
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Black Women, Don’t Throw Up Hands—Call the Bank of Hysteria to Vent
Sexual harassment got you down? Microaggressions become too much? Poverty a pain in the ass? Racism got you fucked up? Well, black women, there’s now a place to place all of your justifiable but sometimes “problematic” anger, an actual depository to just vent, let loose and scream (or text) your ass off like Nola Darling…
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My Mother Is White, I Am Not: On Being Biracial Without Identity Issues
Editor’s note: This piece speaks from the perspective of being biracial with black and white parents. I realize that other biracial ethnic mixes may or may not share any of these experiences. A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece called “Black Folks Who, Though Invited, Probably Wouldn’t Come to the Cookout.” On this list…
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The Radical Uses of Anger: All White Women Aren’t the Enemy, but White Supremacy Always Is
Black women have never labored under the assumption that all womanhood is created equal in a white supremacist society. We have had to fight for access to the full spectrum of womanhood, to be treated not as breeding chattel but as fully human. We know white supremacy to be a feminist issue on the most…