The Cypher
An Oldie But Goodie + Radical Mother Stories + Feminist AF
Classic Black Feminism:
I have been revisiting classic essays by Black feminists for the last year. This week, I re-read Audre Lorde’s essay “Learning from the 60s,” and still section preached to me.
“As Black people, if there is one thing we can learn from the 60s, it is how infinitely complex any move for liberation must be. For we must move against not only those forces which dehumanize us from the outside, but also against those oppressive values which we have been forced to take into ourselves. Through examining the combination of our triumphs and errors, we can examine the dangers of an incomplete vision. Not to condemn that vision but to alter it, construct templates for possible futures, and focus our rage for change upon our enemies rather than upon each other. In the 1960s, the awakened anger of the Black community was often expressed, not vertically against the corruption of power and true sources of control over our lives, but horizontally toward those closest to us who mirrored our own impotence.
We were poised for attack, not always in the most effective places. When we disagreed with one another about the solution to a particular problem, we were often far more vicious to each other than to the originators of our common problem.”
Read:
Mothering at the End of the World by Julietta Singh
This stirring read about teaching your children a truer history than whitewashed American narratives, and what it means to mother in these times.
The Hard Truth About My Surrogacy Journey — Gabrielle Union — This piece will break you open. Proceed with caution.
Why Some Black Women are Going Back to Relaxers — Every generation of Black women must have their Black hair reckoning.
Watch:
Black Feminist Scholar extraordinaire Farah Jasmine Griffin has a new book out. Here she is in conversation with Edwidge Danticat about Read Until You Understand. What a treat!
This week was the 58th anniversary of the Birmingham Church Bombing, which happened September 15, 1963. Contrary to popular belief, there were five little girls. Four were killed, but one Sarah Collins Rudolph survived. See her interview with Joy Reid here.
Stay Tuned:
For announcements about our upcoming book tour!!!! for Feminist AF: A Guide To Crushing Girlhood. It drops OCTOBER 5!!! Pre-order now and gift it to all the young passionate people in your life, or read it for yourself. We wrote this book as much for young people today as for the young people we used to be, who needed this work.
