I have a very close relationship with my mother so when I found out about What We Lose a couple of years ago I was really excited to pick it up. However, I never got a chance to find it so I sort of forgot about it but I followed Zinzi Clemmons on social media. I've been keeping up with her essays and musings for a while now so it was easy for me to get into what she was saying. Zinzi Clemmons' musings on the world around her in this book reminds me a lot of Zadie Smith, another biracial author who I respect. The narrator Thandi is so introspective and analytical and it makes for a novel that refuses to let the reader feel detached from the story. I felt everything Thandi was feeling throughout this novel. From the loss of her mother to the deterioration of her marriage and her father growing apart from her. She explores what it means when someone who practically forms your identity is ripped away from you. I found myself questioning what I would do or how I would feel if my mother was taken from me in any way. Perhaps it is because of my close relationship with my mother that I don't see any flaws with this novel but I recommend this to anyone who has lost a parent or anyone with an extraordinary relationship with their parent. It's an easygoing read without the pretentious writing style of someone of Zinzi Clemmons' caliber. What We Lose is evocative, smart, gripping, and extremely hard to put down. via @goodreads
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Tee-shirt “talers” share tales about Tee-shirts celebrating Black Culture
“Believe In A Black Girl” : Kaylia Ferguson bought her tee in support of a Harlem non-profit who organize “college showers” for Black girls going to college for the first time
“Black King in Brooklyn” : Alvin Ciceron bought his tee in support of his friend, owner of Brooklyn /barn which features tees celebrating African-Americans as Black Kings & Queens
“Well-Read Black Girl” : Abena Hutchful shows her support for the website wellreadblackgirl.com which celebrates Black female writers
“Black Girl Magic” Vanne McMillian talks about her brand Black Girl Magic by Vanne
“Black Male” Scott Thomspon talks about his “Black Male” tee purchase during a “Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Art” exhibit focusing on the Black Male held at the Whitney Museum
(subscribe to Teeshirttales YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoWpDDCSGsn8MW9p3f5KzuQ
Black-centered book clubs like Well-Read Black Girl, Noname Book Club and others pay homage to Black writers while empowering countless others
“Black literature is the key to undoing our indoctrination,” Lauren said. “The clubs serve as reminders that our oppression requires collective forgetfulness from one generation and complete ignorance from the one that follows.”
She said this was crucial as she listened to the discourse within Black communities around policing this year. “Watching Black people argue in favor of police made it clear to me that more people need access to the conversations I got to witness online,” Lauren said.
With the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, some Black-centered book clubs have aimed to provide anti-racist resource lists for those seeking education and healing. Many book club members have said their meetings are one of the only places they feel safe to speak freely and comfortably among other Black women.
“I think that it has made me feel a lot less alone,” Morgan said. “Originally, we allowed allies into the group, but that changed the whole experience. When the group became Black women-focused, it allowed us to let loose and to be ourselves.”
Jehan Giles, another WRBG member, added: “Black women spend so much of our day-to-day life in and out of the micro- and macro-aggressive spaces that weren’t designed for us. To be in a space that was designed for us allows us to lean on sisterhood in order to imagine a world that cares for us, specifically.”
Meanwhile, book club leaders such as Noname and King said they aim to curate a space for political literacy with Black people at the helm. These learning experiences allow readers of color to take charge of their own self-education with books such as “Prison by Any Other Name,” “Disability Visibility” and “Captive Genders.”
In addition to spreading knowledge, many of these groups are also looking for ways to help small and local businesses. For example, WRBG and Black Feminist Bookmobile often partner with local bookstores and libraries, as a way to divert book purchases from Amazon while also building stronger ties within communities.
Many of these book clubs, including the Black School of NY also share curated lists of bookstores and other businesses owned by people of color to support their dollars. Noname Book Club has worked with over 200 library branches across 15 cities and maintains a list of more than 100 Black-owned bookstores.
“Literature is one way for Black women to voice their desires for freedom, liberation and equality,” Edim said. “I am encouraged by the work being done by Black women writers like Sarah M. Broom, Saidiya Hartman, Lynell George, and Kaitlyn Greenidge. These writers continue to correct the historical record and counter the absence of Black women in literary representation.”
To realize this goal, WRBG will bring together thousands of women this year for a virtual edition of its annual Well-Read Black Girl Festival, starting Friday, November 6th. The annual festival brings together readers and writers with a mission to provoke conversations around publishing, politics and pop culture, and to amplify new work by Black artists, authors and activists.
The theme this year is Black Political Power: Past & Present, and panelists include authors Tiffany Jackson, Mahogany L. Browne, Morgan Parker and Mikki Kendall. Poet Nikki Giovanni will be the keynote speaker.
While the WRBG Festival is usually an in-person gathering of hundreds of book-lovers, the space for respite and revolution will be virtual this year. But the mission remains: paying homage to Black women writers whose work empowers countless others.
Reposted from @wellreadblackgirl ac·tiv·ism - the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change #rent 🌎 #wellreadblackgirl #wrbg - #regrann (at Duke Forest) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBX3MZeH8hY/?igshid=1o9tgwk6uqa8s
Next book club pick for @wellreadblackgirl at @caprichosbooks is Zora Neal Hurston’s Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick with foreword by @tayari ! Come join us at @caprichosbooks on March 15th at 3PM. Support local bookstores and buy from the store directly or buy from the link above! 💋 * * * Synopsis: * Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s “lost” Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurston’s world. All are timeless classics that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writer’s voice and her contributions to America’s literary traditions. * #wrbg #bookstagram #zoranealehurston #diversifybookstagram #chasingadventuresbookclub #blackhistorymonth https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Bz1ibgPXN/?igshid=lpj6rxmw1c81
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#coffeedate #wrbg * * * Book club meeting today with @caprichosbooks at 2PM! * I had such a fun time reading this one with my hubby! He’s probably a little jealous that he’s not invited to the book club meeting, so I’ll treat him to coffee and good convo beforehand💋 * I super enjoyed this book! It’s hilarious and a perfect book club read. There’s lots of commentary on “liberal” white people , the definition of success and what it means to be a “martyr” or symbol of a movement. @kileyreid carefully navigates this plot line while still providing plenty of humor and angst associated with light hearted fiction. A great read for good laughs and coffee dates 💋 * * * #bookstagram #bookgirlmagic #reesewitherspoonbookclub #suchafunage (at Caprichos Books) https://www.instagram.com/p/B86L_2rgx7U/?igshid=1krt0wkpiow1a
Happy Self Care Sunday! * This month, we’re reading Such a Fun Age by @kileyreid as a part of the @caprichosbooks group of @wellreadblackgirl. I thought it would be fun to make this a read along. * So for Week 1, we’re going to read Part 1. It’s about 71 pages and I’m guessing about 2 hours on audiobook. This is the thread we can share quotes, questions and favorite parts of this section of the book! * @book_girl_magic and @reesesbookclub also chose this book, so go show their posts some love! * Happy Reading! ❤️ * * * #wrbg #bookgirlmagic #chasingadventuresbookclub #readsoullit #diversifybookstagram #bookstagram (at Harford County, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7yoRj6g0_U/?igshid=11neo0z6li78y
Next up in the @wellreadblackgirl book club is The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by @brandycolbert ! Pick up a copy from @caprichosbooks and join us in our next discussion on November 3rd at 2PM! * Synopsis: Dove "Birdie" Randolph works hard to be the perfect daughter and follow the path her parents have laid out for her: She quit playing her beloved soccer, she keeps her nose buried in textbooks, and she's on track to finish high school at the top of her class. But then Birdie falls hard for Booker, a sweet boy with a troubled past...whom she knows her parents will never approve of. * When her estranged aunt Carlene returns to Chicago and moves into the family's apartment above their hair salon, Birdie notices the tension building at home. Carlene is sweet, friendly, and open-minded--she's also spent decades in and out of treatment facilities for addiction. As Birdie becomes closer to both Booker and Carlene, she yearns to spread her wings. But when long-buried secrets rise to the surface, everything she's known to be true is turned upside down. * * * * * * #wrbg #wellreadblackgirl #bookstagram #bookish #cocochasingadventures #indiebookstore #autumn #fall (at Caprichos Books) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3kU6NUgtE5/?igshid=fc62uduz83qy
