Five women officers of the Womenās League in Newport, Rhode Island, c.1899.
Photo courtesy US Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. Previously displayed as part of the American Negro exhibit at the Paris Exposition of 1900. āļø
- not all Black American women are wearing afro hairstyles, and it is not a requirement. What is inside of your head matters more than the way you style the beautifully nappy hair on top of it.
- Black America has it's own rich culture and history that deserves serious studying, as it is so influential in a global sense...and also, please do not neglect the fact that Africa is an entire giant continent made up of many African countries. It is about a 10 hour flight from the top to the bottom of continent.
- it is possible to drink water or fresh juice while agreeing that both of those men made significant and valuable contributions, no need to pit them against each other. The FBI and CIA already did that.
- sharing some books and links for all the wonderful Black American female poets and authors who exist and have works just as well, if not better...then cozy up on a group chat to discuss the beautiful and disturbing parts of what you've all read together!
(I know she meant well but as an OG Black American in academia, I felt the need to offer a gentle revision.)
African American dark academia:
-Helping each other comb our afroās
- Quizing each other on African mythology
- Drinking tea as we debate who did more for the black community malcom x or marthin luther king jr
āFrom the earliest days of American literature, Black women have made invaluable contributionsāalthough their work was often discounted, criticized, or ignored. To counter this history, the online publication Zora (named for author Zora Neale Hurston) created The Zora Canon, a collection of the 100 most prominent books written by African American women. Even better, most of these books are available to check out for free on the Internet Archive!ā
Idk if anyone else feels this way but I get really frustrated when you tubers and people are critical of the dark academia community because it feels so superficial. Like noticing that it can be Eurocentric, noticing that there is a lack of women, noticing that the inequality is there. I wouldnāt call myself a spokesperson or anything but Iāve been in the literature community here for a while and Iām also a woman/wlw/mixed race person and like,, I see so many people on here using classical literature and study and the community to fight to be included in spaces that we are denied from. Iāve read a lot of books I never wouldāve read if not for recommendations of others on here which have broadened my cultural perspectives. And obviously there is a lot of internal debate in the community about inclusion. A lot of the conversations going on by people who are not in the community Iāve found have been disappointing because the critiques start and end with ādark academia is a community dedicated to learning, but itās an aesthetic/fashion so itās hypocritical and superficialā and it feels like itās making fun of the feminine aspects of the community. Iāve seen creators I really respect repeating talking points that the community discusses all the time like āgotchaā moments. Listen, Iāve got a lot of issues with this community, and I donāt agree with a lot of things that are done or said. But I donāt think many of these creators are discussing the community in any meaningful way, if that makes sense