Amplifying 300+ years of resistance in the archives, preserving records of today's acts of resistance
What does Louise tell us about herself in what appears to be the only existing professional photo of her? What clues are there in her attire, her make-up, her facial expression, her stance, or in her inscription to dancer Ludie …
In this research process, I’ve begun building my own personal collection of books written by Black LGBTQ+ people. I already own some chapbooks, a few zines, and a couple of anthologies by community members, but I have started to become …
also knickknack, nicknack, “a pleasing trifle, toy,” 1570s, a reduplication of knack (n.) “ingenious device, toy, trinket” (1530s), a specialized sense of knack (n.) “stratagem, trick.” (from the Online Etymology Dictionary)
i buy back all the spirits turned into toys:…
This past Women’s History Month started out with me reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. I have been thinking through fugitive and escape narratives, as they relate to the historical trajectory of Abolition …
Last summer I was blessed enough to be among the first cohorts for Now Memories: Spiritual Anthology of Black Herbal Wisdom, hosted by Nana Catherine’s Apothecary. Each week we would gather, a gaggle of passionate Black femmes, budding spiritual herbalists, …
At the time of my last blog post, I was anticipating doing an oral history interview with Louise Madison’s granddaughter, Carol. Carol and I have been in contact off and on for about the past 15 years as each of …
“…promiscuous, reckless, wild and wayward…”
I’ve been thinking a lot about ways to approach the oral history interview I have scheduled with Louise’s granddaughter at the end of January. I’ve known Carol for maybe 15 years, since her first email …