WEEK 10 - March 29
In 2017, Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality published a pivotal report, Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood. Using statistical analysis to assess the sentiments adults hold for Black girls, researchers found that adults believe that Black girls as young as 5 years old "…need less nurturing, protection, support and comfort than white girls of the same age." In "How Black Girls Aren't Presumed to Be Innocent," The Atlantic's Adrienne Green reviews the study and its implications that bias robs Black girls of their innocence and childhood joy.
In her perspective piece, "My Daughter Reminded Me Black Joy Is a Form of Resistance," Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts shares the surprising moment of peace she experienced amid a pandemic wrecking Black communities and social unrest at the urgency to protect Black lives.
Black joy is also creating virtual spaces for Black people5 to gather in community to advocate, mobilize and laugh in light of the struggle--not to minimize the impact of anti-Blackness, but to reaffirm our existence and find renewed strength to carry onward. The Root takes us through the last 10 years of Black Twitter in "How Black Twitter Changed the World." The video details the impact of Black Twitter on everything from popular culture to confronting racial injustice.
In a piece by Smithsonian Magazine, "Black Tweets Matter," we look more closely at how vital Black Twitter is to elevating Black voices and issues impacting the Black community. The article looks specifically at online events that turned into national calls to action to support Black people and artistry.
Discussion - March 29, 2021 | 12:00pm
WEEK 11 - April 5
Sonia Sanchez, a noted leader of the Black arts movement6 of the 1960s through the 1970s, said, "The black artist is dangerous. Black art controls the ‘Negro’s’ reality, negates negative influences, and creates positive images." In "Black Art is Dangerous," Guardian columnist Hannah Giorgis recounts how Black art is used as a medium for rebellion, political activism and self-love.
Residents of Flint, Michigan have been fighting for their government to provide them with safe, clean drinking water since their local water supply was diverted from Detroit to the Flint River in 2014. The water has exposed residents to toxic levels of lead, fecal bacteria, and the "third-largest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease recorded in US history"7.
Visual artist LaToya Ruby Frazier was commissioned to do a photo essay on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. In this video, Frazier reflects on environmental racism in both Flint and her hometown Braddock, Pennsylvania, and how a collective of Black artists managed to bring clean water to a city in crisis.
Discussion - April 5th, 2021 | 12:00pm
WEEK 12 - April 12
Today, we invite you to engage with Black artistry through perspectives in poetry and musical selections that demonstrate the breadth of the Black experience with joy and pain.
Poetry Selections
Musical Selections
Discussion - April 12th, 2021 | 12:00pm
WEEK 13 - April 19
Week 13, the celebration continues! Today we get a brief lesson on the experience of Black Latinx Americans in music and explore a few overlooked Black Latinx artists.
Section Review - April 19, 2021 | 12:00pm
