Poem: It Shouldn’t Take Courage to Love a Black Woman

We, too, desire to bask in the radiance of another’s glory 
To be bathed in joy, peace and tranquility 
To rest without anxiety and wake without urgency 
We don’t need this grace from everyone 
Nor do we expect a societal shift out of gratitude for services rendered 
But for our men… 
It shouldn’t take courage to love a Black Woman

I AM WOMAN: An Introduction

Looking Back to Move Forward In February 2018, I quit my corporate job with a determination to work and live as a writer and photographer. A few months later, several interests coalesced into a photo essay book idea that has become I AM WOMAN: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America. I AM WOMAN comes fromContinueContinue reading “I AM WOMAN: An Introduction”

I AM WOMAN: A Book List from the Timeline

421 Years of Black Women Using Their Words This book list is derived from the African American Women Using Our Words Timeline I developed for I AM WOMAN: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America. As with most creative projects, I had no idea where the timeline would lead. This is by no means a fullContinueContinue reading “I AM WOMAN: A Book List from the Timeline”

I AM WOMAN: A Timeline

African Women In America: Using Our Voices A Timeline: 1500 -2000’s This has been quite an undertaking for I AM WOMAN: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America! At first I assumed there had to be chronologies of African Women in America and our contributions or achievements throughout the centuries. But there really weren’t any. IContinueContinue reading “I AM WOMAN: A Timeline”

Isabel de Olvera: I Demand Justice.

Isabel de Olvera: I Demand Justice.
“I am going on the expedition to New Mexico and have some reason to fear that I may be annoyed by some individual since I am a mulatta, and it is proper to protect my rights in such an eventuality by an affidavit showing that I am a free woman, unmarried and the legitimate daughter of Hernando, a Negro, and an Indian named Magdalena….” 1600 AD
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Test Shoot: Friend R, “Delete the rest.”

Her response to her image gallery was, “Thanks for all your hard work! I see sickness in most of my photos…. I choose the ones I like…. I ask that you delete the rest.” I think her images and her comments add a great deal to the larger conversation of Black Womanhood in America. How we internalize our grief and disappointment. How they solidify and weigh us down in a deep abyss of cyclical suffering. How we can become incapable of seeing pass that one thing (situation, heartbreak, betrayal) that first knocked us down.

Test Shoot: Rhonda, “Delete the rest.”

Her response to her image gallery was, “Thanks for all your hard work! I see sickness in most of my photos…. I choose the ones I like…. I ask that you delete the rest.” I think her images and her comments add a great deal to the larger conversation of Black Womanhood in America. How we internalize our grief and disappointment. How they solidify and weigh us down in a deep abyss of cyclical suffering. How we can become incapable of seeing pass that one thing (situation, heartbreak, betrayal) that first knocked us down.

Update: I AM WOMAN Essay & Portrait Project

Still seeking written contributions for Phase 1: Experiences of Black Womanhood in America. If you would like to contribute, please email Shawnda@Spirit-Harvest.com.

Test Event: Women In the Black – Who’s the Boss

The Women in Black: Who’s the Boss Women’s Business Conference was the first of several events I attended this summer in an eveffort to go where BlackWomen were congreegated and ask for their time and paricipation in order to share our collective experiences with the world.