Kola Speaks: Banned by Black Men
Why can’t we clone Kalamu Ya Salaam, Keidi Awadu, Barack Obama, L. Martin Johnson Pratt and Derrick Bell? Why can’t we just let those be the Black men with privilege?
I warn you, this commentary is going to be…very blatant.
But we need it so bad.
***
As I prepare to headline a singing and reading recital this Friday at the renowned National Black Theater in Harlem; and do a book signing at the nation’s top Black bookstore, Hue-Man, this Saturday-I still find myself melancholy over the fact that a prominent African-American bookstore owned by two Black Males has banned me from ever appearing at their store or having my books sold there.
Read more at the source.
For the tl;dr crowd: this is about the silencing of black women by black men, and it sort of touches the way blacks pick and choose their African identity. Boof's books were banned from EsoWon, a black bookstore in LA, along with several other black women writers. By her own admission, this is no polished essay; it reads more like her venting her frustrations with sexism. If you read this in its entirety, you might've picked up on some (potentially) problematic sections. Still, I felt this was an interesting enough read.
Has anyone read her works before? Love it, hate it? This is the first time I've heard of her.
I warn you, this commentary is going to be…very blatant.
But we need it so bad.
***
As I prepare to headline a singing and reading recital this Friday at the renowned National Black Theater in Harlem; and do a book signing at the nation’s top Black bookstore, Hue-Man, this Saturday-I still find myself melancholy over the fact that a prominent African-American bookstore owned by two Black Males has banned me from ever appearing at their store or having my books sold there.
Read more at the source.
For the tl;dr crowd: this is about the silencing of black women by black men, and it sort of touches the way blacks pick and choose their African identity. Boof's books were banned from EsoWon, a black bookstore in LA, along with several other black women writers. By her own admission, this is no polished essay; it reads more like her venting her frustrations with sexism. If you read this in its entirety, you might've picked up on some (potentially) problematic sections. Still, I felt this was an interesting enough read.
Has anyone read her works before? Love it, hate it? This is the first time I've heard of her.