Behind the Magazine: Community
Community is my favorite section because it came together from Community Day submissions, Black hair stories, Lovestack, and a true sense of what community looks and feels like. I hope y'all enjoy!
The curation of this magazine was my gift to the Blackstack community. As Shanté and I talked about sections I knew of three solid ones with community first on the list. Since the launch of Blackstack on Juneteenth 2024, there has been a flood of support from the Black community. We need third spaces, that is community by definition.
“Carving a corner of Substack for us created by us” was an intentional statement I wanted to be clear on what was understood. This platform as a whole was not created with us in mind, therefore our words get lost in voids or subject to racial comments. I wanted to create a safe space for us, but most importantly I wanted our words to have a home.
Digital home was the initial concept, but the desire to experience the words we shared in physical form began to take over my mind. I wondered if I could take our words and curate them into a tangible experience. Like always, I put the idea out for the community to respond to and within a few months I had stories, essays, poems, artwork, and photography within reach to cultivate a nostalgic magazine feeling for us. Think Jet, Essence, and Ebony but with your words, art, and photography.
Experiencing community at the exclusive pre-launch dinner was an opportunity for me to understand the impact on my efforts. We pre-launched on the first day of Black History Month the same year it was attempted to be erased, now we have documentation to prove we could never be erased. The magazine was originally published on Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, you can’t tell me this magazine is not divinely orchestrated. This community was founded on Juneteenth and here coming up on the first anniversary I will be able to share this gift with you.
For those who have preordered to help fundraise enough money to purchase the printers, book binding equipment, and supplies will be able to experience a year long work of art. Showcasing your stories, art, and photography published through Blackstack and every single book hand stitched and constructed by me.
The mission behind Blackstack to be provide more than just a platform for Black writers and creatives, but to be the print publication to help preserve our work. We don’t have to publish through traditional publications if we have our own. Our books can’t be banned if we have our own network to keep our books on shelves in Black-owned bookstores, this is how we started documenting our experiences. We don’t need a Charlotte Osgood Mason to sponsor us, we are already doing it solely off fundraising support.
That means WE TRULY OWN all rights to the work published through Blackstack. We are the example of how to Black community can come together to use our Black dollars to build Black legacy.
Look at us doing it!
Community Inspires Collaboration and Connection
We ignited a creative spark when we expanded the Legacy photo across two pages in the magazine. We fueled that inspirational flame by committing to the theme and curating collages for the other two sections. For the Community photo, I asked Jacquie for suggestions of symbols and artifacts she wanted to include. I would have used her collectibles to make the collage if we'd been in the same location. However, this was a virtual collaboration, so I got creative with things in my collection based on what she described.
I set a few items aside for our next co-working session, where Jacquie would experience the curation and photography in real-time. Like a mad scientist, I feverishly tried different combinations and pairings of the featured items. Yet, I remained consistently aware of whether something was missing or the colors felt out of balance. Eventually, I had to step away. Once I continued working on the collage, it only took a couple of placement changes to get it right. Like the Legacy image, I shot this on my iPhone with a desk lamp as the primary light source. The items in this photo are as follows:
The booklet for Nivea’s self-titled album
Toni Morrison’s Beloved
The gatefold image for Earth, Wind, & Fire’s I Am record
A 7’’ record for Stevie Wonder’s song “Master Blaster (Jammin’)”
The cassette for Celebration by Kool & The Gang
A bright red cassette for YG’s Stay Dangerous
The Isley Brothers’ 3+3 record
A hand-painted, wooden “LOVE” earring with the shape of Africa as the letter “O”
An illustration of Queen Latifah from the book The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop by Clover Hope
Dangly beaded earrings with the word “BLACK” spelled out
A bright yellow Sony Walkman
I included cards again — this time, I featured Zora Neale Hurston (as seen in the Literary Witches oracle deck) and Nina Simone (courtesy of the Black Power Tarot deck). Two small pillar candles (one red, one orange) complete the image.
From idea to final photo, this collaboration is proof of community.
Note from Editor
Thank you so much to everyone who has preordered a magazine!!!
Since we shared the opening newsletter of this Behind the Magazine series the preorders that have come in have allowed me to purchase the toner replacements needed and a better quality of paper to print on. Three more orders this week will allow me to purchase the Guillotine Heavy Duty paper cutter needed to trim the edges of the body text to avoid traveling into the city (San Francisco) just to trim. Two of this orders will support the purchase of this machine and the one will allow me to purchase the scoring board and knifes needed to bind the cover to the book boards to make the magazine hardcover.
Please consider helping us reach our fundraiser goal at www.theblackstack.org.
Thank you so much for almost a year of continued support!
I know you are here for the preview of the Community section curated in the Blackstack Magazine: The Visionary Issue One. Listen, I’m an artist and I’m very sensitive about my shit. I am happy with the magazine but I am walking away from it without being fully satisfied. However, this is only because I am a perfectionist looking to break free from my own shackles. This first issue gives me room to grow as a book artist and curator. So with that give some feedback in the comments this time, for the Legacy the engagement was so low I have been worried that y’all hate it. If you do hate it just don’t tell me, only positive comments I’m sensitive.
This is soooo good!! Congratulations 🎊
I can't read the whole thing in one sitting, but HOW GENEROUS OF YOU TO SHARE THIS WITH US DIGITALLY! The way I need the physical form of this magazine to live, breathe, and be shared in my home. I'm coming for y'all next paycheck!!!