Black Reads: Issue 001
It's too many of us writing our little hearts out to only have one or two likes, Black Reads is here to change that. A little exposure to the community who best resonates with your perspective anyway!
Our community is a safe hub that connects Black writers with Black readers.
Black Reads is a newsletter shared with posts from writers within our community and the intention is for us to support our BlackStack family with a like, comment, and share/quote. We have to build a network to help push our work, and we have a community of 260+ subscribers so here is a first attempt to help each other grow both online and off!
Notes Highlights
Here are a couple of Notes curated for a fun little Black vibe.
Black Reads
When cultivating this space for us I wanted it to serve as a hub for “Black News” but basically our Notes and Posts. This first draft is a start to the series with a simple format similar to Substack Reads, but I didn’t want formatting to keep me from sharing our content that’s what it’s about!
You may see your post if you shared on the Rollcall I posted earlier this week, if not and you want to share drop your link in the chat and I will include it in our next issue. Depending on how often we get a flow of pieces I will post as frequently as daily if we love the vibe!
Enjoy Black Reads!
THE BLK PRSPCTV: Where Black Creativity Takes Center Stage
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Hey all!
With Lil’ Kim‘s 50th birthday this Thursday, I want to highlight my post where I break down the brilliance of her album cover for her debut offering, "Hard Core."
It turned the hip-hop world upside and her promo poster had aunties everywhere clutching their pearls!!
I explore how this fearlessness of image and Kim's unapologetic style reset new standards for female empowerment in music.
(THE BLK PRSPCTV Formely BLK ART BITES ) 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾
OURstory’s Substack
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O•U•R (Our Understanding of Reality) Story is a publication focusing on the histories of those in the African diaspora. Bridging the gap between African Americans & Africans.
Lately, I have been exploring my creative writing side which may consist of my favorite movies, novels, or simply my life. Check out this last post concerning the stories of the women in my family!
Ason Thinks
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Ason Thinks is a newsletter and blog for writer and artist Ason Magnetic. I focus on topics regarding Black culture, the entertainment industry, economics, geology, and my personal perspective on my life as a young Black man. I use poetry, monologues, fiction, and spoken word as my primary forms of expression. Here is my latest piece:
The Original Baddie
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Expanding the meaning of a "baddie" by sharing about my multifaceted experiences as a woman of color. It goes beyond the perfectly curated image and into the real, relatable experiences and the beautifully ordinary.
I write about the journey, not the destination.
Deeply, By Tangina Stone.
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Hello loves <3 I just dropped my first piece since my post-opp journey began. I would really appreciate you taking a moment to read it and engage with it <3
off the record.
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This is a MUST READ! After you read this piece you will understand why.
Art Life by Alex B Artistry
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A reminder to those who desperately need time to themselves. Just do it!
Take that PTO, do a solo date, go for a walk or run…do whatever you gotta do so you can be a happy human. Choosing to be alone is not selfish, but there are people that don’t understand what it means to have peaceful time alone regularly. Don’t allow anyone to make you feel guilty or nag you about that.
Lookinthemirah
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Whew, my latest piece is finally out! This year I’ve just been allowing my vulnerability to do its thing, as I lean into it and let my feelings flow. This happened in June/August of 2018, yet I can still remember this moment as if it happened yesterday. When that lightbulb went off and I realized where all these untrue thoughts about myself had come from, turning into a snowball, it was a major breakthrough in my life.
Harmonious Balance
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Harmonious Balance is my newsletter. While it may sound all rosy and woo-woo, my mission is to tackle the topics that throw us and keep us off-balance. Not so rosy conversations. My latest piece centers on our National Identity Crisis.
Kutimba With Siima
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Hello everyone, hope you’re all having a wonderful week.
My newsletter accompanies my podcast, “Kutimba With Siima.” “Kutimba” is a word from Runyankole, a language spoken in Uganda. It translates to dig up and means to delve deeper into something.
The newsletter explores how I conceptualize episodes. I share my research and additional clips from my interviews.
The latest edition features Claudette Johnson, a significant figurative artist. She was at the forefront of the Black art feminist movement and is a 2024 Turner Prize finalist.
John Noire
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Life Told Through Rap - A fictional series that explores the art of storytelling through a curated selection of electronic, hip-hop, and R&B albums. The most recent post is a short story about rediscovering religion, set to the sounds of the seminal hip-hop classic ATLiens by OutKast:
InternetCore
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I recently wrote an article about the famous speculative fiction “Parable of the Sower” written by Octavia Butler (the main character is a black female lead), and how we can learn to find community with one another during the current political and socioeconomic hard times.
It’s a little long (my bad! I have a lot of thoughts), but I think that it’s good to be able to think about all the ways to healthily bond and help one another instead of tearing each other down during times of need.
Reese Speaks
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Hey wussup hello! I write about my thoughts and feels on community, art, music and all things personal development as I immerse myself in the culture of SoCal. I’m kind of new here and would love for you to check out my bi-monthly newsletter:
The Sixth Circle
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Wrote a poem revolving around the topic of black women having to spill their blood to quench the thirst of revolution/liberation while simultaneously being discarded and disregarded by society. I hope you enjoy and thank you for amplifying my voice.
Sketchbook Shenanigans
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Hey Everyone, I’m Martine Sketchbook Shenanigans is my art newsletter where I share my art and tutorial-type content
A Blues For Dria
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I’d love to add my latest piece on our fave uncle Denzel and aging. ☺️
Najah Amatullah on Substack
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Lately, I’ve been writing about the transition from Guatemala to the US.
Pieces of Me
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Hi, I’m K.Mack, a writer | director who writes in raw. I write to try to make sense of the chaos.
here comes the sun.
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Hey everyone! I’m Ashleigh Vaughn and “here comes the sun” is a publication of my life happenings and experiences with bipolar disorder. My writing is raw, vulnerable, and transparent. I write to heal myself and others, especially my fellow Black women who struggle like I do.
As Told By BB
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Hi everyone, I’m Brittany of the AsToldByBB publication. My posts are ever-evolving compilations of thoughts, music, and a little bit of daydreaming. Fashion, Faith, and other things are the usual topics.
The Journal of Ashe
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Hello hello! I’m Ashe, and I’m just a lady from the Midwest with a lot of time on her hands (quite suddenly) and a lot of thoughts in her head (quite regularly). I do hope you’ll join me for my stream-of-consciousness writing (my favorite kind, as it seems conversational), occasional poetry, and occasional artwork. I’m all over the place, really. 😌
The Introspective Black Girl
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Just published my first post and I feel so at home. Black girlhood and the transition into womanhood are near and dear to my heart and I can’t wait to just keep writing about it truly!
A Dope Black Girl with Anxiety
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Let’s be honest it’s time to throw that humble shit out the window.
Chronicles of Change
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Here is my weekly newsletter titled Hood Therapy but in this one I discuss the joy of being home and how this journey has caused me to be inspired by me!
thank you note to our subscribers
These past couple weeks have been a bit overwhelming to say the least. Over 200 subscribers with five paid subscriptions on an account that is less than a month old is INSANE behavior. But I am here for it!
Special thanks to
, , and for your yearly subscriptions after Week 3: Sunday Service Announcements dropped this past week.And a special thanks to
and for your monthly subscriptions which were the start to this beautiful domino effect in support.Between the ‘collection plate’ being passed around and the ‘building fund’ being funded I want to say I appreciate the love and support with all of my heart. This community means everything to me and I am happy to see it be received so well within our community!
With your support, I can’t wait to see how far this community can grow!
If you are not a paid subscriber yet and you want to support the mission all memberships are 20% off right now. Or if you would like to send a one time offering here is the collection plate.
Until next time, I will see y’all at Sunday Service Announcements!
Thank you,
Jacquie
i LOVE the format of this!
Feed me short Notes, memes and updates as an appetizer then longer form pieces complete with introductions.
You doing it, Jacquie! 🧿
Glad I found this space. I have been wondering where We are. I'm about to have a chicken sandwich and try not to follow EVERY account. It's not going to work but a girl can try.
I am a self published author and big fan of books- fiction mostly but I love a juicy nonfic.