Black Reads: Issue 017

It's interesting how Black culture is the imprint, but rarely represented. The question is no longer why, but how can we make sure our story is never misrepresented again?

Do you enjoy reading pieces that allow you to escape into a new world, or do you enjoy pieces that make you think?

And look, I’m not here to place judgment on your preference. I only want to know so I can better curate these newsletters. An all music “Black Reads”, or spirituality, or fiction stories, or a collection of poetry. You picking up what I’m putting down?

With that in mind, today’s newsletter is brought to you by a few pieces that got me thinking. I wouldn’t call them “think pieces” because of the intention and research put into each essay to drive the message home. For me, if I leave your piece pondering on the topic as the reader, then you drove that message home.

Before it becomes illegal to think, or worse, thinking no longer is free; I hope you enjoy these pieces that made me stop and ask myself, am I contributing to this issue that the author articulated, or do I see this as an issue too?

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One of the things I loved most about franceska’s essay is the research woven into a very well-thought out critique of, well, us. Not us as in Black people, but as a society. In every room, group, or even subculture there are the crickets making noise but not saying much at all. We know plenty of sheep, some of us even refer to ourselves as black sheep, but this essay made me think about how even as black sheep, we’re still following the “lost” herd so to speak. You’ll have to read this essay and let me know your thoughts on oxens and lions, and where you see yourself currently.

Respectfully, shut the f*ck up.

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As someone who created Blackstack to preserve the voice of Black writers, this piece was music to my ears if reading could activate other senses. There is a lost practice of cultural literacy, and I think Aasiyah Denise🤎 shred light on this state of emerenacy in the most beautiful way. It makes me think about the importance of preserving our personal experiences to contribute to cultural literacy, as Black writers this should be our intention woven into the craft.

The lost practice of cultural literacy

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Before I get into the context of this piece, I want to use this as an opportunity to share why I started Blackstack. As I read the title of this essay I thought, “YES!”, but as I read the essay I thought, “well, damn”. And I know that sentence wasn’t saying much so let me explain. One, the essay’s context is amazing using the McDonald’s metaphor was brilliant and executed well to really get the reader thinking but most importantly in my opinion made the reader self-reflect.

Now, to tie that into why I started Blackstack, Regina Black’s bio says straight up, “Black and Southern”, so we know this sister is here on this app to also connect with us. Yet her core engagement is white women, and no shade, but we know this algotherim is curated in a unique way, and I only discovered Regina after “resetting” my timeline. Many of us have people viewing our work, but is it the audience we are writing for? I’m not suggesting this to be Regina’s case, however, this was a perfect example of why I felt a curated space like Blackstack was important for this platform. We need to be able to find each other without the hassle, point blank period.

Everyone is Reading, But No One Likes It Anymore

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