Black Reads: Issue 033
Read the first part for all community updates when it comes to in-person events, but there are also some really good Black reads, so read the whole thing actually :)
Y’all feel that shift happening? It’s the liminal space it feels like we are in right now, between the break of something new and the end of something familiar. It’s uncomfortable here; a lot of people avoid talking about it, but I need to say it.
It’s time for us as Black folk to realize we have more than just power to shift our reality; we also have the readiness and ability. This moment we are living in is history in the making, and the ancestors are asking us to claim our story as they taught us to through theirs.
Blackstack is shifting, and it will continue doing so until the mission is accomplished, preserving Black stories. I was accepted into the ARTogether Mentorship and Residency Cohort here in Oakland, CA, this month, and I get to keep on May 3rd! This is a huge first step towards Blackstack being a brick-and-mortar to exist as a third space. In this residency, I will have the space and opportunity to set up the full print publishing house and move out of my living room and kitchen.
Mentally, this will take a huge weight off my shoulders and allow me the opportunity to freely create again to complete the preorders. Don’t worry, I’m not doing this kind of project anytime soon. Instead, I’ll be publishing print zines for us, starting with some of the submissions from 2025 til currently. I’m so excited to share more about this as I learn more during my time in the residency.
If you are able to donate towards the tuition and moving costs, I was encouraged by community members to create a fundraiser link. I appreciate you all for the grace and support, truly!
A couple more things are going on that y’all need to know about.
This Saturday is the Blackstack Brooklyn Chapter writing event at the Macon Library in BedStuy, hosted by three and a possible, Emerald. The theme is Lemonade Listening Party and Write-In to recognize the ten year anniversay of the album.
And the last thing for now, the Blackstack Family Reunion ticket sale is closing next Friday, May 1st, at midnight Pacific Time. The hotel booking cutoff is May 19th, so be sure to get your ticket so I can send you the link to secure your room.
Poetry is so powerful that it moves you in ways you never imagined a few words constructed together could make you feel, and this essay about poetry takes you there on a completely new route. And it’s a beautiful scenic one. Nick George, is another community member I’ve had the pleasure of meeting offline before online, and in our first interaction, he expressed his love for writing, then, and I could feel it. So to read this one, I am truly moved, and I think many of you will be too, from the passion and love for writing.
Emerald, this host for the Blackstack Brooklyn Chapter event this Saturday, and I felt it was only right to share this dope, Black-ass poem. Even the handle, three and a possible is brilliant. I think you’ll enjoy this one, fam!
As a Black woman whose life is dedicated to cultural work, this read felt nourishing to my soul. I felt seen and held in Qubilah Huddleston’s words. This work is teaching me to be kind and that being nice is damn near like selling my soul—it’s fake. We aren’t taught to preserve ourselves, to tend to our needs before we step foot into the world outside of us, ready to suck us dry.
Pouring from your overflow is my motto when it comes to nurturing relationships, because baby if I ain’t got it for me then I simply don’t have it to give. This poem, written by HER, captures the essence of what it means to pour from your overflow, and demonstrates exactly what it costs you when you don’t.
I love y’all and thank you for the love, grace, and support from all of y’all!
First things first!!! Congrats on the residency!!!! YAASSSS!! I know the ancestors are SO elated!! And as far as the shift? Yes, been felt it and I agree with that whole caption of it taking 1/2 my life to truly innerstand me! It's a beautiful shift, many weights lifted, and more freedom to just B E ME!! Unapologetically and sometimes, respectfully!
I’m so glad you felt seen by my work, Jacquie. That’s honestly why I do most of what I do. Too many of us, who have been conditioned to do it all with a smile on our face, are saying no more and folks is pissed. Oh well, not our problem. I wish for more Black women (and Black people in general) to exercise boundaries as a means to keep ourselves whole. We must do this work 😌