One Hundred Dips to Get Indigo Blue

It's a celebration, meet me now in all denim. This is the 100th post for the culture.

Photo Credit: Pinterest

When I started Blackstack Juneteenth 2024, I had no idea it would grow into what it is today. We went from a little corner carved out in this Substack space to building an infrastructure that is bigger than just you and me.

Blackstack is a platform for Black writers, and I haven’t found anything like us.

Our ancestors were tagged in indigo, while our culture dyed the world blue. The desire to study us through surveillance is proof that we are, and have always been, the blueprint. Not just in America, but throughout this land.

Skin stained blue from the cultivation of “blue gold”, a skill set only we hold. A blueprint only we know, a legacy only we grow. Our voice heard, as we read the words on the page, nodding our heads while wiping the tears that fell from our eyes. One hundred posts later, nine thousand subscribers, we must preserve the history that is being erased.

The platform has been built. The stories are ready to be told.

Through print publishing, we can preserve our own history without censorship.

One hundred posts, one hundred dips to achieve the indigo blue that gave us purpose for stitching the story back together.

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Blackstack Salon is today, Sunday, August 31st at 10am PT. Here’s the playlist we will vibe and write to, but meet us there for the prompts. Join Substack LIVE: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/46599?r=31je9k&utm_medium=ios

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Help Us Hit 100 More…

Blackstack runs off your unpublished submissions. If it’s already published, I will weave it into a “Black Reads” newsletter, but the Guest Byline features must be unpublished. I will recruit if I see you in these Substack streets writing about something that has been living rent-free in my mind. I love a good collaboration.

Submit your unpublished “Black Recipes” poem, essay, thought piece, thesis, or family recipe you want to share with us. Submissions are extended through the rest of the year. Here’s the link: https://forms.gle/KGoXKoUS3pj9St119

Engaging with the words helps other Black writers find their way home. It’s all about the algorithm, baby, not really, but to a certain degree. The more of us that engage with the work published by fellow Black writers keeps Black writers on our timeline. Engagement is free; it takes a few moments to let another Black writer know that you see them.

Consider becoming a Paid Subscriber or Zine Club member to help continue the print publishing work of Blackstack. I know some of you are new to Blackstack, so here is a quick rundown of who we are. In 2024, I turned Blackstack into a nonprofit print press publishing house for Black writers. This year, I took most of our newsletters from 2024 and turned our digital library into a coffee table hardcover magazine, cutting the middleman out completely. Through the magazine fundraiser, I was able to purchase the startup equipment to print, bind, and ship all preorders in-house, made in my living room. This month, I’ve been able to start sending out the first batch of magazine orders. I’m excited to work with Black authors next year to publish their debut novels, memoirs, poetry books, and children's books through Blackstack.

Paid subscribers and Zine Club members help with the operational costs to keep the publishing house going. Fees like monthly toner, ink, and paper restocks, bookbinding supply replenishments, website hosting fees, and other monthly costs that keep the business side of this publication running.

If you’d like to preorder your copy of the Blackstack Magazine: Issue 001 2025, here is the link to support. You will be redirected to download the digital copy to get right to the stories while I fulfill your order. Yes, it’s just me as a one-woman team, so patience is appreciated as I am building something that’s not been done like this before. Secure your coffee table magazine: https://www.theblackstack.org/product/blackstack-magazine-issue-one/16?cs=true&cst=custom

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I love y’all so much, this thing would not be thriving if it weren’t for each one of you! That’s a kind of love I will never take for granted.

xoxo,

Jacquie