Still Brave. The Evolution of Black Women’s Studies.- An Interview With My Mom

As March comes to an end, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate Women’s History Month and I thought what better way than to interview one of the coolest women I know…my mom. As a fourth generation black feminist, I have been blessed to grow up in a community of amazing scholarship and activism. While most people can easily list the ways in which their mother has contributed to shaping who they are, I am fortunate to also be able to discuss how my mother and her colleagues have shaped the perception of black women in the world.

In 1982 scholars Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith published a ground breaking anthology, All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women’s Studies. “That was an intervention into the marginalization of Black women,” said Stanlie James, Professor of African and African American and Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University. The title came about as the result of black women being systematically ignored and excluded from both Women’s Studies and Black Studies.

“Merely to use the term, ‘Black women’s studies” is an act charged with political significance. At the very least, the combine of these words to name a discipline means taking the stance that Black women exist-and exist positively- a stance that is in direct opposition to most of what passes for culture and thought on the North American continent.” wrote co-editors Global T. Hull and Barbara Smith in the 1982 edition.

The anthology was a success. It became what is called an “evergreen”, meaning that the press continued to print it because people continued to buy it. After a few decades it became clear that the field had greatly expanded and that it was time for an updated version. The Feminist Press invited Nellie McKay, co-editor of the Norton Anthology of African America Literature to begin the daunting process of re-envisioning this project. She invited my mother, Stanlie James to join her in co-editing the new anthology.

Unfortunately, McKay passed away before it could be completed, leaving behind a spectacular career of scholarship and very explicit instructions to Stanlie to have their friends and colleagues Beverly Guy-Sheftall, and Frances Smith Foster collaborate with her to finish the project.

It took several years, but in 2009 Still Brave. The Evolution of Black Women’s Studies, was published. “What we did first was to survey the field, and what we found out was that the field had absolutely blossomed in the interim period. We were thinking of doing a regular anthology, but once we saw what was written and the fact that Black Women’s Studies had permeated so many fields, we had to pick a selection,” James explained.

The anthology includes works from accomplished and established scholars including bell hooks, Alice Walker, the Combahee River Collective, Audre Lorde, Paula Giddings, Patricia Hill Collins, and young upcoming scholars such as Nikol G. Alexander-Floyd and Evelyn M. Simien and many more. The collection is not meant to be a best of the best, but rather a broad representation of the field, a space for people to engage in the field of Black Women’s Studies. “It’s a way to pay homage to a book that was almost paradigmatic in the field and it was also a way to say this is what we’ve accomplished and to think about what we need to do in the future,” recounted James.

That future lies in globalization. “Black Women’s Studies is globalized. The future is to acknowledge that it is not just an Afro-American thing. It is diasporic. At the same time it speaks to all women of color,” stated James.

Black Women’s Studies, beyond helping to propel black women from the margin towards the center of history and scholarship, has also been influential for creating space for the stories of others. “We have provided a role model for Native American Women’s Studies, Chicana Women’s Studies, and Asian American Women’s Studies. All of that developed after Black Women’s Studies. Now they have gone their own way and used their cultures to shape their scholarships,” stated James.

Some will call it a cannon, a milestone, or a legacy, but to me, Still Brave is a gift and a challenge, the gift of knowing where I come from and the challenge of defining what lies next in my future. Thanks Mom.

Reagan Jackson and Stanlie James

Want to check out the book for yourself: http://www.feministpress.org/books/stanlie-m-james/still-brave

Book Review: Finding The Joy In Cancer by Rev Allen Mosely

Finding the Joy in Cancer was not the book I expected to read, but definitely worth reading all the same whether you have any experience with cancer or not. Even though Joy is bolded in the title, I assumed that this book would be about Reverend Allen Mosely’s fight against cancer. Instead it turned out to be much more about the ways in which we often unknowingly fight against ourselves. Its a highly personal exploration of how actively choosing joy can transform even the worst circumstances.

The book is written in a personal narrative that includes a series of blog posts / journal entries written during the time Rev. Allen was diagnosed with HIV and AIDS, then later Lymphoma and Renal Carcinoma. So not only do you get the perspective of someone who has moved beyond cancer, but you get a glimpse of what he was thinking during the early stages.

You might think that this would be depressing, but Rev. Allen is one of the most steadfastly optimistic people I have ever met and it comes though in his story. Still there is a realness behind all the rainbows and sunshine as well. “I was always looking outside myself for all the answers. I was always holding someone else to blame for all the things going wrong in my life. Always looking for the reason to hate myself even more and hurt myself for being such a bad person,” he writes coming to crux of one of the many unexpected lessons found in this book-personal responsibility.

When I reference responsibility, I don't mean that if you're bad you'll get cancer. When I was 12, my best friend's little sister passed away from cancer and she was one of the best people I ever met. Rev Allen practices what I would call "Now What". So you find out this terrible thing is happening to you, rather than wallow in it, you are at choice. You get to decide who you will be irrespective of the circumstances. That is your responsibility. Rev Allen chose to be joyful. He chose to celebrate his life even when it would have been so easy to mourn it or to surrender to what many would have viewed an inevitable death sentence. If life hands you lemons, you are supposed to make lemonade, but what happens when life hands you cancer? I know very few people who would be able to honestly find anything to squeeze out of that, but that is the brilliance of this book.

“You know I would never choose to have cancer…but if it has to happen I am so very happy for the wonderful treasures it has given me. My faith, my willingness to let others in, and the love of my dad in a way I have dreamed all my life.”

I really enjoyed reading this book, partly because it gave me some insight into the man who is the leader of my spiritual community, but also because it made me reflect on my own life. What secrets am I harboring? What is behind my own mask and how does who I am and how I think manifest itself in my life? Reading this made me want to enter into an honest dialogue with myself.

“I was in the process of finding my true self and a path to loving the person inside for who I was.” I would also like to be an active participant in my own process of self love and discover (without needing to get cancer to force me into it).

It’s a quick read and very accessible. I recommend it.

Love and Guatemala is coming!

Love (v/n) [ luv ]


1.The source of all good and creation. 2. To feel tender affection for someone or something: a friend, family member, stranger, pet, place, object. 3. A romantic longing, a sexual desire. 4. Something both omnipresent and yet continuously elusive. 5. The reason I stayed with him. 6. The reason I had to leave. 7.The crushing vice grip on my heart. 8. The restorative elixir that makes me whole: soul regenerater. 9. What made me write these poems…
Gua•te•ma•la [gwä t -mä l ]

1. A country of northern Central America. The site of a Mayan civilization dating back to 1500. Population: 12,700,000. 2. The remaining lands and people, survivors of the 36 year civil war the U.S. armed and funded. 3. Home to coffee, turtles, backpackers, quetzales, street dogs, marimba, bright colored fabrics. 4. Where my other family live. 5. The catalyst for a deeper understanding of myself and my citizenship.

Love and Guatemala is a merger of two collections of poetry and one story. It chronicles the experiences of love, heartbreak, forgiveness, loss, redemption, consciousness, and an exploration of citizenship, privilege and transformation through my eyes. Hope you love it.