Dear America, What Kind of Revolutionary Will You Be?
A new blog post for the Fourth of July, inspired by Frederick Douglass’ powerful speech, “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July?” My mother and her 8 siblings did not celebrate the Fourth of July, growing up in the 1930s/1940s segregated America in the small town of Henderson, in rural east Texas. Juneteenth was the day they celebrated. Today, as I reflect and celebrate the 4th, I continue to ask myself the question Lorraine Hansberry asked herself: “What kind of revolutionary will I be?”
“THERE ARE NONE OF THOSE NICETIES as I love you”
A #Blackwildgirl Reflection for Father’s Day Weekend In my new book, “Blackwildgirl: A Writer’s Journey to Take Back Her Superpower,” I share a letter my father wrote to me in January 1996, nine months before he died at the age of 60 from the trauma and disease of America’s hate of Black brilliance and racism. […]
Advocating for the World’s Untouchables”: Lessons Learned from India
Read full article with citations and links at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advocating-worlds-untouchables-lessons-learned-from-india-menah-pratt-xrcwe/ Excerpts below: I have returned from visiting India for a week. As part of the American Council of Education Fellowship, I am exploring leadership from a national and international lens, with a particular sensitivity to the experiences of women in education. From Ethiopia, to Benin, […]
“We are not guys, gents, or fellas!”: Squashing and Smashing the Dominance of Male-Centered Language
The first time it happened, I’m sure I was a little girl. I do remember being slightly horrified and embarrassed. As children, we are often shocked and embarrassed by our parents, whether they are doing the right thing or not. We often feel a bit embarrassed by them. Maybe they look too old, too out-dated, […]
“Hell, No!”: The Color Purple’s Advice to Black Women and Girls
I have purple African violets in my house. They are delicate but powerful and resilient plants. I love when the seem to resurrect themselves and bloom throughout the year. I love the color puple. As Alice Walker writes in The Color Purple: “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple […]
Misogynoir: Carrying the weight and hate of black womanness
Misogynoir: Carrying the weight and hate of black womanness. Misogynoir: “the particular f***ery Black women face” Dr. Moya Bailey https://web.archive.org/ web/20141115094029/ http://www.thevisibilityproject.com /2014/05/27/ on-moya-bailey-misogynoir-and-why-both-are-important/ I’ve been reflecting on the word misogynoir as I have thought about my own experience as a Black woman and girl, and as I have thought about the suicide of Dr. […]
We are not ok. We are Black Women in America.
I am reminded of this book by Antija Allen and Justin Stewart. We’re Not OK: Black Faculty Experiences and Higher Education Strategies Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, Vice President for Student Affairs at Lincoln University, a beautiful, passionate, social justice activist, committed suicide this week. Lincoln University is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Jefferson […]
“I am not a symbol, I am an activist” Coretta Scott King
Just over a year after Martin Luther King, Jr., assassination, Coretta Scott King wrote a book about his life and her life in June 1969. My book is signed by her. It is also signed by my mom. My mom put her name in every book that she owned. I wanted to write about Coretta […]
Dr. Claudine Gay: Let Us Not Allow Her To Be Erased
Today, President Claudine Gay resigned. This story is not on the home page of Harvard University. https://www.harvard.edu/ It is almost as if she has been erased. It is important that she is not erased. Her resignation reminded me of the resignation letter of Lesley Lokko, the former Dean of former Dean of Architecture, CUNY, who […]
Blackwildgirl’s New Year’s Resolution: I REFUSE
This year, in less than 100 days, my autobiography, Blackwildgirl: A Writer’s Journey to Take Back Her Superpower, will be released. (The book and companion journal are available now for pre-order on Amazon). Pre-order the book: https://a.co/d/amlVdi2; Pre-order the journal: https://a.co/d/hsHHDPh Almost 50 years after my first journal entry, at age 8, Blackwildgirl’s private journey […]