Some of BlkGrrrl’s favorite voices on the African Diaspora are from the United Kingdom. While their size compared to the white population in the UK is smaller than in the United States, their perspective offers a diverse look of the Black experience outside the continent of Africa. In many ways it seems that the Black…
Tag: black woman
Did USC and Los Angeles Forget about the Violent Misogyny of N.W.A.’s Dre?
By Teka Lark On August 14, the N.W.A. biopic, “Straight Outta of Compton,” will be released in theaters nationwide. It is being distributed by Universal Pictures, one of the largest film distribution companies in the world and which is owned by NBCUniversal which in turn is owned by Comcast/General Electric. I remember the casting call:…
I Saw My Rapist for the First Time in Five Years, and No I Don’t Have A Clever Title for This Essay
#BlkGrrrl #Fem2 It has been about six years since we’ve been in each other’s space. And it’s only been a handful of times that I’ve referred to him by title: my rapist.
The weight of that sometimes felt like too much. Far too much, and the un-doing of the emotional work done in the past few years which allowed me to name my experience.
The Bare Minimum is Worthiness
There are many, who long before me, figured out that success is what you determine it to be. That worthiness is innate. I am a fat, middle-aged unemployed, “uneducated” Black woman and yes, I am valuable. You are valuable too, whether we have amazing careers, a fine pedigree, are the right skin color, body size, body ability, mental or physical health, gender, or not. That being said, I still must survive and deserve, more than that to thrive, because I exist.
Black Breasts are Illegal, a little anecdote about following the law
By Teka Lark It was a good day in South Central Los Angeles and I was on my way to get coffee and then I got stopped by a Black cop in Hawthorne. He was a LA Sheriff and it was 3:00 p.m. on a Monday. “I’m not even drunk, it’s 3:00 p.m. who stops…
Poll: Best Film Directors
When we do these polls people often say, “Hey, this is the best BLACK women, because that is not everybody.” And our response is, “On #BlkGrrrl we are everybody.” Stop worrying about being so damn fair, no one else is. Video clips beneath the poll. Julie Dash’s Daughter of the Dust Amma Asante’s Belle Dee…
The Consequences of Bringing Your Whole Self: The White and Black of anti-Street Harassment Organizingkkk
The members of Hollaback! Cleveland went ballistic. After nearly a month of planning and updates, they feigned confusion. They asked how the focus fit into our mission. They wondered about the role of white people in this. They expressed feelings of betrayal. A few days later, and a day before Pride, they sent a collective email asking for my departure from Hollaback! Cleveland.
Short Film: “Forced Entry” by Skryb Anu
Please note this clip contains violence and may be triggering.
Teachable Moments #GrowingUpWithMyName
By Teka Lark About 12 years ago me and and a bunch of poetry asshole types were hanging out after a poetry reading at Pete’s Cafe in downtown L.A. A person who constantly pronounced my name incorrectly overheard another person say my name correctly and in the ‘I’m just saying way’ asked me, “Am I…
Short Film: Extinction by Skryb Anu
Film Avant Garde.
This piece was created to bring light to the presence of the power that created and is presently in Earth. For us as humans to also be a part of, and contain that same energy as well… Take a good look at our behavior, and how off balance things around us are becoming…
But then, that’s merely my perception, which inspired this composed piece, “Extinction.”
It contains mixed media, sequenced to the sound track, Reel Life Evolution II by The Cinematic Orchestra. ~ Skryb Anu
Crystal Valentine & Aaliyah Jihad – “To Be Black and Woman and Alive”
“They want me to be everything that I’m not.” #blkgrrrl @buttonpoetry Crystal Valentine & Aaliyah Jihad – “To Be Black and Woman and Alive”
BLK GRRRL BOOK FAIR 