#decolonizeyourbookshelf

[theramblingonesie]

Colonial Gaps in Understanding the Haitian Revolution

When embarking on this project, I was curious about women’s roles in the Haitian Revolution, particularly in the overlap between their lives and the representation of honored female deities. Upon diving into my research, it became apparent that I would end up with far more questions than conclusive support for this topic. Instead, a different narrative has emerged, one that emphasizes the impact of colonialism on the retelling of Black and Indigenous history. In keeping within the context of gender, this piece will also discuss the differences between Afrocentric and Eurocentric perspectives on gender, and how trying to learn about women specifically in the Haitian Revolution might be a misguided Westernized approach to understand a non-Western culture. Rather than seek historical information in text form, as many of the revolutionaries relied on oral traditions or were denied access to literacy skills[1], it appears that we might have to turn instead to religious traditions, language clues, and cultural knowledge from Central and West Africa in order to put the pieces together from the Haitian revolutionaries’ perspective.

           “When the anthropologist arrives, the gods depart”, so a Haitian proverb goes.[2] This felt all too accurate while trying to conduct my research. I discovered that the key to beginning to understand the Haitian revolutionaries was to break apart my own perceptions and conditioning around how human beings organize themselves. It seems that in order to understand Haitian culture, and Voudon therein, one must be receptive to existence beyond the rigid boundaries of duality, and willing to locate the truth among what has not been said. The Haitian Voudon that was practiced at the time of the Haitian Revolution was a blended faith, comprised of various African cultures, Taino influence, and old and new world concepts. It encompassed Indigenous Haitian believes, African Voudon beliefs, and Catholicism. A less conventional but widely considered theory is that this blending was not necessarily due to colonization’s attempts at erasure, but rather these African traditions’ philosophies on inclusivity and adaptability.[3] Due to the unique nature of this practice, it is very challenging to provide direct translations from Haitian Creole to words and concepts we understand in Eurocentric cultures. This can easily contribute to misinterpretations of what happened during the revolution, which creates the challenge of trying to present evidence from a pool of contradictory sources. This research paper is my best attempt at presenting what we think we know, based on the shortage of texts written by the victors and our faith in the preservation of oral traditions passed down through ritual and music, with the awareness that it could all be more or less incomplete.

Similar to the French and American revolutions[4], Haiti also had a female patron saint, or lwa in the Voudon tradition, who symbolized the spirit of their resistance. Erzulie Dantor (also spelled Ezili Dantor; Ezili Danto; Erzulie Ge-Rouge) is considered one aspect of a larger all-encompassing spirit known as Erzulie. Though not completely translatable, Erzulie could be most compared to the concept of the triple goddess in European pagan traditions. In such European traditions, a triple goddess is generally understood as maiden, mother and crone—the three major life cycles of a woman’s life. However, known as a Goddess of Love and Desire, Erzulie’s three main aspects were less about life phases and more about the complexity of her spirit and responses to the world around her. She ranged from playful and flirtatious, to deeply grieving, to righteous rage. Erzulie Dantor is conventionally considered to be the warrior form of this lwa[5]. However, this oversimplified designation does no justice to the vast depths she represented to the Haitian people during the revolution.  

Erzulie’s origins are challenging to locate with much confidence. Some sources believe she was a fighter in the revolution, while others believe she was an old-world archetype. Author and artist Maya Deren was taught by Haitian Voudon practitioners in the mid-twentieth century that Erzulie was a spirit brought over from Africa, but that her form as Erzulie Dantor was created out of the suffering of the slaves in Haiti. Historian Joan Dayan writes that Erzulie Dantor was manifested in Haiti and “dramatizes a specific historiography of women's experience in Haiti and throughout the Caribbean” (Dayan, 6). Dayan draws the clear link between this cultural icon and the experiences of enslaved women, indicating that she is the embodiment of the memory of slavery, and the desires for intimacy and revenge therein. While Erzulie was a deity of love and luxury in the African tradition, Erzulie Dantor emerged in Haiti as a more vengeful spirit who was jealous and possessive[6]. Dayan emphasizes that Erzulie exists beyond the dualities of Western religion- she is bisexual, caring, lustful, rageful, spiteful, childish, a virgin, a mother, a warrior, and is honored by both men and women. Even in her Erzulie Dantor aspect, she is as fierce as she is compassionate. Erzulie Dantor would be classified as a Petro lwa, a cult of lwa influenced by the rage of the Indigenous tribes that runaway slaves met while hiding in the hills. Prior to the Petro, Haitian Voudon primarily served the Rada spirits brought over from Africa, drawn mainly from Dahomey tradition. Rather than good versus evil, as is often assumed, the Petro were a more amplified, angrier version of the Rada spirits, who were born from traditions of order and the protection of harmony.[7] The Petro were a response to disorder and dishonor, a new type of spirit that had the mission of seeking justice.  

The Western world’s oversimplification of Erzulie in both her Petro and Rada aspects is largely due to its obsession with duality. Her complexity and power during the revolution were threatening ideas to the Church. White slaveholders used this duality as a tool for domination. Dayan draws attention to this in her essay in reference to the slandering of Black women in order to elevate white women: “An ideal woman, pure of stain, fixed on her pedestal, is only possible in the male imaginary because of the invention of a dark, debased sister. (Dayan, 8)” Erzulie Dantor was threatening to the European oppressors for several reasons: she represented the multifaceted strengths of Black women, helped to spread the belief that women could have power and fighting skills that surpass men, and she was part of a religious faith that the Church needed to define as evil in order to assert themselves as pure and good.

The question remains—was Erzulie Dantor an actual slave and fighter in the revolution who has simply become mythologized? Or was she always a spirit who represented the collective consciousness of Haitians? Perhaps it was both to some degree. Cecile Fatiman, an enslaved woman and Voudon mambo (priestess), was famous for organizing the Bois Caiman ceremony alongside Houngan (priest) Dutty Boukman. This ceremony was essentially the first congress of Haiti[8], considered to be the event that officially initiated the revolution. In Voudon, possession by the spirits is a central component of ritual.[9] During the ceremony, Cecile was said to have been possessed by Erzulie Dantor, who ordered the enslaved people to seek revenge and fight for their freedom.[10] In allegiance to her, the ceremony’s participants swore themselves to secrecy and moved to fulfill these commands, beginning with lighting the plantations on fire. This does not quite answer the question of whether Erzulie Dantor was an actual spirit, or if it was Cecile as an inspired, furious revolutionary woman channeling the collective consciousness, later filtered into history under this spirit’s name. In the Voudon tradition, it is common that ancestors who carry a similar essence to a particular lwa will be served as said lwa rather than as an individual.[11] What is interesting here is that for something that seems so significant, I was more likely to turn up sources who either credited Boukman only or referred to Cecile as an anonymous mambo. Why is it that Cecile’s existence and influence are so uncertain, despite her massive significance when she is discussed, but Boukman is a consistent key figure when referencing Bois Caiman? Though it is not unusual that recounts of history can vary depending on the author, this uncovered a notable pattern that it is common to leave women out of the retelling of the Haitian Revolution.

I searched for more names of women who were leaders during the revolution, which resulted in a similar frustration to what I experienced while researching Cecile.  Adbaraya Toya, aka Victoria Montou, was a healer and soldier in the Dahomey kingdom before being kidnapped and sold into slavery in Haiti. There she worked on a plantation with Jean Jacque Dessalines, and is said to have helped raise him and train him how to fight[12]. Considered the “Mother of Haiti” (quite a significant title), I once again came up short for reliable information about her. Is this pattern the result of a patriarchal culture, or our reliance on textual evidence for historical understanding? Laurent Dubois suggests that in order to get a clearer picture on the revolution’s participants, we should look to their homes of origin in Africa[13]. Toya’s backstory proved to be a valuable clue.

Whether she was one woman, or composite of many, Toya is commonly believed to have been a soldier in present-day Benin for N’Nonmiton (“our mothers”), an elite force of women who were tasked with protecting the king on and off the battlefield in the Kingdom of Dahomey. Europeans observed them as the Dahomey Amazons, likened to the Amazonian women of Greek mythology.[14] They were believed to be “superior to male soldiers in effectiveness and bravery (Grall 2016)”, and were a way for women to rise to positions of leadership, participate in politics, and live independently. The Yoruba, a large ethnic group in modern Nigeria, Benin and Togo dating back over a thousand years[15], are theorized to have had an egalitarian culture that did not prioritize gender in the way they organized their social hierarchies[16].  Instead, according to scholar Oyeronke Oyewumi, they were more likely to rank status according to age. She attributes the assumption of gender division forced by Europeans to their primary use of the visual in order to categorize and dominate other humans. She looks to language as evidence, noting that there is no mark of gender in the Yoruba language, but that there is a mark for age difference. In his critical analysis of Oyewumi’s book, Bakare-Yusuf points out that mention of the traditionally patriarchal Yoruba culture is missing from her theories. Just when we thought we were getting somewhere, it is time to reroute and dig further.

Rather than solely focusing on which scholars and sources are “right”, it is important to also look at why this segment of history is so unclear. There are several reasons why retrieving accurate information about Haitian history around the time of the revolution is challenging. Going back to Dubois, one of these reasons is that we need to look beyond textual evidence to understand cultures that rely on oral traditions. Most of the enslaved people were illiterate, and would not leave behind written texts of their experiences. Music and ritual were important forms for passing down information, but due to Voudon’s decentralized nature, different lineages and new generations would create their own versions of what happened.[17] At the same time, there is a great lack, or distortion, in many history classrooms in the United States on this important segment of history. It is either not taught, limited to very few key, male figures, or is glossed over as an offshoot of the French Revolution.[18]

By asking whether or not Erzulie Dantor represented the enslaved women of Haiti, I have had to consider that her influence in the Haitian Revolution exists so far beyond the gender binary we understand in our Eurocentric societies that the question itself is responsible for the lack of resolve. It is possible that Erzulie’s gender as a woman is merely secondary to her larger representation of dreaming and desiring all that could be, sprung very loosely from fertility associations.[19] She could possess both men and women in ritual. This ability to dream and desire, or be enraged by the oppression that blocks the ability to live well, was accessible to all who served her. In her Petro form, while her rage and her development out of the pain of slavery were very human, I am curious if her gender was more of an abstract assignment than a direct representation of Haitian women, meant to be more ethos than literal.[20] As much as I would like to understand women’s roles in the revolution, if I insist on framing it this way, religion might not easily give me the answers I seek.

In her mythology, Erzulie Dantor’s tongue was cut out so that if she was captured by the French, she would not spill the secrets of the revolutionaries. In her iconography she is pictured holding a child, sometimes her son, sometimes her daughter. This child served as her voice and translator. Much like the research itself, we have to go through several layers to get to this Petro lwa—with no way to speak for herself, she relies on her child to properly represent her, who in turn relies on the priest or priestess she possesses to accurately communicated with the people. The story of the revolution relies on many indirect sources to be told, whether the analysis of art and song, generations that pass down oral traditions and songs, or the colonizers who wrote down their interpretations of what happened. Far more research is required in order to make sense of this highly complex body of information and evidence. In the meantime, Erzulie will continue to elude contemporary scholars, mocking us with her song:

Ezili o! pa Ezili sa!

(Erzulie, oh! that's not Erzulie!)

A traditional song of Erzulie. [21]

Bibliography  

Bakare-Yusuf, Bibi. 2003. "“YORUBA’S DON’T DO  GENDER”: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF OYERONKE OYEWUMI’s The Invention of Women:  Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses." CODESRIA.  https://codesria.org/IMG/pdf/BAKERE_YUSUF.pdf.

Campbell, Joseph. 1953. "Editor's  Forward." In Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, by Maya  Deren, xiii - xvii. London: Thames & Hudson.

Dayan, Joan. 1994. "Erzulie: A Women's History  of Haiti." Research in African Literatures 5-31.

Deren, Maya. 1953. Divine Horsemen: The Living  Gods of Haiti. London: Thames & Hudson.

Dubois, Laurent. 2016. "Atlantic  Freedoms." Aeon. November 7.  https://aeon.co/essays/why-haiti-should-be-at-the-centre-of-the-age-of-revolution.

Johnson, Elizabeth Ofosuah. 2019. "Meet the  warrior woman from Dahomey who trained Haitian revolutionary hero  Dessalines." Face 2 Face Africa. March 12.  https://face2faceafrica.com/article/meet-the-warrior-woman-from-dahomey-who-trained-haitian-revolutionary-hero-dessalines.

Merrill, John. 1996. "VODOU AND POLITICAL  REFORM IN HAITI: SOME LESSONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY." The  Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 31-52.

Moghadam, Valentine H. 2005. "Gender and  Revolutions." In Theorizing Revolutions, by John Foran, 140.  Routledge.

Mohamud, Abdul. 2020. "Lesson 4 Bois Caiman  Ceremony." YouTube. April.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQslvkhJfpc.

Raitano, Megan. 2013. Powerful Priestesses: A  Look at Equality in Leadership in Vodou. University of Florida. Accessed  2021. http://cecilefatimanrca.blogspot.com/.

Woodson, Ashley, Tadashi Dozono, and Lagarett King.  2020. "Framing Race Talk in World History Classrooms: A Case Study of  the Haitian Revolution." Educational Foundations.

ZamaMdoda. 2019. "WHM: Dahomey Amazons Were  Bad-Ass African Warriors." Afropunk. March.  https://afropunk.com/2019/03/dahomey-amazons-african-warriors/.

   [1] (Dubois 2016)

[2] (Campbell 1953)

[3] (Deren 1953)

[4] (Moghadam 2005, 140)

[5] (Dayan 1994)

[6] (Merrill 1996)

[7] (Deren 1953)

[8] (Mohamud 2020)

[9] (Deren 1953)

[10] (Raitano 2013)

[11] (Deren 1953)

[12] (Johnson 2019)

[13] (Dubois 2016)

[14] (ZamaMdoda 2019)

[15] Invalid source specified.

[16] (Bakare-Yusuf 2003)

[17] (Deren 1953)

[18] (Woodson, Dozono and King 2020)

[19] (Deren 1953)

[20] Ibid

[21] (Dayan 1994)

[bookish-white-ant]

[sistazai]

Posted @withregram • @wokescientist Capitalism, aspirations, ambitions, dreams & goals - how we do dream BIG while never losing sight that no one is free until we are all free? Dream of liberation, not luxury ✖️Does your self-worth & self-esteem hinge on being better than or superior to your fellow human beings? We are all socialized such that it does. Do you gain validation from having more material possessions, titles, awards, or “political knowledge” than other folks? We’re socialized to think that “better than” means innately more worthy. Our liberation hinges on us unlearning — 🌹To support this work please donate to my mutual aid fund that goes to directly to houseless folks in Santiago, Chile ���� Cashapp $ayeshakhan4 🔹PayPal.me/ayeshakhan4 ♤ Can't access my venmo as of now outside the US temporarily ♤ —————— feel free to share- just tag & credit me ✨ to help counter shadowban SAVE > SHARE > COMMENT/ LIKE —————— 🏴If our motivation behind our actions from seeking awards, promotions, wins in a political argument, popularity etc- is about being “right” or being “better than” then it does more harm than good • It helps me today to question my deep motivations behind each action I take, word I say & goal I pursue. Beyond being able to have basic security to survive- my ego can’t drive my aspirations 🌹 I’ve grappled w/ this to make more humble, collective choices rather than capitalist ones even if its appealing, socially acceptable or simpler. There was value in me aspiring for more when I had little to nothing, but I know now that that aspiration was for basic security & stability- food, water, shelter, community. I never need to aspire to wealth & superior status to be safe. Aspiring to possess more hurts me & everyone cuz our liberations are tied • • • • • #anticapitalism #anticapitalist #abolition #abolishcapitalism #abolishthestate #anarchism #anarchist #anarchy #mutualaid #leftist #leftists #neoliberalism #wekeepussafe #decolonize #decolonizeyourmind #decolonizethisplace #decolonizedminds #decolonizeyourbookshelf #unlearnandrelearn #unlearning #unlearn #houselessnothomeless #solidaritynotcharity #revolutionnow #abolitionnow #abolitionist https://www.instagram.com/p/CbF-XU4B-HF/?utm_medium=tumblr

[cottagecore-queerness]

Really great book. Easy to read, and really makes you think about the educational institutions you are a part of, how knowledge is defined within them, how it came to be defined like that, and who’s knowledge is assumed to real knowledge, and who’s is not. You should read it if you’re studying ANY subject at university/college or gymnasium/high school and you are white.

Decolonizing Methodologies, Linda Tuhiwai Smith

[photos-of-everyday-life]

“Masterful.” — The Economist.

[nobordersworldwide]

People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them..

James Baldwin

[parentsnevertoldus]

Posted @withregram • @iamlexchandra THE GENDER BINARY IS A VIOLENT COLONIAL TOOL OF SOCIAL CONTROL. Write that down. 🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩 Image description: [tweet by @joashilia on Twitter 1/6 “ I wish more people recognized how much the gender binary is rooted in colonialism. Prior to their colonization, Africans and other indigenous people not only had spaces for trans, genderfluid, and non binary people, but they were often venerated within the society...” 2/6 “The concept of a gender binary as it exists today (male v female) was an introduced concept. For many cultures, gender was not limited to sexual organs. Religious systems often allowed for and encouraged diff gender expression. Additionally, there were more than just two genders” 3/6 “For example, African deities and spirits in the Vodou framework can present as feminine, masculine, agender, trans, or genderfluid. In Vodou spirit possessions, women can temporarily “turn into” men by being inhabited by a masculine spirit and vice versa.” 4/6 “In Native American cultures, two-spirit (a sort of third and sometimes fourth gender representing both masculine and feminine spirits) and intersex individuals would serve important roles in traditional religious ceremonies” 5/6 “Even gender roles and the societal value of women were heavily influenced by colonization. Traditionally, female agricultural labor and reproductive ability were so highly valued in Africa that husbands had to pay a Brideswealth to the bride’s family for their loss of income.” 6/6 “Alternatively in Europe, the custom was for the bride’s family to pay the husband a Dowry because it was assumed that he’d be taking on a financial responsibility who couldn’t provide for herself.”] #transgender #twospirit #twospirited #queer #enby #nonbinary #genderfluid🌈 #genderfluid #genderisasocialconstruct #genderbinary #colonialism #decolonize #decolonizeyourmind #decolonizethisplace #decolonizeyourbookshelf #vodou #femme #masc #masculine #feminineenergy #indigenousculture #deities #intersex #intersexisbeautiful #transisbeautiful #blacktranslivesmatter #genderroles #blacktranswomen #blacktransmen #lgbtqhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CDwZGW_h7fb/?igshid=gt2yy8myh2sw

[mizamour]

This Place from Highwater Press This book is an graphic novel-anthology (for adults and YA) of ten stories of First Nation people, based on the history of indigenous tribes in Canada, including the Ashinaabe, Cree, Ojibway, Inuit, Métis, Mi'gmaq, Kanien'kehaka, Nisga'a, and more. The powerful stories explore the many ways in which the people resisted colonialism and came together, even through horrendous violence and atrocities committed against them, to stand with and for each other, protecting each other and advocating for justice. The stories begin in 1850 and continue up to the present - including the future, in one speculative fiction piece. The stories feature many historical leaders, including Annie Bannatyne, who stood up against disparaging articles written about Métis women, Francis Pegahmabow, a WWI sniper who fought valiantly for a country that refused to recognize him as a person, Chief Frank Tseleie, who spoke powerfully defending against the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, and Ellen Gabriel, who fought against laws which refused to recognize the rights of Indigenous people. And besides these leaders, the experiences of First Nations people on everyday life are also explored, including the perspectives of two children stolen from their parents and home by residential schools, people who fought against the government's prohibition of generous potlach ceremonies, fisherpeople fighting against government control, and members of the DAPL Standing Rock protests. I learned so much from these stories and also realized how much I still have to learn. #firstnations #firstnationspeople #indigenouslivesmatter #diversebooks #graphicnovels #socialjusticebooks #decolonizeyourbookshelf #anthology #disrupttexts https://www.instagram.com/p/CDO1bNAHLXV/?igshid=11tc6g346mj9n

[kirbyaraullo]

Check out the new cover of #BlackLivesBrownFreedom featuring an illustration of the valiant Capt. David Fagen by the amazing @nevercallmekimmy! The book is currently on sale for 20% off this #BlackHistoryMonth. #DecolonizeYourBookShelf & explore the Black & Brown solidarity that emerged in the almost forgotten Philippine-American War & genocide. Store link in bio 😉📚✊🏾 _ #KnowHistoryKnowSelf #KnowYourRoots #KnowHistory https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pIg8GDjhA/?igshid=g3jgckakl0dc

[whitnei-writes]

”The Quality, for instance, did not inquire on the inner workings of their ”people”. They knew our names and they knew our parents. But they did not know us, because not knowing was essential to their power. To sell a child right from under his mother, you must know that mother only in the thinnest way possible. To strip a man down, condemn him to be beaten, flayed alive, then announced with salt water, you cannot feel him the way you feel your own. You cannot see yourself in him, least your hand be stayed, and your hand must never be stayed, because the moment it is, the Tasked will see the you see them, and thus see yourself. . . . ✒️: @tanehisipcoates . . 📸: ”The Water Dancer” - p. 84 . . 🧠: The Water Dancer is filled with more beautiful prose like this. Coates is an artist and this is a beautiful book. I could honestly pull a 10 more passages that moved me as much as this and the previous post. It's clear that this book was painstakingly written and the history behind it makes it even more necessary. It's a book that classrooms need to move into the conversation. I hope English teachers are getting their printouts ready 😂😍 I do have some critiques that I plan on covering in a review for the site! . . Have you read it and what did you think? (My all-time FAVE from Coates is still Between the World & me!) . . . Have you read it and what do you think? . . #bookstagram #bookgeek #bookobsession #booknerdlife #booknerd #booknerdigans #booknerdforlife #booklover #bookworm #bookwormproblems #books #readingtime #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #amreading #amreadinghistoricalfiction #decolonizeyourbookshelf #blackgirlreads #blackbookstagram #tanehisicoates #waterdancer (at ATL) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7W1nuRBNqH/?igshid=1rj6c6lrfd76j

[bluehummingbirdhandcrafted]

#newread #librarybooks #bipocauthors #decolonizeyourbookshelf https://www.instagram.com/p/ClNPpwKsMvQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

Since it’s #BlackHistoryMonth, I thought I’d do a #tbr of Black authors on my shelf I’m determined to read this year. I’ve been meaning to read some of these for years, and there’s a bunch more I don’t have physical copies of that I’m also very excited for. I am especially eager to get into the following: Dark Days - James Baldwin Gingerbread - Helen Oyeyemi Intimations - Zadie Smith Homegoing- Yaa Gyasi The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison How to be Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi I Shimmer Sometimes, Too - Porsha Olayiwola Women, Race & Class - Angela Y. Davis Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates Any here that are particular favorites of yours? Any you’d highly recommend? #blackauthors #diversifyyourbookshelf #blackwriters #angeladavis #tonimorrison #jamesbaldwin #octaviabutler #bookstagram #toberead #shelfie #shelfiesunday #books #reading #readingchallenge #readersofinstagram #booklover #readblackauthors #decolonizeyourbookshelf #bookworm #instabooks #instareads https://www.instagram.com/p/CZo6I-7uZXc/?utm_medium=tumblr

[sistazai]

Yoh! This. Yes, let’s unpack the misogynoir and stand with folks experiencing racism. Also, as someone whose Decolonising work is all about truly understanding how these systems recruit Black and Brown bodies to perpetuate the violence but call it success … let’s also keep our eye on the whole picture. Shout out @wokescientist for always coming through with that #realtalk. I hope you’re reciprocating with some Venno, Cashapp or PayPal love. See bottom of this caption for her details. . . Posted @withregram • @wokescientist Just something to think about & guide your focus And you can read my recent post titled “what is legal is not the gold standard for what is moral” which expands on who laws, lawmakers & law enforcers really serve —————— ✨You can find my work and more in-depth analyses bridging science and social justice on my newsletter —> wokescientist.substack.com To sign up for 1 on 1 mentorship sessions or collaborate: ✨ ayesha-khan.com All links in bio! —————— To donate to my mutual aid fund: 🔹 Cashapp $ayeshakhan4 🔹PayPal.me/ayeshakhan4 —————— feel free to share- just tag & credit me • to help counter shadowban SAVE > SHARE > COMMENT/ LIKE —————— P.S. I will not be answering questions like “but what are the solutions” in the comments- the links above redirect you to where you can learn more along with the many posts on my account. • • • • • #anticapitalism #anticapitalist #abolition #abolishcapitalism #abolishthestate #anarchism #anarchist #anarchy #mutualaid #leftist #leftists #neoliberalism #wekeepussafe #decolonize #decolonizeyourmind #decolonizethisplace #decolonizedminds #decolonizeyourbookshelf #unlearnandrelearn #unlearning #unlearn #trauma #solidaritynotcharity #revolutionnow #abolitionnow #abolitionist #prisonabolition #praxis #abolishice https://www.instagram.com/p/CbiYHfWBM5d/?utm_medium=tumblr

[narrowtriangle33-blog]

I would recommended this book by Philip Scott of the African Diaspora News Channel. I haven't read it, but I'm sure you can learn a lot from it.

[naoadays]

Q: What's the last book that lived up to the hype for you?. Welcome back to another summer of #BooksandFlowers! 🌸🌼 I wish I started sooner because a lot of the lilies in my yard are already past their prime, RIP me returning to work in the office and having a lot less bookstagram time. Anyways. I've seen Firekeeper's Daughter around for a few months now and many friends have said how much they enjoyed it, so I finally decided to give this a try – and I’m so glad I did. There was a lot of hype around this book and I’m pleased to say, it exceeds that hype. This book is everything I never knew I wanted. A mystery/thriller with Native American characters with contemporary Native American culture and language (Anishinaabemowin) prevalent throughout the book. This book is set in 2004, so while its not present, it’s still contemporary. This is considered “young adult” but I’d consider this on the higher end of YA, or even “new adult” – the characters are seniors in high school or in college – but this is a story everyone should read and can benefit from. The author herself is Native American and I truly cannot think of another young adult contemporary novel about Native Americans by a Native American. I loved the exploration of modern Native experience and culture throughout this book, including the spoken language of Anishinaabemowin. I listened to this as an audiobook and I loved hearing Anishinaabemowin spoken. Some books feel forced with another language sprinkled in with English – this never once felt forced and only made the novel feel more cohesive and genuine. This is going to be one of my favorite books of 2021, I’m calling it now. Full review on the blog. #BombBooks721 - Jaw = Dropped #MyFandomObsessionsJuly21 - Face on the cover #FireKeepersDaughter #angelineboulley #nativeamericanbooks #reesewitherspoonbookclub #diversifyyourreading #diversereads #yabooks #thriller #decolonizeyourbookshelf #librarybook #librarybookstagram #booksandflorals #boostingya #FierceReads https://www.instagram.com/p/CRwWCS1rj8f/?utm_medium=tumblr

[mizamour]

Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths about America's Lingua Franca by Black linguist John McWhorter - this, unlike most of my mini-reviews, is about a NF book for adults - but I wanted to include it because the issues it raises are ones essential to antiracism work. First, it's important to understand - Black English isn't broken English. In almost every country in the world, people speak multiple dialects - take Egyptian Arabic v. Traditional Arabic as written in the Koran - most Egyptians speak both, but don't think anything of it. McWhorter, in academic but conversational language, explores how people, both white and Black, have perceived Black English as somehow broken or inferior to standard English, when in reality it is a more complex language than standard English! Take the systematic "be" as in "he be going to his girlfriend's house" it doesn't mean that he is going to his girlfriend's house right now, but rather that he usually goes to his girlfriend's house all the time. There are more examples of this, but I want to talk about how McWhorter explores other aspects of Black English as well, including the assumption many people make that Black English is in opposition to or cancels out standard English, as expressed in the familiar scandalized statement - "But you can't speak that way (referring to the kind of informal Black English used among family and friends) at a job interview!" To put it bluntly - duh. :) Everyone speaks in different ways among different groups of people - picture a business meeting v. a best friend's birthday party - and your birthday party talk doesn't make you unable to speak at a business meeting! McWhorter talks about this and so much more, in nuances and layers that I can't do justice to in a mini-review. I also want to put in a plug for a book by one of my CNU professors, Rebecca Wheeler, from whom I first learned about code-switching and dialect diversity - her book in the 2nd picture is an excellent resource as well. #linguisticdiversity #blackenglish #johnmcwhorter #linguistics #diversebooks #antiracism #decolonizeyourmind #decolonizeyourbookshelf #blackauthors #codeswitching https://www.instagram.com/p/CCEZwldnTDD/?igshid=1m8fw2hq7vhpa