Blackness Archives – Page 2 of 7 – Scalawag

An abolitionist review of the Barbie movie's imaginative universe serves as a reminder that systemic oppression can indeed be destroyed.

Barbie: Pretty Police

by Eteng Ettah July 27, 2023July 27, 2023

Dark Matter, a sestina poem by Kelsey Smoot, is a complicating and uncompromising ode to Black womxn, exploring reflexes and returns of gender.

"Dark Matter": A poem for grief & other loves

by Kelsey Smoot July 25, 2023July 25, 2023

Mausoleums: The Art of Necromancy

by Jaiden Butler July 25, 2023November 13, 2023

"Pull up your pants or go to jail!"

by Justin A. Davis June 30, 2023June 30, 2023

Inside the post-Roe crisis of abortion and surveillance facing pregnant incarcerated people seeking and reproductive justice.

Abortion bans and pregnancy surveillance: The body itself as a prison

by Gabrielle A. Perry June 28, 2023February 20, 2025

A Black mother in prison exposes the greed and hypocrisy of the system that keeps her behind bars and rips apart families.

Only Mercy

by Chanell Burnette June 27, 2023November 13, 2023

Another kind of Memphis Blues

by Justin A. Davis June 15, 2023June 15, 2023

Producing music from prison.

Young Tali is making music by any means necessary

by Zeb Larson June 13, 2023June 12, 2023

Forever New Orleans tourism campaign advertisements. Illustrations by Keysha Rivera.

Disaster capitalism, climate change, and the campaign to sell Black New Orleans

by Nicole Young May 31, 2023September 27, 2023

Victim or survivor? The language of patriarchal violence. Assigning language of victimhood or survival to those who have experienced gender violence is dehumanizing—not empowering.

Who said we all survived?

by Breya M. Johnson May 25, 2023May 24, 2023

The cover of Destiny Hemphill's latest poetry collection, "motherworld: a devotional for the alter-life."

Altars for the alter-life

by mónica teresa ortiz May 16, 2023November 13, 2023

An artistic interpretation of slaves jumping from a burning ship. Leftist organizing in the Black Radical Tradition.

How to Build the End of the World

by Miliaku Nwabueze May 5, 2023May 5, 2023

A storybook illustration of a Black mother playing soccer with her Black son in the park.

'Please Keep Playing.' An open letter to my son, Remix

by Ariana Brazier May 5, 2023November 13, 2023

Forever, I Love(d) Atlanta

by Tea Troutman May 1, 2023May 2, 2023

The Captive Maternal is a function, not an identity marker

by Joy James April 28, 2023November 21, 2023

How Atlanta’s tradition of compromise betrays Black revolutionary violence: a critique of Black Political Action and the bargain of freedom. A critique of the state's appropriation of John Lewis' legacy to quell the radical demands for Black Power at its heart.

What's Next for the Captive Maternal, Part II: Notes on a Rebel(lion) without a Cause

by Tea Troutman April 27, 2023November 21, 2023

How Atlanta’s tradition of compromise betrays Black revolutionary violence: a critique of Black Political Action and the bargain of freedom. A critique of the state's appropriation of John Lewis' legacy to quell the radical demands for Black Power at its heart.

What's Next for the Captive Maternal: Notes on a Rebel(lion) without a Cause

by Tea Troutman April 26, 2023November 21, 2023

Is abolition a love language? On Black love as a form of resistance in the case of the first Black Bachelor Matt James. Revolutionary Love challenges the erotic logic of racial fetishism. An examination of romance and the politics of Black masculinity.

Oshun's Suicide, Part II: Eros, Repetition, and Reprieve in Black Popular Culture

by Jordan Mulkey April 21, 2023November 21, 2023

Is abolition a love language? On Black love as a form of resistance in the case of the first Black Bachelor Matt James. Revolutionary Love challenges the erotic logic of racial fetishism. An examination of romance and the politics of Black masculinity.

Oshun's Suicide: Eros, Repetition, and Reprieve in Black Popular Culture

by Jordan Mulkey April 19, 2023November 21, 2023

Black Poetics and the Captive Maternal: Joy James asks poets to confront Black violence, using poetry as a means of survival and liberation.

On the Tensions and (Im)Possibilities of Black Poetics: No Shame, No Devil

by Jon Jon Moore Palacios April 14, 2023November 21, 2023

Reproductive justice and the fight for bodily autonomy in the state's war on Black women's abortion “rights,” labor, bodies, and caretaking.

Reflections on Reproductive Justice and the Captive Maternal

by Breya M. Johnson April 12, 2023November 21, 2023

Black educators' undervalued labor and the need for community support and Revolutionary Love against schooling-as-colonial-indoctrination.

Radical Care Work in the Project of Schooling

by Anna Almore April 7, 2023November 21, 2023

From Caretaker to Rebel: The dialectical relationship between Black motherhood and captivity and the role of love as a tool of political will.

Love and War: Dialectics and the Stages of the Captive Maternal

by Ziyana Lategan April 5, 2023November 21, 2023

Da'Shaun Harrison on death and revolution in the struggle for freedom. Dying is a part of struggle. Revolutionary Love is the catalyst.

The Stakes of Revolution and the Death of Desire

by Da'Shaun Harrison March 31, 2023November 21, 2023

The Captive Maternal's Revolutionary Love. The transformative power of Black love in the face of oppression.

At the impasse of Revolution and Revolutionary Love

by RAW Wilcox March 30, 2023November 21, 2023

Black Palestine Meets Black Atlanta. A statement of solidarity between Black and Palestinian communities across the diaspora.

From Black Atlanta to Palestine: A statement of connection, solidarity, and survival

by Da'Shaun Harrison, Eva Dickerson, Osama and Bisan March 28, 2023November 21, 2023

Five Black Southerners you should know this Women's History Month

by Scalawag Editors March 21, 2023November 21, 2023

While the HBCU boasts a commitment to Black women, Spelman's support of Cop City is peak antiblackness, alumni say in an open letter.

POLITICS & THE PEOPLE

An open letter to Spelman College: Denounce Cop City Now

by Eva Dickerson and Spelman Alumni March 7, 2023December 1, 2023

Abolishing the Black Superhero Complex: From Black Panther to MLK

by Bria Massey March 2, 2023December 1, 2023

Grief and Love, Outside the Changes

by Julian Reid February 10, 2023December 1, 2023