Musings: A Medgar Evers College Student Blog
Musings is a blog featuring the writings of Medgar Evers College students from the English department. On a regular basis, they contribute essays that address a variety of topics ranging from pop culture to Black literature. Please read and enjoy...leave a comment, too! We'd love to hear from you.
Celebrating Diversity: The Remarkable Story of a Queer Black Writer’s Path to Recognition
Levi Wise-Catoe | As a young writer, I was deterred from focusing on poetry because everyone, from my family to my friends to my dog Peanut's veterinarian, warned me that poetry doesn't sell and also that poets don't make money....
Exploring the Intersection of Ethnography, Anthropology, and Black Literature: An Interview with Professor David Orenstein
Levi Wise-Catoe | The theme of the 17th National Black Writers Conference was All That We Carry: Where Do We Go From Here? A writers conference that took place from March 20 - 23, 2024 at Medgar Evers College in...
Madan Sara and Haiti Today: A Conversation with Lulaine Childs
Levi Wise-Catoe | The documentary from Etant Dupain, Madan Sara (2021), foregrounds the hard-working women at the heart of Haiti’s economy. I had the chance to see the documentary when it screened at Medgar Evers College on February 5, 2024,...
Review: Black Is… Black Ain’t
Levi Wise-Catoe | On February 23, 2024, The Forum at Columbia University honored Black History Month with a free screening of the film Black Is... Black Ain't (1995), by Marlon Riggs. Black Is... Black Ain't explores the theme of Black...
Between the Lines: Bayard Rustin, A Legacy of Protest and Politics
Levi Wise-Catoe | Growing up as a Black boy in Paterson, NJ, and attending Roman and Irish Catholic Parochial schools, Black history was not very familiar to me. I grew up in a religious Southern Baptist family and participated in...
The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks: Event Review
Levi Wise-Catoe | Who was Rosa Parks? There is much more to Parks’s story than is taught in U.S. classrooms. Yes, Parks is a national treasure and one that is often overlooked as a mere footnote in the Civil Rights...
I Love These Childhood Shows But They Have Issues
Tremira Mitchell | Recently, I’ve been looking back at shows from my childhood. I long for these shows to make a return on TV, as I very much enjoyed them when I was younger. These shows are very entertaining to...
Black Girls Can Be J-pop Idols Too
Tremira Mitchell | One of my favorite music genres is J-pop, also known as Japanese pop. My love for J-pop started back in middle school, after listening to various songs from anime soundtracks. Although I couldn’t understand the language, it...
Beneatha’s Place
By Takiyah Howard | If you have yet to read anything from the rich canon of Afro-European literature, let me introduce you to one great work, Beneatha’s Place (2023), a play written by Kwame Kwei-Armah. A spin-off from A Raisin...
Brooklyn Book Festival
By Tremira Mitchell | On Sunday, October 1, I was given the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at the Brooklyn Book Festival at Cadman Plaza. The Center for Black Literature participated in the event’s Literary Marketplace, spreading awareness about their organization....
National Black Writers Conference: Heard Far and Wide
By Keyshawn Jackson Allison | I attended the National Black Writers Conference on April 1st. It was a captivating and informative experience. Cinnamon Barrington and I were tasked with registering attendees, speakers, VIPs, and vendors, and I learned much about...
Black Excellence in Crown Heights
By Cinnamon Barrington | April 1, 2023, was an amazing day! It was the National Black Writers Conference. The first time I heard about this conference was in the first semester of my 3rd year at Medgar Evers. This year,...
How Does Literature Reflect on a Society’s Cultural Norms?
By Cinnamon Barrington | There is a huge diversity of ethnicities and cultures practiced by people around the globe. In more conservative societies, men occupy positions of authority within the home and women are consigned to secondary roles. The Woman...
Kindred: The Importance of Ancestry and Culture
By Keyshawn Jackson Allison | We are often told by our loved ones about the importance of family and ancestry. It is highly important to remember your ancestors no matter the terrible circumstances in the past they may have lived...
Women’s Empowerment Through Literature
By Cinnamon Barrington | March is recognized as Women's History Month. Women's History Month is a time to recognize the achievements of women throughout history and honor the continued progress that women have made in modern times. Most of my...
Prevention and Preparation: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
By Keyshawn Jackson Allison | March has marked the start of Women's History Month. As a result, women and their experiences are being highlighted. Recently, I attended a Zoom event with Marquita Bass, which introduced me to the dangers of...
Capturing Black History Through a Lens
By Cinnamon Barrington | Chris Cook is a Brooklyn-based artist born in East Flatbush and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant. He began working in photography roughly ten years ago. Photography compelled him to engage with others and learn their stories. As...
Black History Month: The Importance of Young Black Creative Writers Finding Their Calling
By Keyshawn Jackson Allison | Attending the Theater and Film Black History Month event was an enlightening and inspirational experience. Prominent Black film and theater professionals Woodie King Jr., Carolyn Butts, and Mia Mask spoke at the event on February...
From Margin to Center: Sexual Bureaucracy and the Immolation of the Black Identity in Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other
By Tracey Squires. My eyes are not my own, My hands belong to my brothers and sisters, Who must carry my pain- And I theirs; For we are one in the eyes of that which is called holy, Every dark...
Politics of Pleasure: Silencing Sexuality in Black Feminist Literature
By Tracey Squires. My black body is a playground, My arms, swings to swing on My torso, a sloping slide for you to slide down, You leave your footprints in my sandbox. – (poem by the author) Chartering...
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