The perspectives I share on this blog are produced by an amalgam of experiences, conversations, reading, and academic cultivation. Though I have always possessed what could be described as “feminist sensibilities,” or maybe loosely-formed Black womanism, there are a host of scholars whose political and philosophical thought have shaped me as a critic, activist, and individual. I consider myself a “bell hooksian” sort of feminist, for she awoken in my spirit a rebirth and renewed sense of connectedness and belonging–to self and to the universe around me. Her work is at the root of my critical consciousness, but there are a host of other gems that have fostered my understanding, as well as challenged me to continue to seek an awareness in/outside of myself. Here they are:

• Killing Rage Ending Racism, bell hooks
• Black Looks: Race and Representation, bell hooks
• Memoirs of a Race Traitor, Mab Segrest
• “A Black Feminist Statement,” Combahee River Collective
• A Taste of Power: a Black Woman’s Story, Elaine Brown
• Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America, Melissa Harris-Perry
• “How Gay Stays White and What Kind of White It Stays,” Allan Bérubé
• Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power & A World Without Rape, ed. by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti
• Native Son, Richard Wright
• “The Pathology of White Privilege,” Tim Wise  (if the link has expired, visit http://www.timwise.org for other resources)
• “The Liberation of Black Women,” Pauli Murray
• Power Lines: On the Subject of Feminist Alliances, Aimee Carrillo Rowe
• When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down, Joan Morgan
• “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference,” Audre Lorde

As I grow, I imagine this list will do the same. Check back often.