In honour of Black History Month, we’ve put together a list of some of our favourite books by Black British women. It’s important to remember as Irenosen Okojie wrote in The Guardian that there’s more to Black British literature than Zadie Smith.
@afro-ami Wanted to show off her remake of an old post she made over 3 years ago!
She’s been practicing and experimenting with her coloring and details, so we hope you enjoy!
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NEW SINGLE #BelieveInMe is OUT NOW from Michelle’s album Journey To Freedom, ft/ the Soul Train and Stellar-nominated, #1 smash “Say Yes” (ft/ Beyonce & Kelly Rowland) iTUNES|SPOTIFY | AMAZON
Michelle Williams’ NEW SINGLE #BelieveInMe is OUT NOW from her album Journey To Freedom, ft/ the Soul Train and Stellar-nominated, #1 smash “Say Yes” (ft/ Beyonce & Kelly Rowland)
The Healthy Roots Dolls team would like to share our love and happiness.
I founded Healthy Roots Dolls was founded 2 years ago as a college student with a big idea. With over 600 kickstarter backers, the help of mentors/advisors, an accelerator and an amazing team, I am proud to present our first doll Zoe!
At@risdmakes I started a journey that I had no idea would take me as far as it has. Healthy Roots Dolls was born out of what I saw as a demonstrated need for children’s products that for children of color. Specifically, black girls. In 2015, RISD and Brown University helped me take my prototype and turn it into a successfully kickstarter funded company.
I could not have done this without the support of all the people who have worked with me over the past two years. Shout out to the OG Healthy Roots squad ❤
Healthy Roots Dolls mission is to ensure that no one feels less than because of the kink of their curl or the color of their skin. We believe that all hair is beautiful hair!
Zoe is an 18 inch doll with big curly hair. Her natural hair journey started when her mother helped her big chop. Together they learned the ins and outs of natural hair care from the best products to use to how to style it. She has gone from teeny weenie afro to big hair, don’t care.
Zoe wants to help other girls learn to love their girls. You can order your Zoe doll today at www.healthyrootsdolls.com
The folk legend was born in North Carolina in 1895. A left-handed banjoist and guitarist before Hendrix, Cotten learned how to play from a young age and scrounged up enough money to buy a Stella guitar from a local store for a whopping $3.75. Though she didn’t immediately pursue a career in music, a chance encounter with a young Peggy Seeger led her to work for the future folk icon’s family. They had her put on performances at their house, playing for the gilded likes of John F. Kennedy. She didn’t release her first album, Elizabeth Cotten: Negro Folk Songs and Tunes, until she turned 62. In 1985, she picked up her first Grammy award for Elizabeth Cotten Live.
Photographed above in Washington, D.C. in 1960, by John Cohen.
This is a recording from Rosa Lee Hill And Friends: The George Mitchell Collection, released by Fat Possum in 2006. Mitchell was a music historian who recorded songs by artists like Hill, her niece Jessie Mae Hemphill (you can read about her here), and more, preserving their sounds for posterity.
A Mississippi-born blues woman. She never became a star, but was born into a musical family and started playing the guitar at a young age. She had a spry, capable voice and a way with plucking the strings.
She was born Etta Lucille Reid in North Carolina in 1913. Though she didn’t release her first full proper album until she was 60 years old, Etta was a lifelong guitarist who traded in the Piedmont blues, a style of fingerpicking that was common in areas in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and more. Baker is one of the quiet giants, a little-known figure whose work inspired artists like B.B. King. It’s widely thought that Bob Dylan wrote “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” after being inspired by Baker’s style. After quitting her job at a textile mill to focus on music full-time, Baker finally became a devoted guitarist and toured well into her 80s.
A Northern Mississippi legend. She was born in hill country in 1923 and later became steeped in the local blues tradition, learning how to play guitar around age 7 or 8. She worked the music circuit on Beale Street, creating a sound with a rootsy bent that coupled perfectly with her deep Mississippi twang. Hemphill released several albums over the course of her life (indelible titles like She-Wolf) and toured Europe, picking up a few W.C. Handy awards along the way.
