richardmurray
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AAFCA calls ‘The Woman King’ the Best Film of 2022
richardmurray replied to Troy's topic in Culture, Race & Economy
Good share @Troy And I repeat my sentiment that the critics didn't state but I think has value as well. Yes the woman spoke about a section of black history that many black people don't know. It dealt with africa during the time of white european enslavement with a human while complex story , befitting that time. The actions sequences and performances were great. But I do think the production of that film warrants awards to. It was produced by a lot of black folk, i think majority black production, definitely significant and pan black, meaning black people from either side of the atlantic invested money in a movie made in south africa. I am not suggesting the actors/plot/special effects/costumes don't matter. But, even if the film was a failure in all of those aspects I think the production warrants that. You spoke of awards and they are important for media narrative, but at the end of the day, films need money to be produced and films are works of art that usually don't return the financial investment, so you need symbols of your community investing in film to hopefully spur more of it. -
World of African Superheroes: Coloring Book for All Ages Relaxing Inspiring Cultural Empowering Creative Coloring Book: Black Superhero Coloring Book by Mr. Akinseye Brown (Author) https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2181&type=status OCTAVIA TRIED TO TELL US is hosting a PopUp because Octavia Butler's KINDRED is coming to the screen! 12/17/2022 is the date Find more information at the following link https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2182&type=status
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OCTAVIA TRIED TO TELL US is hosting a PopUp because Octavia Butler's KINDRED is coming to the screen! Every episode drops on Hulu on Tuesday, December 13 and we'll be talking about it on Saturday December 17. We'd love for you to join us! Click below for more details and to register.
Kindred Goes Hollywood Pop Up
Saturday, December 17, 2022
3 pm PT/ 6 pm ET
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World of African Superheroes: Coloring Book for All Ages Relaxing Inspiring Cultural Empowering Creative Coloring Book: Black Superhero Coloring Book 01 Paperback – Large Print, November 5, 2022
by Mr. Akinseye Brown (Author)$9.99 USA dollars
https://www.am*zon.com/World-African-Superheroes-Inspiring-Empowering/dp/B0BLM3LLD8?asin=B0BLM3LLD8&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
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haha @Troy yes:)
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@Troy thanks for sharing. I read the whole article. She says the film has committed actors, i suggest then performances, and positive quality cinematography, but calls it mediocre. If I go to see a jackass film , I do not expect to see a movie like the seventh seal. A will smith film in my recent memory tends to be a star led vehicle that tends to throw a light wrench into the genre it is in. She states the film is a slave era film but based on her description, I say this is a superhero film, that uses a convenient historical figure, one whose truth will never be known, to allow for the superhero genre's mechanics to be utilized in a historical fiction context concerning the usa. Is it everyone's cup of tea? of course not. But when I think of Hancock/Bright/Hitch/After Earth Will Smith likes roles where he is in a two genre film, which doesn't clearly delineate which one it is. Hancock many say is a superhero film, and I concur. But... it is also a realist film, like grapes of wrath. Is Hancock really about a superhero saving the day or is it about a man whose trying to figure out how to be good at the only job he wants? Many say Bright is a buddy cop film and I concur. But... it is also a high fantasy film, like lord of rings with , I argue more, fantastical elements at times merging our modern world with the world of elves and dwarves in a blunt way. Hitch many say is a romantic comedy, and I concur. But... most of the film isn't romantic or comedic. I argue most of the film is loner. It has the feel of La Notte , the italian film, with the couple which ends in my view brilliantly cause it doesn't finalize anything. But the film feels like a divorce film. Kramer vs Kramer with out the kid in a way. After Earth many say is a science fiction action flick, and I concur. But... i sense in the film more of an inverted western. This is like an inversion of shane. And in all the films, it ends on an upbeat. If you come to the movie theater's expecting "twelve years a slave" in form or structure you will be disppointed. You need to look at it thinking, what if a slave had a superhero life? how can that work.
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Lego Fried Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl great fun
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@Chevdove yes, not having equal or cohabitable answers should not stop Black folk from finding an answer all Black folk can live or thrive with
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The CBL Staff Wishes You a
Joyous Holiday Season!
We're reflecting on 2022 and giving thanks for a highly productive year. Most outstanding is the success of our 20th Anniversary Jubilee Celebration on October 20. It is our honor to share a bit of the magic from that night with those who weren’t able to attend.
Please enjoy these inspirational
welcoming remarks from our friend
Sonia Sanchez
As 2022 closes, we know that many of you are working on your year-end giving plans to nonprofit organizations. Did you know that CBL relies on donations from the community to thrive? Our year-round literary programs and special events need your financial support.
We hope we can count on you to help make 2023 our best year ever! If so, please donate what you can by Saturday, December 31, 2022.
Donate HERE < https://www.rfcuny.org/eventpayment/events/index?college=medgar > (via Research Foundation CUNY aka RFCUNY).
Have a wonderful holiday season. Enjoy your end-of-year celebrations!
~ Team CBL
The Canvas Institute invites the community to the opening reception of the art exhibition titled Someone Like Me, featuring the Beverly Moorehead Doll Collection. This event will be hosted by Dr. Brenda M. Greene, executive director of the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, and the exhibit's curation team, Sadé Dinkins and Teresa Caliari.
The exhibit takes the viewer on a symbolic journey through a life-sized doll house. Composed of different themed "rooms" and a wide variety of dolls, this exhibit has something for all ages, backgrounds, and identities.
Someone Like Me Exhibit
Opening Reception
Saturday, December 10, 2022
2:00 pm
at Canvas Institute
150 Victory Boulevard
Staten Island, NY
To RSVP for the reception, contact
Sadé Dinkins at shadink@gmail.com
THE WINTER 2023 RETREAT
AT-A-GLANCE
Novelist Kia Corthorn and poet Willie Perdomo are the faculty members for the Winter 2023 four-day retreat at Medgar Evers College (Brooklyn, NY).
The dates are February 23 - 26, 2023. Aspiring writers (21 and over) are encouraged to apply.
The application is downloadable < https://centerforblackliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/WSRWC2023_4WEB_Application_Winter.pdf > (online version coming soon).
We Are Thrilled to Welcome
WILLIE PERDOMO
-- New York State Poet Laureate --
as a Returning Faculty Member
for the Wild Seeds Retreat
for Writers of Color (Winter 2023)
ABOUT THE RETREAT
The Wild Seeds Retreat for Writers of Color provides a writing community where established and emerging writers can focus on the craft of writing and create cross-cultural conversations around the literature created by writers of the African diaspora. Writing fellows have an opportunity to draw upon their experiences as writers in a racialized society; to become knowledgeable about the issues facing other writers of color; and to study with a professional in the genres of fiction, memoir, and poetry.
ABOUT THE FACULTY MEMBER
Willie Perdomo is the author of Smoking Lovely: The Remix (Haymarket Books, 2021), The Crazy Bunch (Penguin Random House, 2019), The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon (Penguin Random House, 2014), and Where a Nickel Costs of Dime (Norton, 1996). Winner of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, the New York City Book Award in Poetry, and the PEN Open Book Award, Perdomo was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award.
He is co-editor of the anthology, Latínext, and his work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Poetry, Washington Post, The Best AmericanPoetry 2019, and African Voices. Perdomo is currently a Lucas Arts Literary Fellow, a core faculty member at VONA/Voices of our Nation Writing Workshop, and teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy. | Source: www.willieperdomo.com
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We Wish You a Joyous
Holiday Season!
We're continuing our reflection of 2022 and giving thanks for a highly productive year. Most outstanding is the success of our 20th Anniversary Jubilee Celebration in October 20.
In case you missed it, we're sharing a bit of the magic from that night.
Please enjoy these inspirational
words of support from our friend
Dr. Cornel West
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From Karl Blackkkstone < https://www.fanfiction.net/u/90042/BLAKKSTONE?fbclid=IwAR3ZvFihAEO9gyQ32EGaUUeLUzJJLcDcpjyhhbOhZizmtheE8-G5WRz_7yU >
Greetings, all.
Here is a recent paper I wrote during my university course. It might be relevant for some here.
https://1drv.ms/b/s!ArspJ5yABJDqg7QFLvbHAk04QhXqOg?e=pl9K5K
My comment:
I read it from top to bottom.
I define Afrofuturism as stories concerning the future of Black folk, whether they be in the USA or not, or of African descent or not. I define Black as a label to humans in a phenotypical range.
Two points I think warrant an open discussion. I put them in brackets.
<In the 1990s, when Mark Dery coined the term ‘’afrofuturism’’, there were very few Black science-fiction writers>
<In the 2020s, there is more diversity in stories and storytelling. As ‘’afrofuturism’’ is getting more well know, several Black storytellers –in the United States, the Caribbean and in Africa –are getting their voices heard. The movement is getting stronger.>What determines if someone is a writer? I have always argued that a writer is someone who writes. The assessment to technique in writing doesn't dictate if one is a writer, in my view.
In the year 1990, how many Black high school or college students wrote a story, any length, that involved science fiction. You wrote, there were very few Black science fiction writers. I argue, the quantity of writers wasn't small, the opportunity to be published was small. To have reprints of their work for sale was small. But that does not mean the quantity of writers was small. At least in my view.
And if my prior words have truth, than the issue isn't the multiversity in stories or storytelling, as much as, the opportunity to make profit from writing has expanded in modernity.
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@ProfD The problem is every DOSer has the right to choose the USA to be their home or not. No choice is right or wrong. But a middle ground doesn't exist between the choices. And in the history of the USA or the british colonies that preceded it, DOSers do choose opposing sides and thus the frictions. Garvey was not a DOSer but his movement had more energy in the DOS community than the NAACP, whose face was a DOSer albeit of mulatto heritage. And we know what happened between Dubois and Garvey. The reality is Dubois , who chose as you said, was willing to undermine the most important leader to black people who felt as I said. And that friction has never left the DOS community even as its percentage in the larger Black community in the USA dwindles. So I end with a rephrase. Many Black people have chosen to not make the USA their home and thsoe DOS did and do need a home to go to. @Chevdove I hope I inspire thoughtfulness. At the end of the day most Black people want betterment for Black people. The problem is, over ninety percent consensus on what betterment looks like did not and still does not exist in the black community in the usa and thus Black people tend to butt heads over their different visions. I quote armstrong williams, a black member of the party of lincoln: he never dealt with racism in the south. The issue isn't about truth or correctness but how can a black person who relates to the usa like armstrong williams work side a black person who relates to the usa like assata shakur? how? This website's forum proves that our mere communication becomes nothing. We just don't have consensus. Never did in the past, do not know. But absent it, we are always in a mix.
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Title: Artwork process for ‘Nubia wonder woman’
Video Process
Artist: Clarence Bateman
https://www.deviantart.com/clarencebatemanart/art/Artwork-process-for-Nubia-Wonder-Woman-910623152Prior Post
https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2092&type=status
Post with Clarence Bateman
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@Chevdove well listen, let's be blunt, in modernity, when any film comes out with a thespian or director or producer that has been given an unsatisfactory moral label, that film has mixed reviews. No film that has a connection to Will Smith going forward , at least in the usa, will have a 100% review in positivity. Is that fair? no. Is that the reality of modern media? 100% Only two groups of people in the usa don't have a bloodline whose story doesn't begin with the usa or its predecessor with the following: I want to be here. You know the two groups are Native Americans side Black DOSers. ... I remember in NYC when people were fighting for the NAtive American musuem for an instillation or more. But I remember hearing a bunch of Black folk "allied with the native american" talking about helping the native american. And I told them the following: the native american needs one thing, and one thing only, and it is the one thing that has the least chance of happening and that is for all non native americans to get the f--- out. Varied replies from silence, to yep, to frustration, to explaining to me why that shouldn't occur happened. What is my point? of course this film is fiction, it took zora neale hurston to catch the last enslaved black folks narrative <something the so called literate black movement post war between the states didn't want to write down or definitely didn't find time to write down> . Of course, a black man whipped him, enslavement to whites convinced the nazi's to harm their fellow germans in the jewish religion. Our enslavement was hell and we don't have many first hand accounts. But, the black DOSers have a simple need, like the native americans and it isn't going to happen. Black DOSers need a home to go to. Simple isn't it. A home to go where we can say , we wanted to be there from day one. But since it isn't going to happen, everything else is a poor bandaid. Black billionaires/mayors/ all these various things don't cover what the people need. Same to the native american. Casinoes/elected representatives. Yeah ok. That isn't what they need. So you get arts or entertainment providing a cheap bandaid.
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Ryder of Ccayco
The poem is entitled: One in a couple
color version
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Ryder-of-Ccayco-Color-939442773
Black and white version
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Ryder-of-Ccayco-BW-939443464
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Kahuere of Ampraeh - calligraphy plus poetry
The poem is entitled: Xicotencatl the younger's last dream
Audiobook
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/xicotencatl-the-younger-s-last-dream
Book cover color version
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Kahuere-of-Ampraeh-Color-939576715
Book cover black and white version
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Kahuere-of-Ampraeh-BW-939431719-
Tumblr video
https://richardmurrayhumblr.tumblr.com/post/703021549408681984/kahuere-of-ampraeh-calligraphy-plus-poetry-the
tumblr audio
https://richardmurrayhumblr.tumblr.com/post/703021635997958144/kahuere-of-ampraeh-calligraphy-plus-poetry-the
youtube video
https://youtu.be/xq6BMHi7Ns0
tiktok video
https://www.tiktok.com/@richardmurraytiktok/video/7174552298524462382
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Suriel of Sylessae- calligraphy plus poetry.
The poem is entitled: The Stone of Suriel
Audiobook
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/the-stone-of-suriel
Book cover color version
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Suriel-of-Sylessae-Color-939311270
Book cover black and white version
https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Suriel-of-Sylessae-BW-939310620
clip to my work being showcased
entire showcase
I will ask suriel, what will be the most favorite color in the next 100 years
suriel entries
https://www.deviantart.com/tag/SurielDTIYS
winners
https://www.deviantart.com/sylessae/journal/Suriel-DTIYS-Winners-939667181-
Tumblr video
https://richardmurrayhumblr.tumblr.com/post/703018497130790912/suriel-of-sylessae-calligraphy-plus-poetry-i-do
Tumblr Audio
https://richardmurrayhumblr.tumblr.com/post/703019853220659200/suriel-of-sylessae-calligraphy-plus-poetry-the
Youtube Video
https://youtu.be/SbM0nth4VT4
tiktok
https://www.tiktok.com/@richardmurraytiktok/video/7174551392781176110
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Title: Inspired by the pillars of creation Artist: GDbee https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2171&type=status
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FIyah 2022 Blackspecfic report https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2174&type=status
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Introduction
The 2022 #BlackSpecFic Report is an examination of the state of representation of Black authors within the speculative short fiction market published in 2021. The original reports of 2015-2017 were composed by Cecily Kane and Ethan Robinsons, and were published by Fireside Magazine. The bottom line of the 2015 report—that Black authors represented less than 2% of the field—is considered one of the catalysts for the establishment of FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. This is the first #BlackSpecFic Report since 2017. Previous reports can be found here. [ https://firesidefiction.com/blackspecfic ]
The 2022 report began with the same list of 63 markets examined in the 2015 study, of which we found only 26 to still be operating a full publishing schedule as of 2021. Of the 37 markets that closed sometime in the last 5-7 years, only 13 of them published at least one Black author in the most recent (2017) study.
To both compensate for the gap in coverage and to achieve a more thorough view of the field, we solicited a market list from Diabolical Plots in their capacity as the operators of The Submission Grinder, an online submissions tool for authors to locate, vet, and log/track submissions to markets publishing in various genres. We were suppled a list of 131 markets meeting the following criteria:
- Operational as of 2021
- Publishing in science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror
- Markets offering paid publication (at least .01/word)
- Non-inclusive of contests
After filtering for anthologies or one-off/non-traditional offerings (such as photography/art publishers), markets on hiatus (as opposed to permanently closed), or markets who for various reasons were publishing intermittent or incomplete schedules, we landed at 65 markets valid for study, comparable to the original iterations.
The SFFH zine market—at least the population being critiqued here—remains principally U.S.-based. For that reason, Omenana and Truancy have been removed from the data set. For the same reason and for the purposes of this report, a market is considered “successful” with regard to its publication of Black authors if their percentages are within 2% of the U.S. census reported Black population (13.6%). [ https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221 ]
Our findings are below. This report was composed by L. D. Lewis and Nelson Rolon with sponsor support from the Carl Brandon Society, Diabolical Plots, and CatStone Books.
Terminology
This BlackSpecFic Report uses FIYAH’s definition of “Black” regarding people and descendants of the African Diaspora as they may refer to themselves on completion of a United States census survey. This definition is globally inclusive (Black anywhere in the world) and also applies to mixed/biracial and Afro-appended people regardless of gender identity or orientation.
Short fiction – works shorter than novella length or 17,000 words
Speculative Fiction – works of fantasy, science-fiction, horror, magical realism, and their associated subgenres
Venue/Market – “Venue” and “Market” are used interchangeably to refer to the publishing entity to which the works are sold and by whom the works are hosted or published.
Operational – A venue or market is considered operational if its website is still functioning and accessible, a notice or statement of closure/hiatus does not appear on the website or the market’s social media, and submissions have not been closed for 6 months or longer.
Successful – For the purposes of this report, a market is considered “successful” with regard to its publication of Black authors if their percentages are within 2% of the U.S. census reported Black population (13.6%). [ https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221 ]
Short Version
Of 2651 pieces published by 65 venues in 2021, 198 or 7.6% were written by Black authors. With FIYAH excluded, the percentage is 6.8%. The 6.8% represents a change of +4.9% from the 2015 study. For purposes of discussion, we will be excluding FIYAH’s input, as it is an exclusively Black publication and thus skews the dataset. FIYAH published 18 works of prose in 2021, the highest of any surveyed market with the exception of Lightspeed Magazine, who published 20.
12/6 6:10PM UPDATE: Following a discrepancy in the reporting of the numbers for Beneath Ceaseless Skies, original numbers to this study have been updated to reflect a 0.1% change in the overall percentage, and a change of +3.9% for BCS. Zooscape also reported 1 story published by a Black author. Data has been updated to reflect a +3% change for Zooscape.
Highlights
- Of the 23 pro and semipro markets examined in all 2015-2017 studies, 11 showed an increase in publishing works by Black authors relative to their respective outputs.
- While Black editors of short speculative fiction continue to represent a small portion of the field, nearly all of the surveyed markets who host a Black owner, editor, or guest editor made the “Most Successful (without reprints)” list. And those four publications (Anathema, Fantasy Magazine, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Uncanny Magazine) are responsible for 25.4% of the entire field’s Black-authored works.
The Impact of Reprints and Special Issues
Two publications, Escape Pod and Lightspeed Magazine saw double-digit percentage increases over their 2017 performances (18% and 14.8% respectively). Escape Pod’s Black Future Month special limited demographic issue is responsible for 4 of their 11 Black-authored works, and another 2 were reprints (two of the Black Future Month acquisitions were reprints). 12 of Lightspeed’s 20 Black-authored works from last year were also reprints. Field-wide, 49 of the 179 (27.4%) works by Black authors were reprints.
Reprints offer a number of benefits, serving to expose stories to new audiences and helping increase the longevity of and the number of avenues available to access a given story. They also pay nowhere near a rate comparable to that of acquisitions of original works. A pro-paying market rate as set by SFWA is .08/word, whereas rights to reprints are bought at around .01/word. And a reliance on reprints to increase representation of any particular demographic betrays what has historically been true oftentimes regarding Black storytelling: that publishers and editors continue to experience a discomfort or disconnect with Black storytelling.
There is considerably less labor involved in securing a reprint. No additional editing is done at the reprint stage. Another editor elsewhere saw the story’s value, engaged with it, helped polish it, and believed in it enough to back the story financially. The reprint is an acknowledgment of the original editor’s labor and vision. The result is fewer original stories by Black authors and a smaller pool of known Black authors to our reading communities.
Special limited-demographic issues, while inarguably great as collections of curated highlights from marginalized groups, can still present as an “otherization” of those groups if they aren’t regularly part of a publication’s output. The goal with any of these studies is to see more organic inclusion.
We compare the standings of “successful” markets with and without their reprint output below.
Data
Using the Interactive AirtableThis year’s study data is stored in Airtable databases which allow the viewer to filter and toggle the information they are interested in seeing without impacting the overall organization of the raw data for all viewers.
Adjust your preferred filters along the top. At the bottom of each column with numeric entries, you can adjust for the totals you’d like to see (Sum, Median, Avg, etc). Navigate between the following tables on the left-hand side:
2022 BlackSpecFic Report – Raw Data
- “Active Only” view – provides numbers based on full set of 65 examined publications, including FIYAH
- “Excluding FIYAH” view – provides numbers as detailed in the report, with FIYAH’s content filtered out
- “Median Filter (>/<)” view – median percentages of Black writers at each magazine… unadjusted totals (including reprints) found a median of 3.5% Black-authored stories. Reprint filtered totals had a median percentage of 1.6%. The “Median Filter >” filter displays markets that performed greater than median percentages respectively, regardless of their reprint volume. The “Median Filter >” displays markets that performed below EITHER median.
- “Reprints Filter” view – provides numbers (FIYAH’s content filtered out) adjusted to exclude reprints of Black authored works for each publication
2015-2021 Comparison — % Stories by Black authors
This table displays the performance of the 23 markets examined in all previous iterations of the Report and their +/- percentage change as of the 2021 (current) report. Market closures which occurred between 2017-2021 are noted. Markets which saw a positive (+) shift are marked in green, and negative (-) marked in red.
It is worth noting in this table that fluctuations in the publications of any demographic are expected.
The BSF Writer Survey
In the past, FIYAH has invited Black SFFH writers to submit information about their practices and insights on submission to SFFH short fiction markets. This latest iteration of course kept a focus on the 2021 calendar year, as well as the impact of and experience with special offerings made during the summer of 2020. The responses we received allowed us to:
- Quantify the existence of Black speculative fiction writers seeking publication. This latest iteration of the survey saw 98 respondents.
- Provide submission context to existing publication data (like the #BlackSpecFic report).
- Expose the impact of “current events” or major sociopolitical and environmental occurrences as relates to lived Black experiences on submission volume. In a reversal from the 2016-2018 BSF Reports which saw respondents submitting in increasing volumes, the majority of the 2021 respondents reported submitting less often than their usual. When provided the opportunity to volunteer anecdotes about their submissions and rejections, a third of respondents reported taking more time to rest or reported experiencing a de-prioritization or demotivation toward writing/creative endeavors for a protracted period in 2020.
2021 Response Count Total Individual Stories Submitted 245 Total Submissions 266 Total Sales 63 Rejections 182 Identify as: African American 4 Black 44 Caribbean/Afro-Caribbean 9 Jamaican/Jamaican-American 2 Black American 18 Black British 8 Mixed/bi-racial/multi-racial 5 West Indian 5 Nigerian 2 Respondents Published Status: Previously published 80 Never before published 18 Self-Identifies in Submissions: If Market Requests/Special Issues 38 Always 54 No, awkward 0 No, inappropriate 0 NBA (never been asked) 6 Submission Frequency Relative to Previous Years Submitted more in the last year than usual 24 Submitted less 41 Submitted about the same 15 First Year on submission 18 Summer of 2020: Awareness/Pursuit of Opportunities Aware, Pursued 41 Aware, Declined to Pursue 28 Unaware 29 Sales Pay Rate (for those who made sales) >$.08 USD/word 29 >$.01 USD/word, <$.08 USD/word 25 <$50USD (no per-word rate) 9 Methods of Finding Markets Word of Mouth 24 The Submission Grinder 32 Other (Social Media) 42 Duotrope 10 Author Blogs 2 Google/Search Engines 18 Conferences/Conventions 4 Ralan 4 Black Lives Matter and the Summer of 2020
In June of 2022, publishing professionals took to social media to show their solidarity with Black creators and the Black Lives Matter movement taking off internationally following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The solidarity made itself known as hashtags, blacked-out profile pictures, and—perhaps more helpfully— offers of special consideration for Black authors seeking representation, publication, mentorship, access to professional networking tools, project funding, and query assistance.
Acknowledging the shared trauma Black creators were experiencing at the time that may have prevented them from noticing or following up on opportunities, FIYAH tweeted [ https://twitter.com/fiyahlitmag/status/1270085190577250306 ] to create a centralized list, aggregating publishing offers in one place to be referenced by those interested at a more convenient time.
Our BSF Report asked Black writers if they were aware of or pursued any of the opportunities such as those provided by the professionals who responded to our call.
41 respondents were aware of special offers made and pursued selected opportunities.
The most consistently redeemed opportunity was the waived membership/renewal fees for eligible Black authors at either SFWA or SCBWI. 2 respondents reported receiving offers of literary representation. 18 respondents reported having an especially negative (not neutral) experience, either being ghosted (receiving no response to inquiries or submissions) by multiple agents or editors who put out specific calls to Black writers during the months of tumult, or receiving form rejections for special open submission windows.
28 respondents were aware of offers but did not pursue them
Half (19) of these respondents cited a generalized fatigue, trauma response, or cynicism regarding the honesty of the offers being made as reasons they declined to pursue, or they used the time to do more drafting than submitting.
29 respondents were not aware of offers
Discoverability of offers is typically highest on social media. Respondents who are not active in these spaces may have missed special calls if the offering professionals did not add them to newsletters, blogs, or other spaces where they might reach a broader audience.
Conclusions
A LOOK BACK
It is essential that when we determine we care about an issue, we follow and revisit its progress in depth. More than desiring the lack of representation as a talking point, we have to be invested in its resolution. That is the intent behind continuing the #BlacSpecFic Reports: not to villainize publications (though some will see it that way), but to offer both accountability and solutions for what the short SFF community has indicated is important to us to solve.
Studies from previous years have all included some sort of ask, [ https://www.fiyahlitmag.com/bsfreport/bsf-report-going-forward/ ] or a list of recommended actions publications could undertake in order to attract or better engage with the works of Black writers. By far, the action most successful since the 2015 study has been the engagement and development of Black editors. It’s been most effective in removing barriers of connection or comprehension often previously cited as reasons for rejection. Solicitations directly from Black authors continue to help with the numbers, but it’s important that publications don’t hinge the entirety of their representation on special issues. Organic inclusion remains the goal.
In our original BSF Report, we also suggested more SFWA engagement on the matter of representation. Their offering of suspended membership fees ended up being the most often redeemed opportunity presented as part of publishing’s BLM response.
We have not tracked a pronounced change in inclusive diversity statements/submission guidelines as those are highly subjective and may be too granular to establish a coherent metric. We have, however noted that the Venn diagram of publications examined in previous study years who (1) had a track record of publishing zero Black writers, (2) were highly defensive of their position in doing so/made no marked improvement of effort in adjusting, and (3) shuttered before the commencement of the 2022 study, would reveal quite the overlap.
We look forward to monitoring the field’s further progress and composing a subsequent report in 2025.
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Guess whose coming to dinner / guess who/you people... It took me years to stomach watching guess whose coming to dinner and while I loved Bernie Mac, guess who was... I couldn't get through it. ... The problem with phenotypical or other racial mixing in the usa is the legacy of it. These films place the action in the providence of non acceptance to individuals and I don't see that as the source of the problem. the problem is, communities have in the usa legacies of vendetta/revenge/blood between them and time doesn't wither all those wounds.
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Title: Nature Locs
Artist: GDbee < https://gdbee.store/ >
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Title: Inspired by the pillars of creation
Artist: GDbee < https://gdbee.store/ >
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Street Fighter the underground movie
richardmurray commented on richardmurray's blog entry in BlackGamesElite's BGE Journal
I watched it, they approached it as if true, without trying to special effects it to death... I like it. It isn't at the special effects level that many audiences want/need/expect/desire when it comes to video game films, but I like the approach Ryu and ken -
Street Fighter the underground movie
richardmurray posted a blog entry in BlackGamesElite's BGE Journal
Your thoughts? Of live action fighting game films, do you have any thoughts? -
For book review: Blues Highway, a work of historical fiction
richardmurray replied to cdwilliams's topic in Black Literature
this is the link https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/843690-blues-highway
