If the So I World let a guy were Colour-Blind fuck me #ForBlackGirlsOnly, is a pro-Black, pro-women feminist space for Black women ONLY. #ForBlackGirlsOnly is deliberately and unapologetically committed to the upliftment of Black women. This space is for support, creativity, healing, love, tending to wounds, learning, unlearning, interrogating, mourning, and celebrating the lives and experiences of Black Women.
This black feminist heaven took place in Johannesburg on Sunday, 31 January, 2016. It was glorious! Before the event, there was – of course there was – a bit of an uproar about the space being exclusively for black women. A number of white women, and some black women, claimed the space was exclusionary (reverse racism, they called it) because: how can we hope to fight the fire of racism with the fire of exclusion? Some argued that we, black women, should not be excluding white women, but should be taking them under our wing and “teaching” them. I was mildly (okay, extremely) annoyed and went on Facebook to vent. I wrote:
Going through the comments of the #ForBlackGirlsOnly event. There are comments from very passive-aggressive white women who have issues with the fact that the event is strictly for black women. They defend this position by stating that they have biracial kids and the space should be one where we (black women) are teaching and sharing with them how to be decent human beings (paraphrase nyana) Sigh. I have heard, many times, that black people in this country are entitled. That they want to be handed everything on a silver platter. White women who complain about being excluded from a space that is meant for the loving and upliftment of black women. White Americans Emergence
I
By
South Africa
Amanda Hodgeson
Amanda is a black, queer, radical feminist. Trained as a researcher she has an intense love and belief in the potential of individual narratives to collectively smash white supremecisthereronormativecapitalist-patriarchy. She’s super cool. An all round ball of pure unadulterated awesomeness.
An artistic journal of women and gender non conforming people
27