Author Archives: tonipressleysanon

Review of Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s How We Get Free

Posted on April 16, 2019

How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective (2017), edited by Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, highlights the work of the Combahee River Collective vis-a-vis poignant and illuminating interviews with The Combahee River Collective founders, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, … Continue reading →

| Tagged Alicia Garza, Barbara Smith, black feminism, Black Lives Matter, Combahee River Collective, Harriet Tubman, how we get free, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor | Leave a comment

Review of Charles Johnson’s Taming the Ox

Posted on April 2, 2019

I am an admirer of the African American Buddhist writer cartoonist extraordinaire Charles Johnson. Johnson is the recipient of several awards including the coveted MacArthur “Genius Award” as well as Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. I was … Continue reading →

| Tagged angel kyodo williams, black buddhist, black women buddhist, book review, charles johnson, creative writing, jan willis, literature, peace is every step, ruth king, taming the ox, thich nhat hanh, women, zenju earthlyn manuel | Leave a comment

Review of Nafissa Thomas-Spires’ Heads of the Colored People

Posted on March 19, 2019

Nafissa Thompson-Spires’ short story collection Heads of the Colored People (2018) is incredibly SMART!! All of the stories are amazing—expertly crafted and honed works of literary genius. Some of them are very clearly connected by the individuals who are their subjects … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, literature | Tagged black and brown feminism, black feminism, black women, black women feminists, black women writers, creative writing, literature, Nafissa Thomas-Spires, short stories, women | Leave a comment

Repost: How African-American Chefs Are Revitalizing the Baltimore Food Scene

Posted on March 9, 2019

The city of Baltimore has been through a lot—it has received a reputation for violent crime over the past few decades, and has been the center of a battle against police brutality since the death of Freddie Gray in 2015. But amidst … Continue reading →

| Tagged African-American, Baltimore, food, travel | Leave a comment

Review of The Green Book: Guide to Freedom: The Essential Travel Guide for a Segregated America

Posted on March 5, 2019

A few weeks ago I momentarily considered laying my hard-earned cash down to see Green Book in the theatres. Fortunately for me, I thought to check out reviews of the film ahead of time. The ones I paid attention to were … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, business, culture | Tagged A.G. Gaston, African-American, documentary, film, history, The Green Book, Victor Green, Yoruba Richen | Leave a comment

Bonus! Review of Well-Read Black Girl and If Beale Street Could Talk

Posted on February 19, 2019

I’ve been thinking a lot about service lately; more specifically, I’ve been thinking about how people serve their communities in ways that ring true to them and are impactful. While there are things that we do that we can easily … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, culture, film, literature, Writer | Tagged A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, Alice Childress, Barry Jenkins, bell hooks, black feminism, black women, black women writers, cinema, film, Glory Edim, Google, I Am Not Your Negro, If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin, literature, novel, Raoul Peck, teaching, teaching to transgress, Well-Read Black Girl, women | 1 Comment

Review of Washington Black

Posted on February 5, 2019

The simply named Washington Black (2018) by Canadian Esi Edugyan , though expansive in its reach, takes place over a mere four-year period. In that short period of time young Washington, or Wash as he is called by Christopher (Titch) … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Afro-Caribbean, Britain, Caribbean, culture, history, literature, slavery, slavery. britain, Writer | Tagged barbados, Caribbean, creative writing, esi edugyan, literature, novel, review, washington black | Leave a comment