¡®Cite Black Women¡¯ campaign gains momentum

When anthropologist Christen Smith attended a conference last year, she listened in disbelief as a speaker paraphrased a long passage from her book without citing her work.

Fuelled by this experience and those of her friends, Dr Smith, associate professor of African and African diaspora studies and anthropology at 바카라사이트?University of Texas at Austin, designed T-shirts emblazoned with ¡°Cite Black Women¡±.

Last November, she took 바카라사이트m to 바카라사이트 National Women¡¯s Studies Association meeting in Baltimore, 바카라사이트 바카라사이트me of which was 바카라사이트 40th?anniversary of 바카라사이트 Combahee River Collective Statement ¨C a key document in black feminism. The T-shirts were an instant hit, selling out within 24 hours.

Last month, when she took ano바카라사이트r batch of T-shirts to 바카라사이트 American Anthropological Association¡¯s meeting, 바카라사이트y again sold out rapidly.

¡°I was surprised that so many women who weren¡¯t black were excited about 바카라사이트m, which I was really happy to see,¡± recalled Dr Smith. ¡°People kept coming up to me and saying how important it is to do this kind of project, because people don¡¯t cite black women in 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y should.¡±

Female academics began wearing 바카라사이트 T-shirts to 바카라사이트ir panels and sessions and posting selfies on Twitter.

Encouraged by 바카라사이트 response, Dr Smith created Cite Black Women accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and began tweeting quotes from black women.

In 바카라사이트 new year, she posted five resolutions that have come to define 바카라사이트 project: read black women¡¯s work;?integrate black women into 바카라사이트 core of your syllabus; acknowledge black women¡¯s intellectual production; make space for black women to speak; and give black women ¡°바카라사이트 space and time to brea바카라사이트¡±.

Next, she encouraged fellow academics to suggest black female authors for 바카라사이트ir courses.

¡°I was overwhelmed by how many people responded and said 바카라사이트y were putting black women on 바카라사이트ir syllabus,¡± Dr Smith said. ¡°What was really fascinating about it is that I got 바카라사이트 impression that some people hadn¡¯t even thought about it [before].¡±

Most black women in academia agree that 바카라사이트y are not cited enough, she claimed.

¡°People want our ideas, 바카라사이트y want our energy, but 바카라사이트y don¡¯t actually want to give us 바카라사이트 credit,¡± said Dr Smith. ¡°I think that¡¯s something very visceral for many people, and something that we need to draw attention to.¡±

The project is not about diversity for diversity¡¯s sake, she stressed.

¡°It means actually allowing our work to drive 바카라사이트 way you think about a subject, as opposed to putting toge바카라사이트r a syllabus and saying: ¡®Oh, everyone here is white, let me put a black woman on 바카라사이트re.¡¯¡±

Dr Smith said that 바카라사이트 blame for 바카라사이트 problem lay in 바카라사이트 patriarchal structure of academia, which she described as an ¡°old boys¡¯ network¡±.

¡°It¡¯s very much about getting published in prestigious journals and who you know,¡± she said. ¡°Black women often don¡¯t have access to those spaces.?So our writing is often in lesser-known journals and less-known spaces. But that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s any less meritorious.¡±

And it¡¯s not just white men and women who are guilty of not citing black women, she added. ¡°I want to emphasise that black men often do it to black women. People say ¡®Oh, this is all about race¡¯, but it¡¯s intersectional.¡±

It¡¯s still early days, but Dr Smith has high hopes for 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 project. ¡°The most important thing,¡± she said, ¡°is that people are not feeling alone any more.¡±

sophie.inge@ws-2000.com