Revolutionary Texts of U.S. Black Feminist History
Revolutionary Texts of U.S. Black Feminist History is a course financially supporting the work of Black activists, artists, healers, and prophets.
The first round of the course is complete. Registration is currently closed.
Stay tuned for when it is offered again!
Please note the course tuition always goes to support Black activists, artists, and healers.
This course examines: How did the teachings and contributions of Black feminist foremothers prepare the way for today's transformations?
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Why is a Black feminist analysis of interlocked systems so critical to real transformation?
How did feminist foremothers model birthing language out of silence?
What can we learn about the very meaning of education through their texts?
And how do we honor their contributions now by activating our collective resources to dismantle 500 years of white violence on this planet?
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In this self-paced online course, we connect the power of the contemporary moment to the lineage of Black feminist foremothers, whose creative, intellectual, spiritual, and artistic power is the foundation of the changes rising up today. The tuition donations to this course always benefit the work of Black activists, healers, prophets, artists.
Suggested Weekly Readings
We recommend ordering books from a local bookstore instead of Amazon.
Week 1 (July 15): Barbara Smith
Key Text:
"The Combahee River Collective Statement" (1977, co-written by Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, and Demita Frazier). You can read it here.
Supplementary Texts:
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective (2017)
Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (1983, republished 2000)
Week 2 (July 22): Barbara Smith (cont.)
Key Text:
"Towards a Black Feminist Criticism" (1978, PDF included in the class)
Supplementary Text:
Yours in the Struggle: Three Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Semitism and Racism (1984, co-written by Barbara Smith, Elly Bulkin, and Minnie Bruce Pratt)
Week 3 (July 29): Audre Lorde
Key Text:
Select essays from her book Zami, Sister Outsider, Undersong
Week 4 (August 5): Octavia Butler
Key Text:
Kindred (1980 science fiction novel)
Week 5 (August 12): Kimberlé Crenshaw
Key Text:
"Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color" (1989). You can read it here.
Supplementary Text:
The Alchemy of Race and Rights: Diary of a Law Professor by Patricia Williams (1991)
Week 6 (August 19): Saidiya Hartman
Key Text:
Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Trade (2007)
Supplementary Text:
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals (2019)
What can you expect when you enroll?
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6-weeks of teaching for holistic, self-guided learning.
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18 audio lectures by Dr. George on how key texts of U.S. Black feminist history, from 1977 onward, helped build the contemporary social movements for Black Lives Matter.
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Prompts for contemplative writing practices so that you can reflect in creative and personal ways on the transformative insights from Black feminist foremothers.
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Full transcriptions for each audio lecture to support visual learners.
Course curriculum
September 9-12, listen to the free preview lectures in Week 5.
(You will be prompted to create an account first.)
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1
Week 1: Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective
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Welcome Video: How to Begin
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Course Reading List
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Week1_Transcription_Lectures1_4Revolutionary_Texts_Black_Feminist_History
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#1_Lecture: Introduction (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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#2_Lecture: Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective (by Kimberly B. George)
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#3_Lecture: (continued) Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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#4_Lecture: (continued) Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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2
Week 2: Barbara Smith (continued)
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Week2_Transcription_Lectures5_7_Revolutionary_Texts_Black_Feminist_History
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#5_Lecture: (continued) Barbara Smith and "Towards a Black Feminist Criticism" (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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#6_Lecture: (continued) Barbara Smith and "Towards a Black Feminist Criticism" (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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#7_Lecture: Barbara Smith and Yours in the Struggle (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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3
Week 3: Audre Lorde
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Week3_Transcription_Lectures8_11Revolutionary_Texts_Black_Feminist_History
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#8_Audre Lorde_Introduction_ (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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#9__Audre Lorde_Poetry is Not a Luxury_ (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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#10_Audre Lorde_Transformation of Silence Into Language and Action (by Dr. Kimberly. B. George)
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#11_Audre Lorde_Interview with Adrienne Rich (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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Week 4: Octavia Butler's Kindred
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Week4_Transcription_Lectures12_13_Revolutionary_Texts
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#12__Octavia Butler_Kindred (by Dr. Kimberly B. George)
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#13_Octavia_Butler_Kindred_continued (by Kimberly B. George)
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Week 6: Saidiya Hartman
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Week6_Transcription_Lectures16_18_Revolutionary_Texts.
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#16__Hartman _Lose Your Mother (by Dr. Kimberly George)
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#17_Hartman _Lose Your Mother_continued (by Dr. Kimberly George)
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#18_Conclusion_(by Dr. Kimberly George)
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Want to find out when Feminism School offers this course again?
Stay in touch.
Feminism School Founder & Instructor
Dr. Kimberly B. George (she/her)
Dr. Kimberly B. George (Ph.D. Ethnic Studies UCSD, M.A. Religious Studies Yale University) is a somatic psychosocial theorist, feminist ethnic studies scholar, educator, and consultant. She partners with individuals and organizations to facilitate workshops and programs that dive deep into feminist research on transformation. Interdisciplinary and rigorous in how she approaches her teaching, with a commitment to contemplative, holistic study, she has trained across five graduate programs, stretching from the Ivies (Yale University) to the more culturally radical UC system. Her areas of study focus on race, gender, and colonization; religious history; feminist intellectual and activist history; trauma studies and psychodynamic research; and pedagogy and contemplative studies. She's been building accessible, graduate-level courses outside the university since 2006. She identifies as a mystic and contemplative, as well as a scholar. She is published in numerous outlets, including OnBeing, The Washington Spectator, and the Feminist Wire. She is the co-editor of the book Football, Culture, and Power (Routledge).