Queering Black Motherhood [6-weeks, $250 Suggested]

Instructor: Bennett | Wednesdays January 12-February 16 | 6:30-8:30 PM ET

In her 1983 essay, “Eye to Eye: Black Women, Hatred, and Anger,” Audre Lorde proposes self-mothering as an antidote to isolation and self-hatred, writing that as Black women choose to mother themselves, “we will begin to see each other as we dare to begin to see ourselves.” For Lorde, learning how to mother yourself creates a life of self-love, authentic and vulnerable relationships, and communities enhanced by a constant and careful consideration of difference. Similarly, for bell hooks, this practice of self-love creates a multigenerational community of Black women in which “wise women who love are not afraid to open our hearts to younger women so that they can speak to and with us about their deepest fears, needs, longings, and aspirations.”

This course takes up mothering as a praxis of self-repair and community-building when viewed through the intersecting lenses of queerness and Black women’s lived experiences. In this course, “mothering” is not defined solely as a biological relationship within a nuclear family. Instead, we will take up mothering as a means of understanding the intergenerational psychic and emotional effects of slavery and segregation, the internalization of gender roles under white patriarchy, and the ways in which queer Black feminists historically have mothered and been mothered by each other in order to create chosen families that reflect their visions of the future. In addition to Lorde and hooks, writers and artists will include Barbara Smith, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and SZA.

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We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.

If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.