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mc hammer: "a lot of times the 1st book is like the 1st album..."
so @tnflorvil just told MC Hammer & everyone a little bit about her amazing book MOBILIZING BLACK GERMANY
Ok, listening to MC Hammer ask Robin about French history in the 19th c, the role of the Haitian Revolution & the representations of the three women she writes about in VÉNUS NOIRE is pretty much a dream I never wanna wake from?
Now @ParisNoire & @MCHammer are talking about the impact of the Haitian Revolution, what this loss meant for France & how Black women became a focus for French cultural productions expressing racial & national identity, fear, anxiety, shame...
Sarah Baartman, Ourika, Jeanne Duval... @ParisNoire just went through, touching on who they were & the representations of their bodies (especially) in countless visual & written sources during & after their lives.
. @MCHammer: "It seems like a familiar pattern. If you control the narrative, it gives you power."
Then "History...HIS. STORY." (brb my heart just melted w/joy)
Then "History...HIS. STORY." (brb my heart just melted w/joy)
@MCHammer just complimented @ParisNoire on her "fantastic writing style," calling her "a great storyteller"
This work is about studying the"narratives used to control & divide," past & present.
This work is about studying the"narratives used to control & divide," past & present.
Robin speaking to Black women's historical roles as storytellers & her understanding of her own work in that tradition: "Black men were not the only revolutionary figures in history; Black women were important too...I take my responsibility seriously as a historian."
. @MCHammer: "The minute I mentioned your name...just accolades. Everyone spoke so highly of you as a person, as a scholar & as a teacher."
And now, please, a moment for the Oakland connection!
And now, please, a moment for the Oakland connection!
Robin Bates of Maison Noire noting how significant it is to her (& others) that @ParisNoire has written this book. Black women's stories & lives have been relatively silenced in French history.
Robin M: I want Black women in France to feel like "this space is mine."
Robin M: I want Black women in France to feel like "this space is mine."
Asked about her methodology, @ParisNoire gives a shout-out to the many Black women scholars "in the room" whose work meant so much to her as she was working on the book.
Oh hiii @KeishaBlain @jean23bean @AnnetteJosephG @tnflorvil @njlightfoot +++
Oh hiii @KeishaBlain @jean23bean @AnnetteJosephG @tnflorvil @njlightfoot +++
. @LDBurnett asking now about the small number of Black travellers to France before the French & Haitian Revolutions. LDB is thinking that the "Republic of Letters" is too narrow, too white. Were there Black writers who participated/figured?
. @ParisNoire now talking about writing the (incredibly moving) preface to the book. She was nervous about including it, but needed to write it.
Just gonna go ahead & say: R, I'm pretty sure everyone who reads the book is 1000% glad you did write those beautiful first pages.
Just gonna go ahead & say: R, I'm pretty sure everyone who reads the book is 1000% glad you did write those beautiful first pages.
