Okay, not *everything* is an entanglement
Hey, ZORA Fam!
ZORA contributor Luvvie Ajayi Jones tells us that “normal is dead. There is no normal. Normal packed up its bags and left the keys on the kitchen counter.” In other words, 2020 has shown us that we ain’t going back to normal. No need to, and that’s okay. This year, the universe is asking us to audit the right now and imagine the future. That means not everything can come with us — though there are a few things we’d like to keep.
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In the spirit of Luvvie’s hilarious story, All the Things We Need to Ditch Once This Is Over, we’ve got a few things we want to let go of, and some stuff we want to keep.
The Ditch List
Cake memes: If we see one more Surprise! I Can’t Believe It’s Cake meme on the internets, we might actually lose our minds. It started out mesmerizing, but now we’re starting to get trust issues.
The word entanglement: We’re proponents of calling a thing, a thing. Thanks to Jada Pinkett Smith’s use of the word to describe her affair, folks are now using entanglement ad nauseam to classify everything. Time to untangle ourselves, ya’ll.
The Keep List
Growing our own vegetables and herbs: All the images of basil, tomatoes, thyme, echinacea hitting the timeline are beautiful to behold — and saving us some cash. We are all becoming our grandmothers.
Black women and girls roller skating: The video clips of skaters, like Oumi Janta, spinning and gliding effortlessly is the sage we need to cleanse the timeline. More, please!
⭐️ What do you want to ditch? What do you want to keep? Let us know on Twitter. ⭐️
Take care,
Christina M. Tapper, deputy editor
Jolie A. Doggett, platform editor
👀 Honestly, If 👀
Moments we want to see more of… or never again.
Honestly, if big name publications still can’t seem to find photographers of color after over 100 years in syndication, we can ditch them, too.
📚 ZORA Canon Book Club 📚
We’re almost halfway through reading Assata (check the reading schedule here). What are some of the lessons you learned from her autobiography? Let us know.
✨ The Best of Us ✨
News, art, and stories worth celebrating. All by or for WOC.
Ericka Huggins, the longest-serving female leader in Black Panther Party, reflects on her revolutionary work.
ZORA contributor Ruth Hopkins writes about how Washington’s NFL team was forced to admit racism is no longer profitable.
Black women are doing it big — Lisa Lucas becomes the new Senior Vice President and Publisher of Pantheon and Schoken Books at Knopf.
Viola Davis graces the cover of Vanity Fair, in the first shoot conducted by a Black photographer in the publication’s 125 year history
Here are 10 Podcasts for Black Women about self-development
Need a new recipe for sazon? We got you covered.
First Lady Michelle Obama has a new podcast on Spotify! Starting July 29, we all can check in with Obama to hear “candid, human, and personal conversations to show us what is possible when we dare to be vulnerable.”
Dr. Aginah Muhammad has an insightful podcast for Black women called Lite It Up. She discusses resilience in motherhood, work and grief. It’s all about the balancing act and holding space for personal and spiritual growth.
🗣️ The Last Word 🗣️
“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go. Whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.” — Tina Turner
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