The Othermothers

This reflective talk-in timed to coincide with Woman’s Day is a space to honour Black Feminists, thoughts, and practices, and how their words are blueprints that have nurtured and continue to inform movements globally across generations.

⭐ This talk-in is informed by conversations about the need to reground and contextualise Black Feminists such as Gamba Adisa (Audre Lorde), Toni Morison and other feminist icons’ stories as blueprints and maps. Especially in times of converging crisis, overwhelm and a political economy that is more concerned with the marketability and sellability of movements as opposed to equitable and long-term visions for transformation.

⭐ Guided by Gamba Adisa’s introduction in ‘Zami: A new spelling of my name’ (1982) the intention of this talk-in is to remember and learn from lineages of women and femmes who’s politic and practices are rooted in liberation for all, as we are aware of the different feelings and discourse Woman’s Day can conjure up. We are seeking to explore intersectional feminisms and to uplift the contributions of Black Feminists in Oceania. Who led us to the transformative waters of Black Feminisms? What practices did they pass on? What can we learn from the lineage of Black Feminists, Womanists and those influenced by their work?

The Othermothers is a phrase that resonated to us in Stephanie Renee Toliver’s chapter ‘Exploring womanism: finding the othermothers, entering the habour’ in her book ‘Recovering Black storytelling in qualitative research: Endarkened storywork’.