Chat and Chew: Black Women Writers

On February 4, the Howard University Center for Women, Gender, and Global Leadership kicked off the Spring 2022 semester by organizing The Black Feminist Book Club’s Chat and Chew: Black Women Writers. The event was co-sponsored by the Howard University Social Justice Consortium and included a discussion about writers, scholars, and the significant contributions of Black women to the literary world. The panelists were Howard Professor Patricia Elam Walker and Dr. Dana A. Williams who serves as the Dean of the Graduate School at Howard. 

The Black Feminist Book Club was created by Howard University Sociology major and English Minor Chanice McClover and as the founder and president she wanted to create “the first [student] organization dedicated to reading, studying, and celebrating the work of black women writers.” McClover says that she is “looking forward to facilitating this space on campus.”

The panelists were already familiar with each other prior to the event, and it allowed for their discussion to be both personal and professional. Dr. Williams expressed that although she loves literature and writing, she does not consider herself to be a writer, but more of a writing critic. As a writer, Professor Elam Walker discussed her experiences and the ways that she developed her own voice, and the work that she has done over the course of her career. For Professor Elam Walker, writing is something that she constantly wants to do and thinks about writing every day. Professor Elam Walker expressed that what was always important to her in her writing was honesty and authenticity.  

Both emphasized the importance of reading and the tangible impacts that being an avid reader had on them personally, and how it has contributed to their academic and professional successes. Ultimately, the discussion was spent exploring the importance of the representation of black female voices in literature and the necessity for writers that challenge the accepted Eurocentric academic models that exclude and erase black women’s voices in literature. 

The Howard University Black Feminist Book Club will serve as a valuable resource for students interested in black feminist consciousness as well as a space for book club members to share their love of books and reading. It also offers the members the opportunity to connect with other like-minded individuals. The link to sign up is https://bit.ly/3uffQN1.

You can find the recording of the event on the Center's YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/lGjgfQ9vVyQ