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Books by Kola Boof
Nile
River Woman (Poems, Feb. 10, 2004) /
Long Train to the Redeeming
Sin-Stories About African Women
(April 6, 2004)
Flesh and the Devil: A Novel
(May 11, 2004) /
Diary of a Lost Girl
(2007)
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Boof
Banned in Anacostia
A
Letter from Kola "Naima"
Boof Read this carefully:
I was booked to appear on August 28th at the Anacostia Museum in
Washington, D.C.-- just a block and a half from where I grew up.
Mysteriously today...the Museum informs me that they can't
host my event because they "forgot" that they
can't sell books on the Museum property (although they just had
a major book event last month and have Edwidge Danticat coming
soon).
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From a black woman who works for the Museum, I have learned
however that what has happened is . . . people from the media
began phoning the museum and complaining that hosting Kola Boof
could be "dangerous" and that my word lacks
"credibility". As well, several important black
men complained that I don't represent the D.C. community well
and that I'm a slut, a fraud and a clown.
One of those men...is a high ranking official in the Washington,
D.C. chapter of the Sudanese Liberation Movement, another one is
a respected local newspaper editor. |
I feel so enraged...and of course...devastated that people will
do anything to destroy me (and lie on me) and suppress my
work...for reasons of which I truly have no understanding of . .
. whatsoever.
At this moment, I just want to commit suicide.
It seems that no matter how many times the media has now proven
my story (those brave few that would report it) . . . there is a
very powerful contingent of people who greatly fear me and do
not want me to exist.
You would think that I was the most powerful woman since Eve and
that my 3 books that are translated to English and released in
America were Holy Scripture.
I really am beginning to hate these motherfuckers in America.
But my birth name is "Naima"—the one who is
victorious.
Kola Boof
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Alek: My Life from Sudanese Refugee to
International Supermodel
By
Alek Wek
"When I
cleaned toilets, I only saw it as work to
give me the means to achieve my goals. Of
course I hated it," the Sudanese supermodel
exclaimed. "Waking up at 4 a.m. when it's
freezing cold is not easy, followed by Uni,
coursework and my evening baby-sitting job,
but it made me disciplined and gave me a
huge sense of self-appreciation."
Born
the seventh of nine children Alek, meaning
'black-spotted cow' (one of Sudan's most
treasured cows, which represents good luck),
never dreamt of becoming a model. Both in
her motherland, where she was considered to
be inferior due to her Dinka tribe (dubbed
as 'zurqa', meaning dirty black) and again
in Britain when she arrived in 1991, she
faced hostility.—Jamaica-Gleaner |
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
update 16 May 2010
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