Literary | Talks
Black Futures
VIRTUAL
With Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham
In conversation with Raquel Willis and Naima Green
Showcasing the work of Naima Green
Co-presented by BAM and Greenlight Bookstore
What does it mean to be Black and alive right now? To celebrate the launch of their new book collaboration, writer, curator, and activist Kimberly Drew and New York Times Magazine culture writer Jenna Wortham are joined by activist Raquel Willis to dissect this very question. Black Futures is a collection of work—featuring images, photos, essays, memes, dialogues, recipes, tweets, poetry, and more—that tells the story of the radical, imaginative, provocative, and gorgeous world that Black creators are bringing forth today. This evening also features artist Naima Green, who will share some of her visual work, and join the discussion about this exciting new archive of collective memory and exuberant testimony, a luminous map to navigate an opaque and disorienting present, and an infinite geography of possible futures.
This event will include ASL interpretation and Closed Captioning.
Season Sponsor:
Leadership support for programming in the Howard Gilman Opera House and off-site programs provided by:
Leadership support for BAM Access Programs provided by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Leadership support for the BAM Hamm Archives and BAM Film, Community, and Education programs provided by The Thompson Family Foundation
Additional support from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Kimberly Drew is a writer, curator, and activist. Drew received her BA from Smith College in art history and African-American studies. During her time at Smith, she launched the Tumblr blog Black Contemporary Art, which has featured artwork by nearly 5,000 Black artists. Drew’s writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Elle UK, and Glamour. She lives in Brooklyn (just a few blocks away from Jenna Wortham).
Jenna Wortham is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. She is also co-host of the podcast Still Processing, as well as a sound healer, reiki practitioner, and herbalist, all of which she lovingly practices on Kimberly Drew. She is currently working on a book about the body and dissociation. She lives in Brooklyn.
Raquel Willis is a Black transgender activist, writer, and media strategist dedicated to elevating the dignity of marginalized people, particularly Black transgender people. She was recently announced as the new Director of Communications for the Ms. Foundation for Women. She is the former executive editor of Out magazine and a former national organizer for Transgender Law Center. Her debut essay collection about her coming of identity and activism, The Risk It Took to Bloom, will be released in 2021.
Naima Green is an artist and educator born in Philadelphia and raised in New York. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including at Fotografiska, Smart Museum of Art, MASS MoCA, International Center of Photography, Bronx Museum, and BRIC. Her works are in collections including the MoMA Library, International Center of Photography Library, and National Gallery of Art. She holds an MFA in Photography from ICP–Bard, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA from Barnard College.
