from blackamazon…
EDIT: SEND BLACKAMAZON TO AMC!
shared here at her request.
I’m done. My blog will go live again when I’m compiling stuff for my time to apply to gradschool but I am done for now.
I want to say that this is permaent or that this is just a small break but no , this isteh beginning of a death knell.
You know what every body feel good about themselves ?
I think the point where I went fuck it , is when a law student, a couple writers, and a professor basically endorsed a book and MISSED in reading something they were ATTACHING their names to .
Racist comics, about MY PEOPLE. Yeah MY PEOPLE, being KILLED and destroyed to save a white man and give a white woman the “courage” she so desperately desires .
And people fell over themselves to excuse them . Cause they’re learning
You know what , fuck off.
Hey it’s no expectation you be responsible and careful with what you endorse, write and publish, because it’s a ” friend” right.
They get the be nefit of the doubts, the benefit of not having to be called on their evil racist condescending crap.
My friends while your protecting your friends are completely disrespected and it’s okay right.
It’s okay to be in not one but THREE fucking threads on feministe and listen to people take BFP’s pain and anguish and desolation over thdamage doing this work in this hostile environment.
But the MINUTE the word stealing or plagirism comes up WE CAN’T HAVE THAT CAN WE NO?
cause two weeks is a perfectly acceptable time for YOU to get over something.
I love that letters to Amanda are protected and carefully worded while BFp is treated like a fucking object
” respect’
“admire”
“commend”
codeword
Hey I have no real desire to change the way i treat you or ACTUALLY mitigate your treatment but hey thanks for making it thru!
It’s not at all interesting that you notice how many hits you get from secret groups and syncornised efforts
( please if you are going to do that BREAK THE LINKS statcounter don’t lie)
There is a lot of this talk where in ” fixing feminism” or ” giving voice” is a fun codeword.
As if we didn’ od our own things make our own voices and have to dela time and time again
have to deal with the use of those voices images and presence for VARIOUS appropriations
like BFPs problem wasn’t that it STOPPED HER FROM HER WORLK FOR HER SISTERS
and not that about atagline
or that a post a bout Sudy can’t suddenly turn into whether or ot the rightnumber of p WOC are mentioned FOR FEMINISTING
but you know that’s okay.
It’s not that I show up in a thread about shit that’s happening to ME and be IGNORED for the white people talking.
or that insults and degradatiosn charges of career defamation
aren’t swept under because for once
( the fact that i t coincides with something monetary compensation)
are lauded while in the comments a woc is disrespected and roasted alive and it’s okay
but you know the show isn’t for the WOC
it’s for each other
So they can be the people they advertise so much to the right wing boogey men they are so enamored with.
That after being in BITCH SALON JEZEBEL and hosts of othe rblogs
no ones apologiced or even CONTACTED ME
By the bye i love th comparison of me to a fucking date rapist in training
But hey lots of I’m learnings secret outreach and talks amongs t themselves before the y figure out how to handle the alien black child.
but this this is BETTER this is progress
cause someones eyes were opened.
I can’t even fight it.
Ic an’t go toe to toe with a press, people with leisure time, people who think the fact their book is more important than someones like work.
But hey other white women will think better of you or youll be come better in yourselves
SO GREAT GOOD
[...] We have now lost two of the most brilliant fucking voices of women of colour in the blogosphere in the space of two weeks. First, it was Brownfemipower. Now, it’s Blackamazon. [...]
oh, HELL. damn. ::cursing in various languages::
Thanks for letting us know what happened, Sylvia/M. G-d do I wish it hadn’t, but the information is appreciated.
BFP said it differently, but I’m borrowing her brilliance:
I’ll find you.
You find me.
At the River,
-S
Fucking terrific.
I can’t say I’m exactly surprised. But yeah. Fuck.
Why is there no internet hug function. WHY.
FUCK.
Well, dammit. I am deeply sad for Blackamazon. Her analysis is spot on, and her feelings and words very clearly strong and justified. (Not that she needs my ‘approval’.)
Festering apologists everywhere. The whole episode has shown, once again, just how absolutely egregiously obvious and vile racism has to be before some people will (dragged kicking and screaming, still making excuses) even acknowledge its presence. All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again; and it’s not good enough.
dammit. I don’t know what to say.
I have no words.
just wanted to say, it’s a damn shame.
[...] Jump to Comments I very sad and very unsurprised. I was not a regular reader of Black Amazon, but this is the sort of thing that will leave a big [...]
[...] Intent Doesn’t Matter II Let’s envision a kinder, gentler internet and hope that fixes everything. Then let’s all feign surprise when it doesn’t, because turns out we only wanted that [...]
See you ’round, BA. 21-machete salute from me, and a promise to haul a little harder now that you’re out.
[...] every time I learn something, that every time my eyes are opened, or my consciousness raised, that some tangible pain is lessened. It [...]
Thank you for writing this, BA. I’ll miss you and your blog while you’re gone.
Shiiiiiiiiiit.
BA, you know I love you and have read you regularly for years. If I can help in any way to make your day or your life a bit better, please contact me.
I’m not expecting anything, but I posted this over at the Seal Press blog:
I wish you luck in your anti-racism training. There is a huge difference between being “a racist” and being a white person who engages in racist *behavior*. You two have taken the first step by realizing you have and may continue to do racist things. Our culture has spent years teaching us to ignore racism when it’s right in front of us. We need to make the personal commitment to overcome that false training.
I hope you see the connection between this particular behavior and the behavior you exhibited toward Black Amazon. Your disrespect for her was part of the same blindness that made those racist cartoons invisible to you.
Good luck.
Ravenmn
For Black Amazon : http://mamitamala.com/?p=739
So damned depressing.
Be well, BA. I really can’t think of anything to add except, like others:
FUCK.
damn. BA, your words will be missed.
I will miss your words. Be well.
I will miss you, BA. I hope the coming months and years bring more pleasant surprises.
I’ll miss you, BA.
Sonofafuckinbitch.
Damn.
BA, please be well. And know that you will be missed.
I am so upset to see you go…I never knew you personally but I enjoyed your blog. I wish you all the love and success in the world…and I know with your strength you will make it happen.
BlackAmazon, you know I respect your decision here, but fuck.
Be well.
[...] in the comments. Also, go look at the Update page for info and links to responses from Sudy, BA (via Sylvia’s blog), and ProfBW with regard to Seal Press and the [...]
God this has been a horrible few weeks.
I didn’t delurk much at your blog, BA, but I really enjoyed. I’m very sorry indeed that you’ve decided to stop blogging, but I’m not surprised that you feel it’s the only think you can do right now.
Best wishes for the future, and good luck applying to grad school.
>>I hope you see the connection between this particular behavior and the behavior you exhibited toward Black Amazon. Your disrespect for her was part of the same blindness that made those racist cartoons invisible to you.>>
infuckingdeed.
[...] feed reader is dwindling down to next to nothing. I think the point where I went fuck it , is when a law student, a couple writers, and a professor [...]
stay strong, BA! love to ya, hermana. you’ve been an inspiration.
This is fucked up; it shouldn’t have happened, and I’m sorry. That said, please: take care of yourself.
ah, dammit
by the way I noticed too - the grudging apology came after the negative reviews on amazon.com
funny how a threatened sock to the pocketbook can lead someone to humbling themselves when nothing else does…
Link to you
[...] Not Going Anywhere (But I Damn Well Feel Like It) Posted on April 26, 2008 by the angry black woman So I get back from my little vacation and find that Black Amazon took down her blog. [...]
I’m sad too, but be well, do good work and keep in touch!
I’m just so sorry, and wish you well.
i love you ba and am sooo glad we’ll see each other in june so i don’t have withdrawals too much
[...] Continue reading at Problem Chylde [...]
Damn.
Damn damn damn.
BA, best wishes.
[...] Continue reading at Problem Chylde [...]
[...] Continue Reading at Problem Chylde [...]
[...] listening ain’t easy There has been a lot of controversy lately in the feminist blog world. I haven’t commented on any of it (with the exception of one collective post) and this is [...]
i”m so sorry. Take care of you!
[...] and Susan Sarandon, (yes, white women) don’t claim the label feminist, and why bloggers I admire are [...]
Damn. This is so unfair.
I’m sorry it’s happened, and been so toxic, and especially how so many of us (including me) have been talking over there instead of being here and other places where you are talking.
Best wishes to you, BA.
BA: keep strong, keep fighting the good fight.
I’m sorry to see you go. I’m sorry you have to go. Take care.
Sorry to see you go too.
And what tigtog said.
[...] Once again, I’m gutted, she is a powerful writer, incredibly brave for sticking around as long as she did considering the crap she was getting, and always hit an infinite number of nails on the head. This post is no exception - go read it. [...]
Don’t do this. I am begging you. Take a break if you must, but don’t silence yourself. In the name of every black woman who is struggling to find their voice and justice, keep blogging. There are many that didn’t even realize how many black female bloggers — black feminists — were out there. These bad acts have drawn more attention to your cause than you realize. So don’t go away. Please.
[...] Continue reading at Problem Chylde [...]
From a total stranger … who seems to only be delurking to tell fabulous women how much she has appreciated their writing …
BA: thank you for your work. I’ve been lurking at your blog for a while, but I never posted in comments on your blog because I didn’t ever think my voice was important enough, I didn’t feel I had anything to say that matched up to the power of your words.
Even now, I don’t know whether it means anything for me to write this. But I will miss your blog, and I wish you the strength to fight the battles that are worth fighting.
And to Sylvia: thanks for providing us with the space to say goodbye to BA, and thanks for all of your work, too.
Jo
I’m so sorry, Blackamazon. I will miss your blog. Best of luck with all you do and with the grad school application.
Sylvia/M, thank you so much for providing a space in which I could write to Blackamazon.
BA, I have linked your blog since I started blogging. I am so sorry you are leaving.
I don’t quite know what to say about this, except that I share your perceptions about the whole careering thing. The fact that people talked about careers and acted like it was WOC doing the disrupting rather than the actual disruptive people… well, it was all very Twilight Zone/Orwellian to me.
Still is.
Luck of the Irish go with you–”Shining star for you to see/what your life will truly be.”
Blackamazon, I know that just because you’ve stopped blogging you aren’t going to stop doing good work. That’s what’s important to me, though I’ll miss your voice. Keep doing the right thing.
Take care of yourself, Blackamazon. You have a rare gift, of seeing to the heart of issues. Thank you for sharing yourself and your vision with us.
And thanks, Sylvia, for posting this. That we all could have such friends in difficult times…
This makes me so sad (though of course, probably nowhere near what BA feels). In an internet full of snark and posturig, BA’s was a voice that spoke from a place of love even in the midst of anger and gave to each the full weight they deserve but are so often denied. I will miss her words.
I’ll miss you, BlackAmazon. Much love and good vibes from me to you.
[...] Black Amazon has stopped blogging. You know, that was not a happy for me and I cried, but now it is a happy because it’s what [...]
[...] BA has also quit blogging. (H/T again to Sylvia) [...]
Best wishes, Black Amazon.
I will miss you Blackamazon…you are an incredible voice and I loved reading you.
Crap. Late to the party, as usual, but… damn. I’ll miss you, BA.
[...] Black Amazon [...]
[...] when the white editors of a press known to give short shrift to the voices of women of color, come uninvited onto a WoC’s blog and slather their racism and defensiveness all over it, because that WoC dared to get angry with [...]
I’ll miss you BA
BA, I’ve been a lurker, not a poster, but I am very sad to hear this.
[...] The recent explosion (implosion might be a better word) in my small bit of the internet has been sad, infuriating, bitter, depressing and ultimately only productive in building more walls and barriers between us so-called feminists. Two of my favorite bloggers have quit. Here are their last posts. brownfemipower and blackamazon [...]
[...] Dropping like flies lately, they are. Some of them in a full on "goodbye cruel world" flounce and others in the time honored "I need a break for my real life" way. This edition is a short one, but worth noting anyway. "Don’t do this. I am begging you. Take a break if you must, but don’t silence yourself. In the name of every black woman who is struggling to find their voice and justice, keep blogging. There are many that didn’t even realize how many black female bloggers — black feminists — were out there. These bad acts have drawn more attention to your cause than you realize. So don’t go away. Please." - jenn, feeding a flounce [...]
[...] anywhere, 4/26). * ABW On Feminism Part 2, 4/28.) * don’t hate appropriate @ problem chylde * from blackamazon @ problem chylde * post at Feministe that talked about this and the Seal Press issue, and ended up [...]
[...] now, Blackamazon has decided to shut it down as [...]
[...] now Blackamazon has quit the blogosphere as [...]
[...] Marcotte apologised, Seal Press apologised, Black Amazon quit blogging, one of the Feministe bloggers has quit blogging, and everywhere, or at least, everywhere in the US [...]
[...] the Knapsack Metaphor To Its Full Bent (And Then Some) Footnote 02 May 2008 1. brownfemipower and Blackamazon have both left blogging for now, and have probably done so for good, taking down their blogs [...]
[...] are not good enough”. As the month of April went on, though, with brownfemipower’s and Blackamazon’s final statements, other women rejecting the term “feminism”, the Seal Press girlcott, [...]
[...] And now blackamazon has quit blogging Her final post is up at Problem Chylde. [...]
Sylvia (or BA if you read this..),
Do you know if BA is still fundraising to attend the AMC? She is listed on the AMC blog, and if so do you know where/how to pitch in a little ?
Thanks..
Something told me to come to this blog and I found this. This is very upsetting. I always come in the game too late. I don’t even know who she is, but judging by the comments she must’ve been a great blogger. I came in the game late when brownfem left as well. I really hope she comes back, just for the sake of black women bloggers/readers like me who really need a voice in this world. I don’t know many black women bloggers, so it really sucks to see that another one is lost before I got a chance to know them. Hopefully she’ll come back
[...] 17, 2008 Since BA’s blog is out of commission, I spoke to her about fundraising for AMC after a question about raising money from d. She said she needs donations to help her get to Detroit, and that I can act as her proxy for the [...]
Hello there,
I am late to this conversation but…I want to blow my trumpet about this!
I will be SOOOO HAPPY when my sistas stop storming off whenever white women (or black women) pull some shady mess….
I am tired, tired, tired of the storming off yelling routine sistas… just tired of it…and tired of other sistas condoning THAT as an appropriate response.
How about leveraging our collective influence? Have we tried that ENOUGH…are we willing to master it?
If so then let’s focus on THAT rather than ranting and raving and whining and storming off. Let’s get intense about mastering our COLLECTIVE strategy.
Peace blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
You are welcome to visit my house:
http://blackwomenblowthetrumpet.blogspot.com
You may not be terribly familiar with blackamazon; but she’s not the type of person to rant/rave/whine/storm off regularly. She works very hard, and she’s focusing her energies elsewhere and on herself.
And she has not neglected the suggestion you’ve offered in the past; nor will she in the future.
Thanks for visiting and I’ll take a look at your blog as well. –M
Hi there!
Thanks for sharing that clarification!
We MUST stand our ground! [raised fist}
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa