An Irresistible Revolution: The Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activists Collective
By M. Bahati Kuumba, Ph.D.
"We are involved in a struggle for liberation: liberation from the exploitative and dehumanizing system of racism, from the manipulative control of a corporate society; liberation from the constrictive norms of ‘mainstream’ culture, from the synthetic myths that encourage us to fashion ourselves from without (reaction) rather than from within (creation)…If women are to get basic, then surely the first job is to find out what liberation means, what work it entails, what benefits it will yield.”
-Toni Cade Bambara, The Black Woman (1970)
“No truer words ever been spoken!” This passage written by Toni Cade Bambara in her groundbreaking scholar-activist anthology, The Black Woman, is just as relevant today as it was in 1970 when the book was released. Also as relevant was Toni Cade’s perspective that Black women’s individual and collective participation in this liberation struggle is essential, yet devalued and obscured. Her own life’s praxis epitomized scholar-activism in that she combined radical knowledge production through writing and film with social justice activism and community organizing.
The Toni Cade Bambara Writers/Scholars/ Activists (TCB) Program, a project of the Women’s Research and Resource Center (WRRC) at Spelman College founded in 1985, continues Toni Cade Bambara’s liberation legacy by engaging students/youth, scholars and community activists together in consciousness-raising and collective action towards the struggle for social justice and human liberation. In fact, the founding of the Women’s Center in 1981 by founding Director, Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall and a small group of brave Black feminists at Spelman, was itself an act of strategic subversion in the face of anti-feminist tendencies in the Black community. Beyond the academy, it was Guy-Sheftall’s personal mentee relationship with Toni Cade, and her daughter Karma Bambara Smith, that laid the foundation for institutionalizing and commemorating her contributions to the liberation struggles of her time. In addition to the ongoing TCB Program, there have been 20 years of the Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism Conference, a student-led and co-founded gathering and has acquired her papers which are housed in the Spelman College Archives. In the Women’s Center, Toni Cade’s liberation legacy
lives on.
“knowledge and pizza will be served”
“Throughout the country in recent years, Black women have been forming work-study groups, discussion clubs, cooperative nurseries, cooperative businesses, consumer education groups, women’s workshops on the campuses, women’s caucuses within existing organizations, Afro-American women’s magazines.”(Bambara 1970: 4)
The TCB program intentionally follows this model of Black women creating progressive collectives and sites for political education and action. At least twice per month, the Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activists Collective gathers Spelman students, community activists and others gather to engage in dialogue about the problems and solutions facing Black women, African/African diasporans and humanity more broadly. These gatherings often cover provocative topics that draw students in, like “My Body is Not Your Temple” or “Dismantling the Master’s Tools.” In t he tradition of Black women’s organizing strategies, we also offer sustenance (i.e., food) as enticement for student participation. In fact, our pledge for each meeting is that “knowledge and pizza will be served.” One TCB Collective Alumna says of her reproductive justice activism that, “it all started with pizza.”
In order to continue the liberatory work of Toni Cade Bambara, TCB Collective members must first know the liberatory work of Toni Cade Bambara. So, we begin each year by exposing the participants to Toni Cade Bambara’s life work and the profound impact that her writing, filmmaking, international solidarity and community organizing had on furthering the Black/human liberation struggle. In addition to being provided a copy of The Black Woman, TCB Collective members learn about Toni Cade through dialogues with presenters that have had direct personal and political relationships, such as: Alice Lovelace (arts administrator/poet/activist), Pearl Cleage (writer/playwright/activist) and
Ama Saran (community activist).
“a determination to touch and to unify”
Toni Cade Bambara clearly viewed Black unity and community organizing as central to the progress of the Black [women’s] liberation struggle. In that spirit, the Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activists Collective activities are open to the wider Atlanta community members. Toni Cade’s legacy of community organizing in Black communities, particularly among women, is furthered by the collaborations between the TCB Collective and progressive community entities, such as: Project South – Institute for Elimination of Poverty and Genocide, Black Voters Matter and Women Engaged. Through co-sponsorships and collaborations, the TCB program has established deep connections also establishes linkages and forges interaction with scholars and activists at other academic and activist institutions/organizations.
The TCB Program has been a catalyst for progressive student action in the form of emergent progressive student organizations. Numerous progressive student groups have either emerged from or been supported by the Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism Collective, including the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), Afrekete (LGBTQIA organization), SisterFire (women’s only open-mic) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Two of the most memorable moments of FMLA were the Nelly protest in 2004 and the “Breaking the Silence March” against campus sexual assaults the spring semester of 2007.
The TCB Program incorporates Toni Cade’s practice of international solidarity with other progressive struggles The Women’s Research and Resource Center has been a consistently vibrant site for transnational African feminist intellectual exchange and activist networking. Through the Women’s Research and Resource Center has also invited and featured African descendent women scholars and organizations from around the world, e.g., Trinidad, Jamaica, South Africa, Nigeria, Swaziland, Canada, and India. The program has
also linked to The Her story Project at the University of the Western Cape (UWC); Sister Love, Inc.
(US and South Africa); and Women Watch Afrika, Inc (Nigeria, the UK and US).
Some of the African feminists who have been invited to participate in discussions are Patricia McFadden (Southern Africa), Glory Kilanko (Nigeria, UK & US) and Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi, as well as Glory Kilanko (Nigerian).
“women warriors of this morning”
For the past 20 years, the TCB Collective political education and activism program has culminated in a student-led conference which is student-led and continues Toni Cade’s liberation legacy, as well as the little known of African and African women’s activism at Spelman College. Students who have engaged in the TCB program activities throughout the year are responsible for conceptualizing the conference themes, determining the issues to be addressed and implementing the event’s activities. Their selected theme for the 2019 Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism (Virtual) Conference summed it up “Practicing Our Politics: Black Women Making Revolution Irresistible.” The Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activists Program at Spelman College models its namesake’s in being a transformational force for re-radicalizing Black feminist thought and activism on campus, community, national and global levels.
“a luta continua (the struggle continues)”
Through the Toni Cade Bambara Writers/Scholars/Activists program, collective and conference we continuously say her name, read her words, view her images and walk in her revolutionary path. Check the Spelman College website for upcoming TCB events commemorating Toni Cade’s birthday in March, 2022 and the next Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism Conference in March, 2023. Be ready for programming in her spirit in addition to upcoming (virtual) TCB events, be ready.
https://www.spelman.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/comparative-womens-studies/womens-research-resource-center
Reference
Bambara, Toni Cade. 1970[2005]. The Black Woman. New York: Washington Square Press.
Photograph ©️Susan J. Ross
"We are involved in a struggle for liberation: liberation from the exploitative and dehumanizing system of racism, from the manipulative control of a corporate society; liberation from the constrictive norms of ‘mainstream’ culture, from the synthetic myths that encourage us to fashion ourselves from without (reaction) rather than from within (creation)…If women are to get basic, then surely the first job is to find out what liberation means, what work it entails, what benefits it will yield.”
-Toni Cade Bambara, The Black Woman (1970)
“No truer words ever been spoken!” This passage written by Toni Cade Bambara in her groundbreaking scholar-activist anthology, The Black Woman, is just as relevant today as it was in 1970 when the book was released. Also as relevant was Toni Cade’s perspective that Black women’s individual and collective participation in this liberation struggle is essential, yet devalued and obscured. Her own life’s praxis epitomized scholar-activism in that she combined radical knowledge production through writing and film with social justice activism and community organizing.
The Toni Cade Bambara Writers/Scholars/ Activists (TCB) Program, a project of the Women’s Research and Resource Center (WRRC) at Spelman College founded in 1985, continues Toni Cade Bambara’s liberation legacy by engaging students/youth, scholars and community activists together in consciousness-raising and collective action towards the struggle for social justice and human liberation. In fact, the founding of the Women’s Center in 1981 by founding Director, Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall and a small group of brave Black feminists at Spelman, was itself an act of strategic subversion in the face of anti-feminist tendencies in the Black community. Beyond the academy, it was Guy-Sheftall’s personal mentee relationship with Toni Cade, and her daughter Karma Bambara Smith, that laid the foundation for institutionalizing and commemorating her contributions to the liberation struggles of her time. In addition to the ongoing TCB Program, there have been 20 years of the Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism Conference, a student-led and co-founded gathering and has acquired her papers which are housed in the Spelman College Archives. In the Women’s Center, Toni Cade’s liberation legacy
lives on.
“knowledge and pizza will be served”
“Throughout the country in recent years, Black women have been forming work-study groups, discussion clubs, cooperative nurseries, cooperative businesses, consumer education groups, women’s workshops on the campuses, women’s caucuses within existing organizations, Afro-American women’s magazines.”(Bambara 1970: 4)
The TCB program intentionally follows this model of Black women creating progressive collectives and sites for political education and action. At least twice per month, the Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activists Collective gathers Spelman students, community activists and others gather to engage in dialogue about the problems and solutions facing Black women, African/African diasporans and humanity more broadly. These gatherings often cover provocative topics that draw students in, like “My Body is Not Your Temple” or “Dismantling the Master’s Tools.” In t he tradition of Black women’s organizing strategies, we also offer sustenance (i.e., food) as enticement for student participation. In fact, our pledge for each meeting is that “knowledge and pizza will be served.” One TCB Collective Alumna says of her reproductive justice activism that, “it all started with pizza.”
In order to continue the liberatory work of Toni Cade Bambara, TCB Collective members must first know the liberatory work of Toni Cade Bambara. So, we begin each year by exposing the participants to Toni Cade Bambara’s life work and the profound impact that her writing, filmmaking, international solidarity and community organizing had on furthering the Black/human liberation struggle. In addition to being provided a copy of The Black Woman, TCB Collective members learn about Toni Cade through dialogues with presenters that have had direct personal and political relationships, such as: Alice Lovelace (arts administrator/poet/activist), Pearl Cleage (writer/playwright/activist) and
Ama Saran (community activist).
“a determination to touch and to unify”
Toni Cade Bambara clearly viewed Black unity and community organizing as central to the progress of the Black [women’s] liberation struggle. In that spirit, the Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activists Collective activities are open to the wider Atlanta community members. Toni Cade’s legacy of community organizing in Black communities, particularly among women, is furthered by the collaborations between the TCB Collective and progressive community entities, such as: Project South – Institute for Elimination of Poverty and Genocide, Black Voters Matter and Women Engaged. Through co-sponsorships and collaborations, the TCB program has established deep connections also establishes linkages and forges interaction with scholars and activists at other academic and activist institutions/organizations.
The TCB Program has been a catalyst for progressive student action in the form of emergent progressive student organizations. Numerous progressive student groups have either emerged from or been supported by the Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism Collective, including the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), Afrekete (LGBTQIA organization), SisterFire (women’s only open-mic) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Two of the most memorable moments of FMLA were the Nelly protest in 2004 and the “Breaking the Silence March” against campus sexual assaults the spring semester of 2007.
The TCB Program incorporates Toni Cade’s practice of international solidarity with other progressive struggles The Women’s Research and Resource Center has been a consistently vibrant site for transnational African feminist intellectual exchange and activist networking. Through the Women’s Research and Resource Center has also invited and featured African descendent women scholars and organizations from around the world, e.g., Trinidad, Jamaica, South Africa, Nigeria, Swaziland, Canada, and India. The program has
also linked to The Her story Project at the University of the Western Cape (UWC); Sister Love, Inc.
(US and South Africa); and Women Watch Afrika, Inc (Nigeria, the UK and US).
Some of the African feminists who have been invited to participate in discussions are Patricia McFadden (Southern Africa), Glory Kilanko (Nigeria, UK & US) and Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi, as well as Glory Kilanko (Nigerian).
“women warriors of this morning”
For the past 20 years, the TCB Collective political education and activism program has culminated in a student-led conference which is student-led and continues Toni Cade’s liberation legacy, as well as the little known of African and African women’s activism at Spelman College. Students who have engaged in the TCB program activities throughout the year are responsible for conceptualizing the conference themes, determining the issues to be addressed and implementing the event’s activities. Their selected theme for the 2019 Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism (Virtual) Conference summed it up “Practicing Our Politics: Black Women Making Revolution Irresistible.” The Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activists Program at Spelman College models its namesake’s in being a transformational force for re-radicalizing Black feminist thought and activism on campus, community, national and global levels.
“a luta continua (the struggle continues)”
Through the Toni Cade Bambara Writers/Scholars/Activists program, collective and conference we continuously say her name, read her words, view her images and walk in her revolutionary path. Check the Spelman College website for upcoming TCB events commemorating Toni Cade’s birthday in March, 2022 and the next Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism Conference in March, 2023. Be ready for programming in her spirit in addition to upcoming (virtual) TCB events, be ready.
https://www.spelman.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/comparative-womens-studies/womens-research-resource-center
Reference
Bambara, Toni Cade. 1970[2005]. The Black Woman. New York: Washington Square Press.
Photograph ©️Susan J. Ross
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