Carrying
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/28169344.181Keywords:
Black mothers, textile practice, literary spaceAbstract
Carrying is a digital painting that is representative of Black mothers in academia who carry their children with them into the learning spaces that they create. The artist statement reflects on textile work as a form of literacy which has been historically practiced by Black mothers. The artistic decisions on colour and texture in this piece pay homage to these literacies and their histories. The “literary space” that Black mothers in academia create, sustain themselves and their community (Baker-Bell, 2017). I have been able to benefit from this as someone who has been carried into the academic space by my mother. I am grateful to the Black mothers in academia who carry us with them.
References
Baker-Bell, A. (2017). For Loretta: A Black woman literacy scholar’s journey to prioritizing self-preservation and Black feminist–womanist storytelling. Journal of Literacy Research, 49(4), 526-543.
MacDowell, M., & Furman, O. (2023). The Black Diaspora Quilt History Project: A Resource for Inclusive Preservation, Research, and Teaching. Journal of Folklore and Education, 10(1), 36-45.
Toliver, S. R. (2022). Preface. In Recovering Black Storytelling in Qualitative Research: Endarkened Storywork (pp. 16–55). Routledge.
Ulzen-Appiah, E. V. (2005). A review of symbolism in indigenous West African textiles. Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana), 25(1), 108-124.
Wilson, G. J. (2018). Construction of the Blackademic: An arts-based tale of identity in and through academia. Visual Inquiry, 7(3), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1386/vi.7.3.213_1
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Copyright (c) 2026 Reyanne Morgan
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