Joan Anim-Addo: Activist-mothers maybe, sisters surely?

Centring on Black British feminisms and the possibilities of creating braided counternarratives that acknowledge plural feminist inheritances, this event focuses on writer, publisher, teacher and scholar, Joan Anim-Addo. This session looks to explore intertextual, intersectional and intergenerational perspectives on reading, writing, publishing, collectivity and allyship.

The evening includes an introductory talk by Anim-Addo and an out-loud reading from her article, ‘Activist-mothers maybe, sisters surely? Black British feminism, absence and transformation,’ published in Feminist Review in 2014. Also woven into the session are short texts from the 1984 Feminist Review Many Voices One Chant, which explore Black feminist perspectives from the past thirty years.

‘Activist-mothers maybe, sisters surely?’ weaves the autobiographical, the discursive and the historical to explore the absence of Black British feminist thought, activism and cultural production within dominant feminist narratives. Anim-Addo explores how feminists in the 1980s negotiated difference and dissent within the women’s movement stemming from divisive issues such as cultural appropriation and unacknowledged racism. 

Arguing that contemporary feminists need to acknowledge the historical presence and ongoing promise of Black feminism to generate plural, democratic communities, she proposes a form of feminist mentorship called “other mothering of the mind.”  Grounded in a politics of kinship and care, “other mothering of the mind” has the potential to transform understandings of shared British histories and legacies.

Led by Ehryn Torrell, and organised in dialogue with FDRG participants including Beth Bramisch and Katrin Lock, the evening aims to embody feminist practice, welcoming and encouraging many voices, deep listening, time and space for group discussion.

Joan Anim-Addo

Born in Grenada and based in London, UK, Joan Anim-Addo is an academic, poet, playwright and publisher, and Professor of Caribbean Literature and Culture at Goldsmiths, University of London. : ‘Activist-mothers maybe, sisters surely?’ was published in the 2014 issue of Feminist Review on Black British feminisms.

Reserve a Place

Places are free but advance booking is required:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/joan-anim-addo-activist-mothers-maybe-sisters-surely-tickets-83852714727?utm_campaign=new_event_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_term=viewmyevent_button

Feminist Duration

This event is part of the Feminist Duration series which explores under-known texts, ideas, and movements associated with earlier periods of feminist activity in the UK. Led by the Feminist Duration Reading Group (est. 2015), as part of a year-long residency at the South London Gallery, it juxtaposes earlier moments of feminist with current urgencies and struggles. By restoring material texture to overlooked political and cultural movements, it seeks to resist versions of the past that reduce feminist struggle to one-dimensional stereotypes.  Looking to the past to activate its nascent potential, the programme aims to identify tools that can inspire and enrich further collective action, promoting the intergenerational exchange of knowledge and experience. While honouring earlier feminisms, the series also highlights how collaboration, difference, and dissent have characterised previous feminist movements, and how feminists have both negotiated, and failed to significantly attend to, differences amongst one another.

Feminist Duration is generously supported by the CHASE Doctoral Training Partnership.