Melissa Blount

Black Girl Magic (2019)
Ikea Dish towels and black embroidery floss
25.5 x 18.5 in.

Shirley Chisholm is a from a series called Black Girl Magic. BGM is a textile Abecedarium, or ABC book, of historical and contemporary woman, little known or absolutely unknown in American history.

It’s an exploration of the relegation of many Black Women to domestic servitude. In spite of these limiting notions of Black Womanhood, Black Girl Magic prevailed.

From the moment slave shackles were dropped in 1865, Black Girls became millionaires, started churches, birthed movements, and ran for President of these United States. They took domestic notions and flipped them on their confining heads.

Black Girls were not meant to survive after the centuries old practice of brutal enslavement, but we did. Black Girl Magic is here to stay and will not be left out of historical or contemporary conversations.

© Melissa Blount