When Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade was released this past April, it became an internet sensation. But did you hear about the resource, titled the Lemonade Syllabus, which was inspired by it?
After many people across the world watched Beyoncé’s visual album, writer and educator Candice Benbow wanted to find a way to continue the conversation around the album’s themes of Black female empowerment and feminism. So Benbow started the hashtag “#LemonadeSyllabus” and asked that Black women around the world use the hashtag to suggest songs, books, film and poetry that were “primarily by Black women- that they believe best accompanied Lemonade and spoke to the essence of Black womanhood in its historical and contemporary manifestations.”
Benbow then compiled over 200 of those suggestions, which are split into categories such as Fiction & Literature, Black Feminist Studies, Critical Theory, Self-care and Youth, into an eBook that launched on May 6, 2016. The best part is that the Lemonade Syllabus can be downloaded and printed for free.
In the Lemonade Syllabus’ introduction, Benbow writes “It is my hope that these works will introduce you to other offerings from amazing Black women who tell our stories in hopes of setting us free. I also hope this inspires other sisters to tap into their own magic and give us the work that will heal and transform us… Let us lift up our stories, move beyond our pain and create worlds of hope for generations to come”.
Click here to view a selection of titles from the Lemonade Syllabus that you can check out from the library.
~ posted by Chris
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