Carefree Black Girls

A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture

By: Zeba Blay

Narrated by: Zeba Blay

One of Kirkus Review's Best Books About Being Black in America

"Powerful... Calling for Black women (in and out of the public eye) to be treated with empathy, Blay’s pivotal work will engage all readers, especially fans of Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism." —Kirkus (Starred)

This program is read by the author.

An empowering and celebratory portrait of Black women - from Josephine Baker to Aunt Viv to Cardi B.

In 2013, film and culture critic Zeba Blay was one of the first people to coin the viral term #carefreeblackgirls on Twitter. As she says, it was “a way to carve out a space of celebration and freedom for Black women online.”

In this collection of essays, Carefree Black Girls, Blay expands on this initial idea by delving into the work and lasting achievements of influential Black women in American culture - writers, artists, actresses, dancers, hip-hop stars - whose contributions often come in the face of bigotry, misogyny, and stereotypes. Blay celebrates the strength and fortitude of these Black women, while also examining the many stereotypes and rigid identities that have clung to them. In writing that is both luminous and sharp, expansive and intimate, Blay seeks a path forward to a culture and society in which Black women and their art are appreciated and celebrated.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Griffin

Beautiful.

I have learned so much with this book. I am humbled. I also related to some parts of it. Not to discredit her overall point.

Excellent from start to finish!

Raw and honest, I was deeply moved by this book. It spoke to my soul.

Beautifully written and read

Blay’s essays are thought provoking and nuanced. As a mixed AfroAm/Indo-Caribbean woman, I particularly found Blay’s light discussion of blackness in relation to Cardi B and Nikki Minaj interesting.

This book is for you if…

You enjoy informative, thought provoking storytelling and from a black woman’s lens. Zeba did an amazing job at using different topics to circle back to one bigger topic - Carefree Black Girls. This is a must read, not once but twice.