The Zoragraphers

10/07/2023

“The new culture seemed to whirl backward and forward—a loop of history, history has loop—calling and responding, leaping, spinning, renewing.

If blues culture had developed under the conditions of oppressive, forced labor, hip-hop culture would arise from the conditions of no work. Generations are fictions.”

― Jeff Chang, Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

22/08/2022

On August 22, 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer stood in front of the credentials committee at the Democratic National Convention to give an impassioned speech about civil rights, race in America and her role as a Black woman in Mississippi.

In her nationally-televised speech, Mrs. Hamer challenged the country when she asked, "Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off of the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?"

Listen to her entire speech:
https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/sayitplain/flhamer.html?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Race%20in%20America&utm_content=Race%20in%20America_8_19_22

05/08/2022

In October 2001, Townsend Press published the first book in the indelible Bluford Series — a collection of teen fiction novels that explored relevant themes of friendship, peer pressure, acceptance, upheaval and more through the stories of young Black and Brown characters. 20 years after its first print, thousands of readers of color who have come of age can speak to how the series moved them to read, write, and imagine.

03/08/2022

Thanks so much for rocking with us!

As we continue to grow, we will reach out to our community to learn more about your interests so we can bring you the best content. Stay tuned.

01/08/2022

is an annual commemoration honoring Black resistance and prison abolitionist movements. The commemoration was started in 1971 following the death of author and activist George Jackson, who at the time was incarcerated at California's San Quentin Prison and was killed during an attempted escape.

Jackson was one of many freedom fighters who were killed in the struggle for Black liberation in the '60s and '70s. Black August honors their memory and invites reflection on the carceral state and ongoing fight for freedom.

08/07/2022

We are cultivating a community of time travelers and lovers of all things BIPOC history, literature, and culture ✊🏾

If you haven't already, invite friends to Like + Follow our page to stay tuned!

04/07/2022

Where ever you are this , we hope you’re getting time to rest, decompress, and commune with loved ones.

15/06/2022

American Beach is a historically Black vacation destination on Amelia Island in northeast Florida. In 1935, the Afro-American Life Insurance company–a business based in Jacksonville, Florida that served the region’s Black residents, bought 33 acres of beach property on Amelia Island. The company was founded by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, a renowned businessman and Florida’s first Black millionaire. Lewis purchased the property for the enjoyment of his employees, and eventually, the Afro American Life Insurance company sold more of the land to the company’s executives and the surrounding Black community.

Lewis envisioned American Beach as a safe place where Black people could enjoy“Recreation and Relaxation Without Humiliation.”In its prime (circa the 1940s and 50s), American Beach was one of the go-to vacation spots for Black families, celebrities, and socialites. It was the setting of beauty contests, car races, live music, and other pastimes, and prominent visitors included Cab Calloway, Ossie Davis, Ray Charles, and Zora Neale Hurston.

The original 33 acres and other parts of American Beach are thankfully protected, but as developers continue to buy land in the area, there remains a need to tell the full story of this place and preserve its heritage.

Citation:
Photos: (slides 2&4)

30/05/2022

The first celebration on record dates back to 1865 when newly emancipated Black people in Charleston, South Carolina exhumed a mass grave for Union soldiers who made that sacrifice toward the end of the civil war.

Today, we remember them and every soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedoms 🇺🇸

16/05/2022

Throwback

16/05/2022

We never expected to have to continue to fly this flag some 80+ years from its introduction.

We are tired, yes.
We are angry, yes.
We are frustrated, yes.
We are saddened, yes.

But are we are determined? Like never before.

Hate will not win. Fear will not conquer.

10/05/2022

Very interesting!

Sula was the second novel to be published by the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author in 1973.

08/05/2022

🎉If your momma has a picture like this tap in 🤎

04/05/2022

As you might have guessed, the beloved Zora Neale Hurston is our muse.

During her lifetime, the ancestress used the conduits of literature and journalism, and the studies of cultural anthropology and ethnography to document the lives of Black people, treating our history as one precious collective memory and keeping a record so that it isn’t forgotten.

A Zoragrapher is anyone who shares that same passion for the excavation, preservation, and rediscovery of our stories.

Hurston loved hats and we’ve adopted one of her signature styles as a symbol of exploration. The compass is a reminder that every place has a story and there’s always more to learn.

📸 source: US Library of Congress

29/04/2022

29/04/2022

Welcome to The Zoragraphers!

We are an online magazine and community time traveling through Black and Brown history, culture, and literature. Thanks for visiting our page and going on this journey with us✨

We are so excited to soft launch our online and social media community today and look forward to releasing our first magazine issue in Fall 2022. 🙌🏾

Calls for submissions are coming soon. In the meantime, follow us for more updates 🕵🏾‍♀️