Sheree Renée Thomas and Suyi Davies Okungbowa at the New York Black and African Literature Festival

We somehow managed to pull off an unlikely, yet long overdue, conversation between an African American author who novelized a comic book about Wakanda and a Nigerian author who novelized a comic book about the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. This exchange took place at the New York Black and African Literature Festival in New York City. 

On September 7, I moderated a conversation between Sheree Renée Thomas, author of Black Panther: Panther's Rage (2025) and Suyi Davies Okungbowa who wrote Marvel: Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda (2025). Both writers also contributed to Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda (2022), edited by Jesse J. Holland.

I’m especially grateful to Efe Paul-Azino, the festival’s director, for making this conversation possible by inviting Thomas and Okungbowa. I had suggested to him that Black Panther represents a vital site of African American and African creativity and aesthetics. I floated the idea of a panel and panelists in a hopeful, open-ended way, citing the recent novelizations of Black Panther comics as a model. I was pleased when he secured commitments from both authors.

Our discussion covered wide-ranging territory. We explored how each writer incorporated cultural signifiers into their work and how they extended and reimagined aspects of the Black Panther storylines. They spoke openly about the experience of working on a Marvel property.

They also reflected on their career trajectories and highlighted a range of speculative writers across the Black diaspora, situating their own contributions within a much larger continuum of creativity.

The conversation flowed so well that at one point I asked why we haven’t seen more of these exchanges such as African American and Nigerian authors discussing the intersections of their work in public forums.

They cited a range of challenges, including language, geography, cultural distance, and more. Yet gatherings like this festival show that we have genuine opportunities to bring seemingly far-flung people and ideas together.

Related:

• Notes on the New York Black and African Literature Festival

Notes on the New York Black and African Literature Festival

On September 7, I participated in a panel for The New York Black and African Literature Festival (Sept. 5 - 7) in New York City. The festival, which promoted the idea of "radical solidarities," included three days of bringing together writers and artists across Africa and the global diaspora. 

The festival is a great idea. 

The festival was directed by Efe Paul-Azino and facilitated by his team of contributors and volunteers. In a mission statement, he wrote that "As the uneven distribution of the benefits and burdens of globalization continues to have a disproportionately negative effect on black communities worldwide, the need and promise of pan-diasporic cooperation become even more relevant."

Paul-Azino went on to note that "The festival’s key objectives remain to: build bridges between communities, amplify movements for justice, create new frameworks for understanding our shared challenges and aspirations, and strengthen networks of support and exchange."

I imagine this gathering wasn't the first of its kind, but it was an important model for what's possible moving forward. It also signaled what kinds of conversations and activities we might build on.  

Related:

• Sheree Renée Thomas, Suyi Davies Okungbowa at the New York Black and African Literature Festival

How book recommendations at a barbershop led to an online network to find Black literature

From STL PR 

Inspired by barbershop chats and a brotherly contest over hip-hop facts, the Black Lit Network is a digital resource designed to make African American literature more widely accessible. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville professor Howard Rambsy II co-leads the project. He discusses how a recent $1.6 million grant to SIUE for the project will boost its reach and impact. He also speaks to the significance of investing in efforts to amplify African American writers, works, and ideas – especially through a public higher education institution in the Midwest, and the larger St. Louis region.

Related:

• Black Lit Network

Zora Neale Hurston’s Short Stories of Love and Betrayal

A brief take on how Zora Neale Hurston’s short stories use infidelity and community gossip to transform private conflicts into public spectacles, blending humor and tension to depict Southern Black life.

Script by Kenton Rambsy

Related:

• Episodes of Remarkable Receptions

Toward a Preliminary Report on Black Women's Health and Wellness

This isn’t a flex, I promise, but over the last 15 years I have likely taught more Black women students than any other educator at my university. Along with my regular courses, since 2008, I’ve taught a first-year African American literature course that each year enrolled approximately 30 Black women undergraduates.

The students have had many accomplishments. They have done well in classes, become leaders on campus, graduated, and entered their professional careers. But there have also been challenges. Beyond academics, one pattern that stands out is the number of students who miss class days due to illness.

I'm not naive and realize that a student here and there might have other reasons for missing classes. I understand that. But after nearly two decades of close attention, I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of Black women who miss class and cite sickness are telling the truth. I’ve witnessed this more than most because, as noted, I’ve taught more Black women than most. 

Informal conversations with colleagues who also teach large numbers of Black women note the same pattern. Some have even observed that, on average, Black women students report sickness-related absences more often than other groups.

In the last decade, conversations about mental wellness among Black students have grown. Many now openly embrace therapy and other forms of support, which is encouraging.

But I have not seen the same level of discussion about physical health. Based on what I’ve witnessed in classrooms, that absence worries me. We would benefit from more visibility, more conversation, and more initiatives addressing Black women’s physical well-being.

We need to start now with preliminary reports at the very least. We can and should listen to Black women students, document their experiences, and advocate for real changes in campus health services and support systems.

Blogging about Poetry in August 2025

[Related content: Blogging about Poetry]

• August 30: Storytelling as Foundations for Black Poetry and Literary Studies

• August 1: Blogging about poetry in July 2025

What Dismantling DEI means for African American Literary Studies

A brief take on how recent efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs threaten the institutional support and long-term viability of African American literary studies.

 Related:

• Episodes of Remarkable Receptions

Producing African American literary studies for the Public

Our Black Lit Network project is funded under the Mellon Foundation’s Public Knowledge initiative, which aims “to increase access to knowledge that helps to build an informed and engaged society.” Receiving this grant has been important in encouraging me to orient my mind and efforts toward producing work in accessible, public-facing terms. 

Scholars of African American literature are not always primed to reach the public at large. Much of our time and energy is understandably devoted to teaching classes, while the bulk of our publishing goes to specialized journals rather than newspapers, magazines, or other outlets designed for general audiences. 

I have engaged in public programming for decades, though such work has not always been a mandate of the field. My interest partly stemmed from a desire to connect my studies of Black Arts activities to contemporary contexts. In addition, when I directed the Black Studies program for several years, I was more inclined to develop public programming than I might have been had I worked solely within English. 

My work on the Black Lit Network has extended this public focus into digital fields and other realms. I have continued using this blog to share publicly oriented work, while also creating new initiatives: whiteboard animations, video essays, the Literary Navigator Device (previously known as the Novel Generator Machine), a Literary Data Gallery featuring data visualizations, a random generator for novel dedications, a podcast series, and more. 

Together, these developments allow me to present African American literary studies to the public in new and exciting ways.

Related:

• Developing the Black Lit Network