The Tar Baby Principle: A Black Feminist Take on Southern Folklore

African Diaspora and Folklore studies respectively have long heralded the importance of masculinized trickster figures like Brer Rabbit and Anansi the Spider, as icons of cunning resistance, but they have often overlooked the ways Black feminine figures encompass the same capacity to “out smart” regimes of power. The Tar Baby Principle reclaims the tactics of resistance employed by real and imagined Black feminine figures in the US South. This analysis furthers the labor father, Akbar Imhotep, who “reStoried” the controversial work of Joel Chandler Harris within the context of Global South folkloric traditions.

The event will open with a performance of The Tar Baby by Wren's Nest Rambler and Kuumba storyteller Josie Bailey. Then Ra Malika, the daughter of legendary former Wren's Nest storyteller Akbar Imhotep, will present and speak about The Tar Baby Principle. The event will then open up for discussion and questions. Light refreshments will be served.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Wren's Nest, 1050 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard Southwest, Atlanta, United States

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