In this episode, Katara sits down with her friend Dr. Marlo D. David for a beautiful conversation to chat about how Black Women deserve space and time to think, to dream, and to reimagine our careers and lives.
Dr. Marlo D. David is an associate professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and
Sexuality Studies at Purdue University. She is the author of Mama’s Gun: Black
Maternal Figures and the Politics of Transgression, establishing her as a nationally
recognized voice on Black motherhood and reproductive justice. Inspired by her
motherhood journey, her book explains how Black authors, musicians, and filmmakers depict black mothers and how dominant culture has often distorted these representations to fit its political agenda. Through this research, she hopes to make visible the stereotypes that affect Black mothers in the medical system that place them at higher risk for harm and death.
Dr. Marlo’s passion for social justice, writing, and the arts started at a young age. She grew up in Florida as the oldest daughter of an artist and a writer who devoted their time to uplifting their community. After attending Florida A&M University, she worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for nearly a decade before she left journalism for graduate school. She earned her Ph.D. in American Literature in 2009 and has taught and mentored new scholars ever since.
Even with all these career pivots, she explains, "At my core, I’m a storyteller, and I come from a long line of Southern folks who love shaping their worlds with words.”
Her current book projects include editing a collection of essays exploring the Black literary and cultural explosion of the 1970s, as well as a biography of Bill Gunn, a visionary 20th-century queer Black author, actor, playwright, and filmmaker.
Her essays on culture and politics have appeared in scholarly and popular publications, including Atmos, Black Perspectives, The African American Review, Home Girls Make Some Noise: A Hip-Hop Feminism Anthology, and BlackGirlMagic Beyond the Hashtag: Twenty-first Century Acts of Self Definition.
You can follow Dr. Marlo on the following social media platforms
X @afrotelligence
LinkedIN @Marlo D. David, Ph.D.
Instagram @dr_marlo91
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