Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets

by Feminista Jones

A treatise of Black women’s transformative influence in media and society, placing them front and center in a new chapter of mainstream resistance and political engagement

In Reclaiming Our Space , social worker, activist, and cultural commentator Feminista Jones explores how Black women are changing culture, society, and the landscape of feminism by building digital communities and using social media as powerful platforms. As Jones reveals, some of the best-loved devices of our shared social media language are a result of Black women’s innovations, from well-known movement-building hashtags (#BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, and #BlackGirlMagic) to the now ubiquitous use of threaded tweets as a marketing and storytelling tool. For some, these online dialogues provide an introduction to the work of Black feminist icons like Angela Davis, Barbara Smith, bell hooks, and the women of the Combahee River Collective. For others, this discourse provides a platform for continuing their feminist activism and scholarship in a new, interactive way.

Complex conversations around race, class, and gender that have been happening behind the closed doors of academia for decades are now becoming part of the wider cultural vernacular—one pithy tweet at a time. With these important online conversations, not only are Black women influencing popular culture and creating sociopolitical movements; they are also galvanizing a new generation to learn and engage in Black feminist thought and theory, and inspiring change in communities around them.

Hard-hitting, intelligent, incisive, yet bursting with humor and pop-culture savvy, Reclaiming Our Space is a survey of Black feminism’s past, present, and future, and it explains why intersectional movement building will save us all.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Race, Social Justice, Politics, Activism, Anti Racist

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2019

Reviews

[Corvus · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

In reviewing Reclaiming Our Space by Feminista Jones, it feels necessary to recommend that the reader disregard the title of the book before diving in. I hung on to the title for a while before letting it go and wish I had let it go sooner. The book is not a book about other feminists' activism online and in person. It is largely a book about Jones' life, opinions, experiences, and writing career told through a collection of separate essays. This is not a bad thing. I would have also been interested in reading a book that presented itself as a collection of her essays or as a memoir. But, those who latch onto the title may find themselves disappointed. Jones does indeed discuss the writing and tweeting of other feminists, but only in brief snippets that almost always end up being directed back to Jones' experiences, her writing, her opinions, or her interactions with said feminist. There is also not much on the "...to the streets" part of the title as the book focuses heavily on social media, blogging, writing, and some other media. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It actually made me appreciate social media contributions more. It's just not quite in line with what I expected from the title.

As I mentioned, this book gave me a more positive and appreciative view of social media contributions to radicalism and activism. As someone who was born in the early 80s- before the internet was a widely accessible thing- I grew up often being told that what happened on the internet was "not real." This colored the way I have analyzed writing on social media. I had not even realized before reading this book how much the value I placed on certain formats was infected by capitalism and as a result, white supremacy. I saw newspaper articles as "real" sources and facebook rants as "opinion." While some newspapers may have more resources for fact checking, they also tend to have a narrow demographic representation. While most people can contribute to social media, making it dangerous ground for the spread of false information, it is also a platform that allows the most underprivileged voices to be seen, heard, and spread widely- usually without the compensation offered to those writing news articles. There is, of course, overlap between the two as well. This was very important for me to read and not something I have seen presented in this way.

In discussing her own experiences with social media and writing, Jones expands on this, peppering her narrative with anecdotes about various feminists on blogs and twitter who created large, influential presences on the internet. Jones also discusses the amount of backlash that Black feminists face when tackling the topic of feminism in the realms of both Blackness and womanhood. There are sections dedicated to (Heaux)teps and what Jones calls "Hotep Twitter" as well as white feminism and the harm caused by women such as Rose McGowan, Tina Fey, and other white woman who fail to understand racism or the unique struggles faced by Black women. The only negative about this is that Jones ends up devoting more time to anti-Black feminist voices than she does to the voices of Black feminists. As a result, there may be an unintended effect of misogynoir being amplified through the amount of space it is given relative to Black feminist voices (aside from Jones'.)

When I hit the "Talk Like Sex" chapter, I was looking forward to reading something more inclusive given that Jones mentions multiple times that she is queer. However, in general, her discussions of sexuality centered heterosexuality and heterosexual sex and relationships. I was still holding onto the title of the book at this point and this essay in particular could have benefited from the inclusive of the voices of queer and/or trans women and queer sex/relationships. But, again, if the book is viewed as more of a memoir of the reader, this lack of inclusion is less disappointing. This is not to say that "Talk Like Sex" offered nothing. It included a variety of sex positive issues as well as some of Jones' theories that were framed in interesting ways. Jones' discussion of the lack of existence of "slut" and "ho" (due to the reality that it takes a value judgment of womens sexuality in order to use the words) was particularly engaging.

The last few essays of the book are what really get down to the subject matter of Black feminism and represent more of Jones' views rather than experiences. These were my favorites of the book, especially "Black Mamas Matter." The aforementioned essay tackles a topic that is often underrepresented or underappreciated in feminist discourse, despite being something discussed by Black feminists from before feminist was even a word. I believe Jones- like her sections on social media- adds some new things to this important discussion. She weaves information from popular culture throughout a discussion of Black women's (lack of adequate) healthcare, childbirth and childcare, and the general stigma and struggle Black women have faced and continue to face from all directions. "Mammy 2.0" was another essay in this section involving an engaging catalogue of past and present struggles of Black women given the stereotype. If you're the type of person who skips around a lot in essay collections and anthologies, be sure to read the last third of the book.

In summary, this book is enjoyable and important. It is likely best viewed as part memoir, part collection of essays by the author rather than an in depth book about other feminists. While Jones does drop a lot of names in the book, refreshingly, many of which we never hear, it is my opinion that she does not give them enough space to match the title. The book is still a decent contribution to "the discourse" as Jones' words stand well on their own.

This review was also posted to my blog.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection speaks a lot about Black feminism in the age of social media, where Tumblr posts and Twitter hashtags are a new and valid method of resistance and political organization. This book also mainly focuses on the author's view of the new digital age of Black feminism. I didn't expect either of these things when diving into the book. The title "Reclaiming Our Space" made me feel as if I'd be reading a book about the diversity of Black feminism from a variety of different Black feminists and the different ways that they "reclaim our space." But while we briefly hear about other feminists' point of views, it usually spins back around to Jones' opinions quickly. This is not a bad thing. It's simply that I just expected to hear the unique opinions of many different women.
Unfortunately, the first few chapters lacked a point for me. I'd finish each chapter without feeling like I'd learned much and I'd frequently think "Okay, but what's the point?" Fortunately, the last few chapters interested me a lot more and reminded me more of anthology feminist writings that I much prefer. One thing that I didn't enjoy much was the fact that Feminista Jones mentioned being a queer Black woman at times, but very rarely talked about the "queer" part. It sort of fell flat and was missing from her narrative. I look forward to reading more of Feminista Jones, but unfortunately, this wasn't my favourite collection of feminist essays. One of the best things I took from this read is how beneficial social media is in making a change in the world. It made me appreciate the simple act of creating hashtags and spreading awareness via our Twitter and Instagram feeds so much more! It's so special to see how activism is changing over time, and even though our methods are changing, we are all still banding together to fight for similar things.

[Oyinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 184 of 2021

I enjoyed reading this a lot and learnt some new things!

This was such a great and eye-opening book. I enjoyed reading this one so much and it was so fun. About 1/3 way into the book, I had a thought and compared the book to ‘Hood Feminism’ by Mikki Kendall. I was so overjoyed to find out later in the book that Mikki Kendall was constantly referenced by the author in this book.

This is a book that talks about the rallying power of black women and transpeople throughout history and in online spaces (particularly Twitter). Black feminists have always been powerful and they have always been doing the damn thing. What Feminista Jones did here was give us a timeline of how black women’s achievements and movements have evolved with the times using the tools at our disposal.

I learnt so much from this book, I can’t even lie. A lot of the things mentioned are things I have seen unfold in real time because they happened on Twitter but it was so nice to see an academic approach to them and to get down to the nitty gritty of them.

Another thing this book talked about was credit. The movement vs the hashtag (or naming it). Someone might have already been doing something, and then someone somewhere comes with a hashtag for it and when they try to do go back to find out who the originator is, who does it come down to? The book raised a lot of important questions and also delved into logical answers to those questions.

One more thing the book discussed is the evolution of blogging, writing, and contributing to discussions as they evolve. The structure of Twitter and the character limit made the author (and I suppose a lot of bloggers) redefine how they write, and the collective online attention span for topics make it impossible to take too long to contribute to a trending issue within that space.
Everyone needs to read this book. Fingers crossed you all enjoy it as much as I did.

[Alana Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much potential but it is basically rudimentary Black Feminism mixed with the history of Black Twitter hashtags and moments from the perspective of the author.

The text made the point that origin stories matter but I don't think that it was strong enough.

I think that this book has its audience but it just wasn't me.

[Amaka]

Out Jan 29th, Reclaiming Our Space explores the contributions Black Women have made (& continue to make) to society and the power of the hashtag. Many movements started by Black Women have been erased and overshadowed by others. In this book, Feminista Jones educates readers on the importance of origin stories. I appreciate the fact that the author was inclusive in her research and interviewed women from various fields. In addition to research, Feminista was transparent about her high and lows, detailing the encouragement she receives from supporters as well as the hate online from people who can’t fathom the idea of her being a Black Women who is also a feminist. This is a great book to read with a friend. It’ll be interesting hear a different perspective!

[Galen Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellently explanatory, powerfully written book that discusses the very recent forces and women that have made Black Feminism more visible and more powerful while also putting it in a historical context. I recommend this book for anyone who identifies as a feminist, and I particularly recommend it for anyone doing work on social issues on social media. I've followed Jones on Twitter for years, and still learned a lot. If you are a white person reading the book, you might feel a bit uncomfortable at first and feel the urge to be defensive, but don't #NotAllWhitePeople. It's okay to be uncomfortable, that is how you grow and learn. And Jones is offering up her expertise and giving you a chance to grow and learn.

[Kevin A. A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s so much social media discourse surrounding Black feminism. It’s been really hard to track down the origins of some of the really poignant moments and stories that have made so much impact. Feminista Jones does an incredible job making all of these interlocking movement accessible and relatable. This book is a must for anyone who engages in any level of social media activism.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I followed Feminista Jones and her tweets regularly while I was in grad school - but not much now since I am mostly social media free. I believe that Feminista Jones wanted to situate Black women activists (via social media) within a long history of Black feminism. I felt like this was more pronounced in the first chapters and then really centered on her own activism and that of her close friend and colleagues in the later chapters. I think a more accurate description of this book as a memoir of the social media activism of Feminista Jones would have been more appropriate. Instead, it read as though the author was inserting herself into every key social media moment (even if partly true) - billing this as a memoir of sorts would have helped. Additionally, I didn't particularly enjoy the interviews interspersed in the chapters though I see how it might help those unfamiliar with the topics or people mentioned. I think this is a good read for someone wanting an overview of Black feminist activism via social media.

[Dr. Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exemplary written book that discusses in detail the current issues that have long plagued Black Feminism in the Social Media age. The author delivered insightful and valid information on a range of important topics that affect "Us" from a social scientist perspective, and I highly recommend it for anyone utilizing Social Media as a platform to address important social issues. The content is inciteful, but thought provoking, to anyone who might be instigators or complicit regarding these complex topics. Uncomfortable is good. It teaches us empathy for divergent others. Glean from this knowledge and let what you learn about diversity elevate you mentally so that you hold yourself accountable for your part in how you engage others outside of your social norms. Well done FJ. I'm sorry it took me so long to find my way back to Goodreads to catch up on my book reviews. But life got in the way. Best. ~ Dr. Samantha

[Karen Ashmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! Author Feminista Jones (who I follow on Twitter) explores all aspects of black feminism, esp how Black Women are using social media to change the world. She delves into motherhood, reproductive justice, Black Women’s health care, sex positivity, #BlackGirlMagic, white supremacy, and dealing with racism of White Women and sexism of Black Men. She culminates in discussing the women who carry forth with the intersectionality of a Black Woman’s narrative as established by the Combahee River Collective, a booklet I bought and absorbed when it was first published in the 1970’s. Highly recommend this book to all Black Women and anyone else who wants to learn more about intersectionality through the eyes of Black Women.

[Lianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I learned so much about social media activism and Black feminism today. I also really liked Jones’ voice and would like to read more of her work.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Note: I'm a White trans woman and bring that perspective to this review.)

I learned so much from this book. I learned about Black feminism, as I knew I would, and I learned a great deal about modern communication and social media, which I hadn't known I would. What a bonus! I'm going to come back to it for another read in a while (a few months, maybe) because I expect I'll get even more out of it the second time around.

It is a bit different in tone - slightly more academic - from FJ's Twitter account. The prose can be a bit dry and difficult to read (for me, at least), which is why I demoted it to four stars; obligatory comment about needing half-stars. I was also dismayed (and surprised) to read her occasionally slipping into cissexist language like using "balls" to mean "guts" or "gender identity" rather than simply "gender," but it wasn't so bad as to lead me to put the book down.

[Jack Kitchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a white cishet man I know that my voice is the one most listened to whenever anything comes up. A book like this? Sure, sure you should listen to Black women, but let's just see what this man think first, I'm here to say to you to stop, stop what you're thinking and just read. Pick this up, in doing so support the, so often unseen or ignored, work of so many Black Women, and stop thinking on the same worn-out tracks, open your mind up and get rid of the prejudices you're harbouring. That this book isn't for you, it's for every one of us, that this book shouldn't blame you, fear that maybe we're part of the problem should be confronted not shunted aside, that you already know this, oh, we're all a lot more naive then we want to believe. Just start reading, then take what you've read and apply it to the world. Black Women, every single one of them, none are excluded in this book and none should be excluded in your thoughts, are out there taking the brunt of the world's hate and the least we can do is to stop thinking of ourselves as allies, or worse as "Woke", that was never our word, still we take and take, and actually step aside and let them speak, listen when they do and take what we're hearing to heart. I didn't pick this understanding up overnight and I tell you honestly it was Black Women who taught me the most, whether they ever knew it or not I'm grateful and never forget who my teachers are.

What strikes me throughout is how accessible all the ideas herein are, you don't need to know anything about Black Feminism, though a little reading never hurts, because it's all laid out in a deceptively simple flowing style. What you might not notice as first is the carefully dictated pacing, letting you process what you're reading, the clear switches from personal experience to wider view, the scrupulous citation, always giving credit where credit is due and even discussing this. Where often reading work like this we can tend to take little with us, with Reclaiming Our Space you're being given a lesson that will change how you view the world. The most striking part for me was the sympathy for every person in the world, the compassion that shows itself in the very book's creation. Feminista Jones is working at making the world better for everyone. I hope for a future where the burden of progress doesn't weigh heaviest on those already fighting the hardest for that future.

If you only read one book on Black Feminism, then shame on you, make this the first and then keep going. A review like this doesn't do much, I'm no great mind, but as the least I could do I wanted to put it out there. Thank you Feminista Jones for writing this, for educating us and for making the world better. I won't forget what I've read and I will put it into practice whenever I can.

[Amy Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read this book, I was convinced that online activism (slacktivism) was not useful.  After all, what exactly does sharing memes do?  What does ranting on twitter do besides blowing off some steam?  Turns out, it does quite a lot!  From the #MeToo movement to creating an online horror community, black feminist women bring to light a lesser-known (and lesser-viewed) type of activism.  

Feminista Jones discusses how often black women are disregarded from this conversation, and how little such efforts are realized and promoted.  She also discusses hashtags such as #blackgirlmagic and how "cancel" and "woke" culture are trends that have evolved alongside the internet and why such cultures arose.

Perhaps my favorite chapter, however, was the penultimate one in which Jones discusses Mammy 2.0 where white folks only realize after the fact that black women were right all along, and that maybe, just maybe, they should have been listening to them from the beginning.  But from this realization comes the cry of "listen to black women!" in which white folks get "woke" points for being so supportive instead of actually promoting and listening to these ideas.  They only wish to be seen as progressive and supportive without actually putting the work in--thus effectively turning online black women activists into a Mammy 2.0 in which they must once more tend to the feelings of white folks.

Overall, this was a strong, necessary book that takes a long, needed look at a different perspective of feminism.  Where other authors might be focused solely on the streets, Jones focuses on how the streets and the tweets are intertwined, hardly able to be separated in this day and age.  Certainly, this is a must-read for any and all feminists!

Review cross-listed here!

[Zakiyyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who hasnt read any explicit feminist literature, I felt this book provided a decent introduction to modern-day Black Feminism. Throughout the book, Jones gave great talking-points on why Black Feminism exists and the many issues Black Feminists address. It was great to hear the origins of some of the most popular hashtag movements of our time, especially as someone who doesn't use Twitter.

Jones could have provided a more comprehensive picture of the other feminists and movements. For instance, besides awareness and education, how have some of these movements impacted the world and "the streets"?

I read the book in two days, so it held my attention and the other names mentioned and Notes section provide a springboard for further reading.

[Jai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a Feminist. I'm a Black Woman. I'm a Black Feminist. After reading Reclaiming Our Space I wanted to proclaim it and shout it from the rooftops. I don't remember how I even learned about this book but I decided to buy it last week. I'm not sorry that I did, in fact this has become one of my favorite books that I've read this year. Feminista Jones gives me the language to express how I feel about being a feminist and a black woman. There's a particular quote in the book that I had to put a star by just so that I can quote it properly. As a matter a fact I dogeared about 25% of the pages in the book just so that I can go back and read/quote many of the important things in the book.

"The reaction of Black men to feminism has been notoriously negative. They are, of course, even more, threatened than Black women by the possibility that Black feminists might organize around our own needs. They realize that they might not only lose valuable and hardworking allies in their struggles but that they might also be forced to change their habitually sexist ways of interacting with and oppressing Black women. Accusations that Black feminism divides the Black struggle are powerful deterrents to the growth of an autonomous Black women's movement."

THIS. QUOTE. ENCOMPASSES MY FEELINGS.

Feminista discusses how she and many other black feminists have been accused of working with the CIA or FBI to take down the black family by putting black men in jail. I know from my own personal experience any Black woman that doesn't subscribe to black male patriarchal thinking is always accused of "working with or for the white man". For a long time, I think I was sad about that though but I can now be proud and hold my head up high knowing that I'm one of a long line of Black Feminists that are changing the world and dismantling systems that have oppressed us for so long.
Some of the notable Black Feminists have been:
*Soujourner Trfuth
*Audre Lourde
*Queen Latifah
*Angela Davis
*Alice Walker
*Lisa "Left Eye Lopes
*Florynce Kennedy
*Missy Elliot
*Michele Wallace
*Patricia Hill Collins
*Amy Garvey
*Kimberle Crenshaw

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I want to rate this book. It's always hard when a book doesn't turn out to be what you expect, not bad but not what you picked it up for. I expected to read about modern Black feminists and I did, but not as much as I'd hoped and expected. I'd say this book is 50% memoir and of the remaining 50%, half of that is about Black women leading the way in making Twitter a viable and vibrant digital space and half is about Black feminism in that space. All of which is in the title, but I didn't pick the book up expecting only a quarter of it to be directly about Black feminists.

Having said all of that, I thought the book was interesting. I am a white woman and a feminist. I try very hard to be aware of my privilege and avoid being a White Feminist. But privilege has an insidious way of being invisible until something is pointed out to you. So, in this way, I thought the book useful, chapter 10 (Mammy 2.0) especially.

All in all, not a bad read just not the one I was looking for.

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up from a 3.5. Feminista Jones' book discusses Black feminists and their contributions to the digital space. Her words were accessible, centered on Black women, and gave me some readings to add to my TBR list. However, I agree with others that the book has a memoir quality because it's full of primarily personal discussions about Jones' work, thoughts, and connection to the feminists discussed. It doesn't make it any less informative or enjoyable to read, but it's not what I expected from the description. Though I applaud her choice to highlight other salient aspects of her identity (the Black Mamas Matter essay was among my faves), I wish Feminista Jones had further discussed her queer identity in context.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per other reviews, this is entirely mis-marketed. It's more of a blog-ish memoir of essays instead of being about other black feminists as well, and very all over the place. It's more about social media and using it, and it's a confusing assortment to put into book form. I thought I would be reading a collection of different women's viewpoints, but it's very much the author's, so again, not what was expected. And despite her being queer, she barely discussed that at all, instead focusing on heteronorm relationships, but then went into womanism, which feels very queer-exclusionary, so that was a brain scratcher. This had potential, but it was just way too sparse. The section "Black Mamas Matter" was definitely worth the read, though.

[Kenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished reading “Reclaiming Our Space” by Feminista Jones and I’ve followed her for years but her writing has always been one of the aspects I enjoy the most about her. It’s such an insightful book and it’s well paced so you end up finish it in one session. The flow of how each chapter ends and picks up is amazing and engaging. Can’t talk enough about how much I savoured learning from this book.

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up - themes of the book were really interesting but there were times where I felt it wandered.

A good place to start if you're looking to learn more - I now have a whole list of other women whose work I would like to read.

[Cage · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't an eye opener, but if you're active on twitter, it's a historic recounting of how black women shaped activist organization utilizing social media.

[Mashed Potato · Rating 4 out of 5]

great and digestible read

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book. How fascinating to read the history of social media through the lens of Black feminism. The chapters, Black Mamas Matter, and “Ive always been good to you people” (about White Feminism) were especially compelling to me. And the chapters, Black Feminism 101and 102 are great overviews too.

[Stephanie Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feminista Jones is smart as hell and an excellent writer. Not an avid nonfiction reader but I loved how she stacked everything in this book. I learned a lot and it made me think. You can’t ask for much more.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m glad I ignored the review below that gave it two stars. As she states in her review, it wasn’t written for her. I enjoyed the book, while I did feel it was a hard read the meatier chapters towards the end resonated with me the most as a black feminist woman and daily struggles.

I think it’s a great read for those in the same boat and just want to recognize that we are all struggling and the daily fight is tiresome. However, with that said the book highlighted the efforts so many black women have made then and now!

[Matt McCullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book that should be considered required reading. The author does an amazing job of tackling so many challenging aspects of Feminism and Womanism. She makes it understandable and does a great job of making it understandable to those outside of the main academic circles.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a lot. The chapter on white feminism titled “I’ve always been good to you people!” was my favorite.

[Sire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feminista Jones offers us a book that is educational, personal, and humorous without trying to be. She gives us the history of Black feminists, while showing us exactly social media has changed how movements of all types are born.

Her voice isn't one dimensional; the book manages to also be part memoir. We get an in-depth glimpse into exactly how Feminista Jones was shaped into the force that she is.

One of my favorite parts of the book, that I didn't expect, was the interviews with the Black feminists that she mentions in the book. This wasn't just FJ telling stories, it was another way for her to include and elevate the voices of women doing the work.

As a black gay man that has always considered myself a "Feminist" and a supporter of women, and black women specifically (FJ teaches us that allies don't actually exist) and as someone that has followed much of FJ's work, it was cool to read about moments that I witnessed in real time on Twitter mentioned in the book.

Because this book covers so much and puts it so plainly, I feel like this should be required reading. FJ is able to not compromise the intellectual integrity of her writing while also making the message simple enough to be absorbed by readers that don't have an academic background.

[mad mags · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review from the publisher.)

DNF at 42%.

"Imagine if Audre Lorde had access to Twitter in the 1970s and could share her now-famous and revered quotations in real time—what might that have done for the Black feminist movement of the time? If Angela Davis’s speeches of the 1970s could be broadcast via Periscope and seen by tens of thousands a mere forty-eight hours after she delivered them? Imagine if Marsha P. Johnson could have shared video from the Stonewall Riots the way Johnetta Elzie shared videos from Ferguson. Where might Black women be today, in our fight for equality and liberation, if these iconic thought leaders, artists, and activists were influencers in the way we understand them to be in our time?"

"Interestingly enough, I changed the name of my site to FeministaJones.com riiight before Melissa Harris-Perry featured my video about mental health on her weekend MSNBC news, culture, and politics show. Imagine her having to say, “Feminista Jones, who blogs at Knob-Slobbing Feminism,” on air."

Initially I was psyched to win a copy of Reclaiming Our Space through Library Thing's Early reviewers program; I've been following the author on twitter for some time and her thoughts on race, class, gender, and sexuality are both thought-provoking and highly entertaining. But, by the time a copy finally arrived via snail mail, life had gotten in the way and it got pushed to the bottom of my TBR pile. I finally picked it up a year later, not so much because I wanted to read it - things have been tough lately and escapism is the name of the lit game, at least for me - but rather because I felt obligated to give it a try.

Reclaiming Our Space is one part history lesson, one part manifesto, illuminating the many ways in which Black women - activists, academics, professionals, influencers, artists, and politicians - have utilized the internet (particularly twitter) to amplify their voices, too often minimized, silenced, and ignored pre-digital age. While many people like to dismiss the internet as not "real," Jones shows how hashtag campaigns like #SayHerName, #BringBackOurGirls, #MeuPrimeiroAssedio (“My first harassment”), #DisabledAndCute, #DisabilitySoWhite, #GirlsLikeUs, #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen, #BlackGirlsAre Magic, #PrettyPeriod, #WhyIStayed, #RapeCultureIsWhen, and #YouOKSis have effected changed IRL. She also details how Black women pioneered tricks like threading tweets and using reaction GIFs to further discourse, and launched influencer gigs into steady streams of revenue.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF Reclaiming Our Space - it took me most of a month to read the first half, and I just don't have anything left in me. I need a shot of feminist escapist fiction, stat. This isn't to suggest that Reclaiming Our Space is a bad read, just not the right one for me right now. I'm going to stick a pin in it and hopefully return at a later date. I'm especially intrigued by Chapter 11, at least in part because Jones references the Combahee River Collective early in the book, and I've love to learn more.


Table of Contents
--------------

INTRODUCTION
It All Started When . . .

CHAPTER 1
#BlackFeminism 101

CHAPTER 2
#BlackFeminism 102

CHAPTER 3
Thread!

CHAPTER 4
The Influencers

CHAPTER 5
Talk Like Sex

CHAPTER 6
Black Girls Are Magic

CHAPTER 7
Twenty-First-Century Negro Bedwenches

CHAPTER 8
Black Mamas Matter

CHAPTER 9
“I’ve Always Been Good to You People!”

CHAPTER 10
Mammy 2.0: Black Women Will Not Save You, So Stop Asking

CHAPTER 11
Combahee Lives

Acknowledgments
Notes