event recap: bernardine evaristo @ sal

Hi!

Last week, Seattle Arts & Lectures (“SAL”) hosted Bernardine Evaristo, activist and author of Girl, Woman, Other, and her latest, Manifesto. I love these events because not only do you often get to hear about interesting insights about the authors’ writing and thought process, but you also get to learn so much about history, current events, and new ideas.

The lecture started off with Evaristo giving her presentation. Since Manifesto is a memoir, she started out by providing the context of the British empire and the place of Black people in its history. This was so fascinating to me – some of my main takeaways from this historical crash course were:

• It’s so important to challenge the myths upon which the country is predicated – Evaristo mentioned that she had inquired at a museum about Black people in Britain and they were set on telling her there was no archaeological evidence of Black people in Britain prior to the last couple of hundred years. She was steadfast and adamant to prove them wrong, and through her storytelling and later investigation done by others, she was right.
• Black people were in Britain before the Britains, about 2,000 years ago in “Roman London” times.
• Later, in the 1960s and 70s, there was a different ideology between being an African American vs. being Black British.

Then, Evaristo started talking about her own personal upbringing and her eventual grassroots activism and writing. Dr. Carmen Rojas, the moderator, joined Evaristo then and further discussed her writing process in Manifesto and the lens it was written in. After listening to the lecture, I am even more excited to pick up Manifesto! I love that Evaristo’s belief system includes setting goals and never giving up on them. (She had set a goal for herself in her teens to win the Booker Prize someday, and last year, she did with Girl, Woman, Other! Amazing.)

Are you attending any SAL events this year? I’d love to know which ones!

Thanks for reading,

Jen x

I review events for #SAL as part of the #SALSuperFanClub; in exchange for a free ticket, I offer my unbiased review.