April 12th
7pm
In Our Shoes: On Being a Young Black Woman in Not-So "Post-Racial" America is a memoir in essays about young Black women and the stereotypes and preconceived notions they are expected to live up to, examined through the lens of Brianna Holt’s lived experience and pop culture to help readers unlearn their biases and expand their worldviews.
Part memoir, part cultural critique, In Our Shoes will walk readers through the common stereotypes and issues young Black women have to overcome in modern America, in order to dismantle myths about Black womanhood and explore the roles Black millennial women take on simply to survive.
In nine thoughtful chapters laced with searing commentary, reportage, personal anecdotes from Brianna's own life, as well as interviews conducted with "everyday" Black women, In Our Shoes hopes to illuminate readers on the complexities of existence for Black women and create a digestible, thought-provoking book that will help readers to learn, empathize, reflect, and act.
A personal history, a work of criticism, a piece of reporting, and a call to action, In Our Shoes is a timely exploration of race and womanhood that aims to entertain and inform.
We recommend that guests wear masks on the night.
Brianna Holt is an author, writer, and reporter living in New York City. She mostly writes about music, identity, and culture. Brianna’s writing has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, GQ, The Cut, The Atlantic, Complex, and more, including her own column, Active Voice, through Medium’s GEN. She has worked as a staff writer and editor for BuzzFeed, Quartz, The Daily Dot, Verizon Media’s In the Know, and as a features reporter at Insider. IN OUR SHOES is her first book.
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Essence Gant is a leading beauty, style and culture journalist and content creator. Essence has built a brand around thoughtful, authentic commentary and content from a socially-conscious lens — everything from the latest trends to issues impacting marginalized communities. She’s been featured on Allure, ABC Nightly News, Byrdie, New York Post, and more, in addition to hosting live segments, from BuzzFeed’s morning show AM to DM to Target’s Live Fall Style Haul and others. With over a decade of experience in media and entertainment — including a stint as Beauty Director at BuzzFeed — and a Masters degree in Social Work, Essence is most passionate about the intersection of lifestyle with diversity, inclusion and equity. A Georgia native, Essence currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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