Black Girl Magic Lit mag logo

About

Our Mission

Black Girl Magic Lit Mag was a literary magazine created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority voices and characters in speculative fiction, especially Black women’s voices. Black Girl Magic Lit Mag believes that by showcasing stories featuring Black female voices and characters we can create a reflection of ourselves in the literature that we love, in a world where our images are constantly controlled, shaped, and distorted by those outside of our experiences .

We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) QUILTBAG, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. Our mission is to increase visibility for diverse authors, specifically women of color, and empower a wide variety of readers in the process.

Black Girls Are Magic the movement

#BlackGirlsAreMagic the movement was sparked, promoted, and poularized by blogger/social media mave CaShawn Thompson.


“I started #BlackGirlsAreMagic to honor the Black women in my family and all around me that I saw doing incredible things, so much so that they appeared to be magical to me. The hashtag has been one of love and community-building for Black women online. I’m proud of how it has spread and been received, but it is also representative of my innovation and my work.”
— CaShawn Thompson

To purchase a "Black Girls are Magic" shirt from CaShawn Thompson, please visit her online store.

Featured
A 1973 Original: Tanya DePass Explains Why You and I Need Diverse Games
A 1973 Original: Tanya DePass Explains Why You and I Need Diverse Games

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Tanya DePass for many years, ever since the relevant days of LiveJournal. A 1973 Original (as stated on the title of her LJ) and a Chicago native, Tanya DePass has been on an epic quest to bring multiculturalism and progress to the video game industry. In 2014, she launched the #INeedDiverseGames initiative in the hopes of educating both gamers and creators on the importance of representation and diversity.

Upkins:  Tanya, thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule for this interview. For the unfamiliar, why don’t you introduce yourself.

DePass: Hi, I’m Tanya DePass, accidental activist for diversity in games. Long time gamer, a bit of a grump at times but a full time advocate for diversity, Director of the non-profit I Need Diverse Games

Upkins:  What first drew you to video games?

DePass: A chance to escape, to do things I normally couldn’t do.

Upkins:  What is it about the medium that makes it such a passion for you?

DePass:  I get to save the world, the universe if I want. It’s a medium with so much potential to bring people new worlds, stories, universes. I can just chill in Thedas, walk the Normandy or lose myself in a new world. 

A Blessing | Donyae Coles
A Blessing | Donyae Coles

“It’s not birth control,” the nurse said to Imani, setting the clipboard down, pausing in her questioning. 
    “I know,” she responded, avoiding the woman’s eyes, pulling at her coat sleeves. 
    The woman sighed, there was still an edge to her voice but under that there was some care, some hope. “I see girls like you all the time. You say you know but you still end up here. Listen, you’re not going to keep this from happening until you learn to take care of yourself.”” 
    She looked up at the woman, her squat body in pink scrubs, a stethoscope around her neck. Imani knew exactly what kind of girls the older woman meant. Girls like her, young, poor, and most of all black. Quick to lay down, quick to spread their legs. Too stupid to think of the consequences. She wanted to ask her how she should protect herself. She was on the pill the last time and it didn’t work. She was afraid of the kind you implant. That when the thing grew in her, because she knew it wouldn’t work, it would push the implant out of place and stab her before she could have the abortion. Swallowing her questioned she mumbled, “I know.”

Zora | Tonya Jones
Zora | Tonya Jones

Everyone stared at me like I lost my mind. In one hand, I clutched my purse. With the other, I smoothed down my favorite purple dress. The one that snatched my curves. I checked to make sure the purple rose I put in my kinky hair was still in place. I know folks were looking at my face in disbelief. I had applied layers of shimmery eyeshadow and stained my lips a luscious berry. I heard someone say “umph” as I stopped in front of Zora’s grave. I gave a slight shrug. Let these fools mourn Zora’s life wearing all black and moaning goodbye songs. They know Zora would’ve laughed at them. But folks get weird about funerals. They think they have to do everything “respectably.” 

 
 

It all started when…

Kenesha Williams was the Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Black Girl Magic Lit Mag. She took to heart the advice ,

"If you don't see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself"

and created a Speculative Fiction Literary Magazine featuring characters she wanted to see. Kenesha received her B.A. in English Language & Literature, with a Concentration in African Diaspora Literature. She is a multi-genre author and screenwriter. 

Tiara Janté was Co-Editor for Black Girl Magic Lit Mag. She is also a freelance writer who writes for Black Sci-Fi.com (blacksci-fi.com ) and Women's Lifestyle Magazine, xoNecole. You can find her on her blog www.tiarajante.net and on Twitter at @TiaraJante