Biography:Zeba Blay

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Short description: Ghanaian-American writer and culture critic
Zeba Blay
Born1988/1989 (age 35–36)[1]
Ghana
EducationThe New School
OccupationWriter, culture critic
Years active2013 – present
Known forCarefreeBlackGirl (hashtag)
Websitehttps://www.zeba-blay.com/

Zeba Blay is a Ghanaian-American writer and culture critic and former senior culture writer for The Huffington Post. She coined the hashtag #Carefree BlackGirl in 2013 and published her accompanying debut Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture in 2021.

Early life and education

Blay was born in Ghana and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey.[2] She took a film class in high school that cultivated her interest in criticism.[3] In 2013, she received her bachelor's degree from The New School's Eugene Lang College, where she created an original concentration in cultural criticism.[4]

She named Toni Morrison, Janet Mock, Manohla Dargis, and Greg Tate as writers who are particularly influential to her work.[5][6]

Career

Writing

Blay's writing has been in published in The New York Times , The Village Voice, IndieWire, Film Comment, and others.[2] She was a culture writer at HuffPost from 2013 until 2021.[2] Her work has been cited in outlets including NPR, Vogue, and Vox.[7][8][9] She was a writer for the web series MTV Decoded, hosted by Franchesca Ramsey.[10]

She coined the viral hashtag #CarefreeBlackGirl on Twitter in October 2013, as a method "to assert and affirm my right to exist."[11][2] In October 2021, she released her debut book based on the concept, Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture, an essay collection on the contributions of Black women to American culture.[12][2] The book explores topics including colorism, the policing of Black women's bodies,[2] Cardi B,[2] and her insights as a working journalist.[2][13] She also includes her personal experiences with anxiety and depression.[5]

Blay announced that she will release two books in 2022.[4]

Other work

Blay co-hosted the pop culture podcast Two Brown Girls with Fariha Róisín from 2012–2017.[14]

She uses her personal Instagram as an archive for images related to Black expression, emotion, and care.[15]

Personal life

Blay resides in New York City .[2]

Works

  • Blay, Zeba (2021) (in English). Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 9781250231574. 

References

  1. ↑ Moore, Keesean; Blay, Zeba (2021-05-13). "Besties Zeba Blay and Keesean Moore on radical vulnerability" (in en). https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/xgxdwk/zeba-blay-keesean-moore-mental-health-healing. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Tharpe, Stephanie (2021-10-20). "Author Zeba Blay Talks Her Debut Book And The State Of Black Womanhood In America" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestheculture/2021/10/20/author-zeba-blay-talks-her-debut-book-and-the-state-of-black-womanhood-in-america/. 
  3. ↑ "Zeba Blay's "Carefree Black Girls" Is an Artful Revelation" (in en). https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/carefree-black-girls-treats-black-women-as-art. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Zeba Blay, Liberal Arts '13, Brings #CarefreeBlackGirl to the Masses with Her New Book" (in en-US). 2021-10-21. https://blogs.newschool.edu/news/2021/10/zeba-blay-liberal-arts-13-brings-carefreeblackgirl-to-the-masses-with-her-new-book/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bero, Tayo. ""I'm less interested in being a good writer than I am in being an honest writer": A Conversation with Zeba Blay | Tayo Bero" (in en). https://catapult.co/dont-write-alone/stories/tayo-bero-zeba-blay-conversation-carefree-black-girls-essays-writing-interview. 
  6. ↑ "Zeba Blay" (in en). 2018-11-05. https://louponline.com/blogs/blog/zeba-blay. 
  7. ↑ Hemmer, Nicole (2018-01-09). "How to think about consuming art made by sexual predators." (in en). https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/1/9/16866080/erase-predators-work-spacey-louis-weinstein-morality-art-artist. 
  8. ↑ Castillo, Monica (2016-02-03). "In Conversation About Diversity In Hollywood, Where Does Sundance Fit In?" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/03/465322193/in-the-conversation-about-diversity-in-hollywood-where-does-sundance-fit-in. 
  9. ↑ Specter, Emma (2020-07-13). "I Hate the Version of New York Captured on 'The Bold Type.' So Why Do I Miss It?" (in en-US). https://www.vogue.com/article/the-bold-type-new-york-quarantine. 
  10. ↑ "MTV Decoded Season 7 - The Shorty Awards". http://shortyawards.com/11th/mtv-decoded-season-7. 
  11. ↑ "For Zeba Blay, Being #CarefreeBlackGirls Isn't All About Joy" (in en-US). 2021-10-25. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/zeba-blay-carefree-black-girls. 
  12. ↑ Ukiomogbe, Juliana (2021-10-19). "Zeba Blay is Putting Her Shadows on the Page" (in en-US). https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/zeba-blay-putting-shadows-on-page-rough-draft. 
  13. ↑ Dionne, Evette (2021-10-19). "Zeba Blay's "Carefree Black Girls" Is an Artful Revelation" (in en). https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/carefree-black-girls-treats-black-women-as-art. 
  14. ↑ Gurung, Danny (2016-03-02). "Rookie » Daily Links: Two Brown Girls Return Edition" (in en-US). https://www.rookiemag.com/2016/03/daily-links-justice-edition/. 
  15. ↑ Williams, Noella (2022-02-24). "What Does It Mean to Be a "Carefree Black Girl"?" (in en-US). https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a39176339/zeba-blay-carefree-black-girls-interview/. 

External links




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