By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com
Award-winning poet Rebecca Dupas’ latest literary offering, Not Without Black Women, should perhaps be the mantra of the Democratic Party, reflecting its most loyal voting bloc. But, her compilation of poetry published earlier this year transcends the seeming ubiquity of American politics.
“This year I published…Not Without Black Women in response to what is an ever-growing toxic mix of sexism and racism,” said Dupas, a native of Mansura, La., of her third book.
Rebecca Dupas is the author of Not Without Black Women. (‘Don’t Be Late for Poetry’)
“I feel like it’s important for me to use my platform as a poet to address the position of the Black woman not only in her role as mother, lover and supporter of Black men,” added Dupas, who has also published four CD’s of original works. “But, also as she navigates a corporate world that doesn’t yield to her as much as it does to men in general and certainly not as much as it does to White women.”
A photographer, educator and doctorate student, Dupas is also founder and creative director of “A Dose of Dupas,” an event-based poetry company that houses several live art events.
“There are too many negative narratives about Black women and I feel that it is my job to speak truth to power, to identify and respond to areas of offense, and to reclaim the stories told about me and women who look like me,” said Dupas.
“It is also my duty to affirm myself as I am constantly seeing and hearing ideas that contradict my grace and beauty as a Black woman.”
