Zeba Blay
Ghanaian-American writer and culture critic From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zeba Blay is a Ghanaian-American writer, film and cultural critic and former senior culture writer for The Huffington Post. She coined the hashtag #Carefree BlackGirl in 2013 and published her accompanying debut essay collection Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture in 2021.
Zeba Blay | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 or 1989 (age 35–36)[1] |
| Education | The New School |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, cultural critic, film critic |
| Years active | 2013 – present |
| Known for | CarefreeBlackGirl (hashtag) |
| Website | https://www.zeba-blay.com/ |
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 helped her develop an interest in film 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
Summarize
Perspective
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). Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 9781250231574.
References
External links
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