“Cross your legs! Do not speak unless spoken to! Sit still and act like a lady. Men don’t like women that talk back! Ladies are seen and not heard! Well, they said you copped an attitude.” These unsolicited words are the soundtrack to the childhood memories of many Black girls growing up in New York City and across the diaspora. Young Black girls are frequently held to an impossible social standard at the nexus of respectability, performance and responsibility—we don’t get to just be.

Using (W)Ratchetness and radical Black Feminism as a theoretical and embodied framework, we will explore themes of respectability, anger, queerness, sexuality, and community through reading, discussion, crafts, and zine-making. We intend to arm our community of learners with tools to know themselves and survive institutions that do not prioritize our living. We do not believe Black girls should be forced to fit molds—let Black girls be (W)Ratchet.