GU-Q Dean Safwan Masri
Doha, Qatar: In a powerful testament to its support for elevating marginalised voices during a contentious time in US history, Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) successfully concluded its inaugural Black Literary Arts Festival.
The dynamic celebration of Black voices and storytelling offered in commemoration of US Black History Month, offered a window into global currents of diversity and inclusion.
The festival brought together an impressive lineup of renowned authors, scholars, and artists whose work has shaped contemporary literature and global discourse.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project, and Olympic medallist and celebrated author Ibtihaj Muhammad were among the distinguished speakers who engaged audiences in thought-provoking discussions on history, identity, and the transformative power of storytelling.
The festival featured book signings, masterclasses, children’s storytime, a performance night, and engaging panels exploring the impact of Black literary contributions across cultures.
“This festival celebrates the Black writers who have held up a mirror and demanded that society ‘look,’” said Dean Safwan Masri at the opening event. Reflecting on the significance of the festival, titled “Ink & Impact – The Literary Labour of Black Storytellers,” he explained, “In line with this year’s Black History Month theme, African Americans and Labour, we are reminded that writing is work — intellectual, emotional, political, cultural.
“For Black authors, it has also often been an act of survival. When institutions barred them, when publishers ignored them, when history tried to erase them — they wrote anyway, and they write still.”
In the opening panel moderated by Al Jazeera presenter Folly Bah Thibault, Ibtihaj Muhammad and Su’ad Abdul Khabeer reflected on the impact of their writing on the global community, and offered insight into the power of representation, and best practices for those who are interested in telling their own stories.
“Take advantage of the resources you have, and don’t be afraid to reach out. I know that there’s a lot of public figures, celebrities, and artists who are looking for an opportunity to mentor,” advised Muhammad.
Although there was nothing similar to her book and poetry collection when it was published, Abdul Khabeer recounted the experience of having her work validated by readers. “My advice is to write it, write it anyway,” she said.
The festival also featured a masterclass on writing a memoir led by Michaela Angela Davis, creator of The Hair Tales, an American documentary television series, and the biography of
Mariah Carey, and another on cross-ethnic coalition building in Arab and Black American Literatures by Dr. Theri Pickens, author of New Body Politics: Narrating Arab and Black Identity in the Contemporary United States. Novelists Dr. Chika Unigwe, Tope Folarin, and Dr. Stephan Buoro offered insight on storytelling, while Jazz historian Dr. Maurice Jackson, performing arts professor Dr. Anita Gonzalez, and journalist Rachel Swarns discussed the racial history of Washington, DC, and Georgetown University, covering themes such as historical memory, cultural identity, and the intersections of race and literature.
On the final night of the festival, Nikole Hannah-Jones spoke passionately about the role of false historical narratives in shaping modern societies. “Every society creates its mythology,” she said, highlighting how the mythology of race undermines democracy in the United States, “Whiteness is a construct of power in the United States, and that is killing us…if we cannot get over our racism, we will not have a country” She concluded by encouraging collective action: “White people have to be just as invested in this as black people.”
