BLACK WOMEN'S INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS: "These Flowers Growing Out My Mind
Abstract
For those interested in the historical intellectual contributions of African American women, the written archives often present a significant challenge-as many contemporary Black feminist thinkers (i.e., Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Patricia Hill Collins, Saidiya Hartman) have pointed out. One way that Black feminists have negotiated this challenge is, as Alice Walker suggests, to turn to "our mothers' gardens" when attempting to trace these intellectual traditions. This chapter takes up Walker's suggestion by analyzing the oral archive of rootwork, or conjure, a spiritual tradition that heavily relies upon gardening. My analysis centers on two prominent nineteenth-century conjure women: the famous "voodoo queen" of New Orleans, Marie Laveau, and her lesser-known contemporaries Mary Seacole and Betsy Toledano.
Publication Title
Oxford Handbook of American and British Women Philosophers in the Nineteenth Century
Recommended Citation
Stewart, L. (2023). BLACK WOMEN'S INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS: "These Flowers Growing Out My Mind. Oxford Handbook of American and British Women Philosophers in the Nineteenth Century, 517-530. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197558898.013.31
