For readers who love Alice Walker, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Maya Angelou, this work amplifies the voice, breath, and life of Black girls and women.
BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES, June 20, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Dr. Menah Adeola Eyaside Pratt is a highly educated and talented Blackwildwoman who is a nationally recognized and diversity-award-winning author of four previous books on race, gender, and diversity. As a scholar-activist and academic advocate, she founded the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy National Conference and the Black College Institute at Virginia Tech.
Raised by highly accomplished parents, including her father, Dr. Theodore Pratt, a nuclear physicist and immigrant from Sierra Leone in West Africa, and her mother, Dr. Mildred Pratt, a professor of social work, and the granddaughter of an enslaved woman from Alabama, Pratt’s autobiographical journey from girlhood to womanhood unfolds like a play through acts, stages, and scenes.
“Blackwildgirl” is based on 45 years of journals that I’ve written since I was a young girl, sharing the story of my experiences going from Black girlhood to Black womanhood and the lessons that I learned”, Pratt said.
Dr. Menah Pratt with Bennett College students after book discussion at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, NC.
In her own words and on her own terms through decades of journals, poems, and letters to Love, she chronicles the transformative experiences that have shaped her: proclaiming to her parents at the age of 5 that she was Queen of Sheba, the beautiful queen in the Bible; earning five degrees, including a law degree and a Ph.D. becoming a tenured full professor in the fields of education, critical race theory, critical race feminism, and Black Feminism; balancing the demands of marriage and motherhood; navigating a miscarriage and the death of both of her parents; becoming an entrepreneur, owning a frame shop and art gallery; and undertaking a seven-year search for knowledge about the spirit world and the Divine Feminine.
Pratt launched her fifth book in April with a keynote and signing at the 12th annual, Faculty Women of Color in the Academy National Conference held in Arlington, VA. When asked why she wrote “Blackwildgirl: A Writer’s Journey to Finding Her Superpower“, Dr. Pratt says, “I want to share my journey in the hope that it can help others on their life journeys. In particular, I want women and girls to feel empowered to discover and share their superpower with the world. Now more than ever, women’s voices are needed worldwide.”
The book comes with a companion journal. The companion journal and reflection questions in the book are opportunities for readers to think about their life and start that courageous revolutionary journey. Let me look at myself. Let me think about my relationship with my parents. Let me think about my childhood. Let me think about my young adulthood. This offers the opportunity dig into the depths of collective memories for empowerment and self actualization.
During her book tour Dr. Pratt has spoken to girls and women around the world and expressed with great passion the vital importance of understanding that they are all powerful, regardless of their stage of evolution and development. “I want them to know that they are not alone in their journeys, whether they are seeds and beginning their journeys; growing roots and exploring their spiritual foundations; encountering weeds, challenges, and obstacles; or in their season of blooming and blossoming.”
Much of Dr. Pratt’s work advocates for indigenous people and women of color. In an interview with Liberty Roads the vice president for strategic affairs and diversity at Virginia Tech expressed “I’m encouraging more people to take the time to have conversations with Black women. Let’s just talk. Let me just listen to your story to understand your experience with that listening ear. Over time, those friendships and authenticity will lead to greater understanding and commitment to the work.”
This summer Dr. Menah Pratt will continue delivering the message of “Blackwildgirl”, healing and resilience with the Free Black Women’s Library in Brooklyn, New York on July 7 and at Martha’s Vineyard Bunch of Grapes on August 6.
About Menah Adeola Eyaside Pratt
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in Normal, Illinois, Menah received a BA and MA from the University of Iowa and an MA, PhD, and JD from Vanderbilt University. Honored as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Virginia for 2023 by the website Women We Admire, Menah lives and works in Blacksburg, Virginia. She is Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity and Professor of Education at Virginia Tech. A former tennis player on the professional circuit, she is a talented pianist and mother of two adult children.
Connect with Dr. Menah Pratt for keynote or workshop offerings at www.MenahPratt.com
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