Date of Award
Spring 5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Creative Writing
First Advisor
Morgan Read-Davidson
Second Advisor
Jaime Campbell
Third Advisor
James Blaylock
Abstract
Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? I started asking myself this question when I was six years old. Five days before my seventh birthday, my pregnant aunt was killed by an impatient driver. That moment began shaping the rest of my life in ways I would not realize until my second attempt at a master’s program. Everyone talked about her being in a better place but what was the place and what is heaven for a Black girl? I ask myself if heaven for a Black girl is a place where Black girls do not die exhausted, exceptional, or extraordinary? Is it a place where we can be mediocre for a day? Or a place where baby hairs and kinky edges do not cause uproar or debates? Most importantly, is heaven for a Black girl a place where the intersection of race and gender do not deny us access to survival? This is a work a fiction exploring the questions above regarding survival in waking life and the afterlife.
Recommended Citation
Jennings, Montez T. L. Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? 2023. Chapman University, MFA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000482