Black Women's Agency ft. Rachel Zellars.

by Itai Kuwodza

In her pursuit to understand, reveal, and highlight the hidden evidence of Black Women's presence throughout history, Rachel Zellars is bringing to light the overlooked narratives of Black women in history. In this episode Rachel shares with us her inspirators – from historians and critical scholars like Marisa Fuentes and Saidiya Hartman (Check them out!) These women are challenging the traditional boundaries of historical documentation and archival research.

Rachel talks us through the journey of Fuentes, whose experience includes researching Black women's presence in archives, only to confront their glaring absence. This reflects a painful reality of historical revisionism where the stories of Black women are often marginalized or erased. Rachel echoes these sentiments as she emphasizes the importance of looking beyond the archives, to "build a story about that" which is not immediately visible. Rachel is turning the gaze around completely and demonstrates how Black women have historically navigated spaces of invisibility within narratives. This turning around is not just a reversal of perspective but an active engagement with the absences. Therefore, granting permission to speculate and, most importantly, to tell a story with possibility. As a result, she contributes to an understanding of Black women's agency, not as a framework of imagination, but as a testament to their resilience, influence, and essential role in shaping history.

We learn new terms and procedures like Hartman's concept of "critical fabulation," where the scarcity of direct evidence does not hinder but rather invites a thoughtful speculation rooted in what is known and can be reasonably inferred. This approach to history, told by one person's determined investigation, is a powerful tool against the erasure of Black women's contributions and experiences.