Love letters to our people: Writing PanAfrican feminist histories

Love letters to our people: Writing PanAfrican feminist histories

Freedom is lovework. For generations feminists have organised across the African continent and in the diaspora to offer this labour of radical transformation.

Join Dr. Nydia A. Swaby, author of Amy Ashwood Garvey and the Future of Black Feminist Archives and Jessica Horn, author of African Feminist Praxis: Cartographies of Liberatory Worldmaking in conversation as they explore the texture and emotion around researching and adding to the archive of PanAfrican feminist resistance.

They will engage text, visuals, music and generative conversation as we collectively trace the histories of PanAfrican feminist rebels and the movements that they brought to life.

There will be an opportunity to purchase their Books and limited edition swag via cash and card payments on the day night.

Image: Jessica Horn by JuneJuly 24

Jessica Horn is an (East) African feminist ideamonger, futurist, activist, strategist and award winning poet. An innovator by inclination, Jessica pioneered the Futures initiative at the African Women’s Development Fund in Accra where she oversaw the first regional futures trends analysis produced from a feminist perspective.  A leader in philanthropy, she was appointed the first African/Black woman to lead the Ford Foundation’s East Africa office in 2021. She also supported co-design of early models of participatory philanthropy (UHAI-EASHRI and FRIDA). Original trained in women’s health rights and located in the feminist sexual and reproductive rights movement, Jessica served as Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health. In the creative domain, her poetry pamphlet Speaking in Tongues is included in the Mouthmark Book of Poetry alongside Warsan Shire, Inua Ellams and Malika Booker. As a documenter of African women’s lifeworlds,  Jessica is co-curator of [http://.the/].thetemple of her skin a visual documentary project around African women’s tattoo and scarification stories. Her book African Feminist Praxis: Cartographies of Liberatory Worldmaking (Sage, 2025) offers insight into the thinking and practices of decades of activism. Jessica is a founder member of the African Feminist Forum and has served on several governance boards. She is a recognised leader in philanthropy and is currently Senior Research Fellow at Moleskine Foundation. She is a graduate of Smith College, the London School of Economics, and the Scenarios Programme at Oxford University’s Said Business School.

Nydia A. Swaby is a Black feminist artist-researcher, writer, and curator. Her practice engages archives, autoethnography, photography, moving image, and imagination to explore the gendered, diasporic, and affective dimensions of Black being and becoming. Nydia is a member of the Feminist Review editorial board and co-edited its Archives issue. She holds a PhD from the Centre for Gender Studies at SOAS and has previously worked at the ICA and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Nydia was the inaugural Caird Research Fellow at Royal Museums Greenwich and The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. As part of this work, she created the film daughter(s) of diaspora, which was screened for International Slavery Remembrance Day at the National Maritime Museum and exhibited in Archive of One’s Own at the Singapore International Photography Festival. Nydia is currently a Whose Heritage Curatorial Fellow at Royal Museums Greenwich and serves on the advisory board for the Atlantic Worlds Gallery at the National Maritime Museum. Her book, Amy Ashwood Garvey and the Future of Black Feminist Archives, was published by Lawrence Wishart in October 2024 as part of LW’s Radical Black Women series.

Access information:

Getting here

To reach The Feminist Library, the closest tube station is Peckham Rye (1.3km away) which is not step-free. The route from Peckham Rye station is step-free but not level throughout. The nearest wheelchair accessible tube station is Queen’s Road Peckham, via a boarding ramp. Bus stops for routes 63, 363, 381, and 78 can all be found nearby. The closest bus stop (for routes 63 and 363 only) is ~330m away, the route is step free and level.

Arrival

The Sojourner Truth Centre which houses the Library is completely step-free with level floors through-out.

Ring the Feminist Library bells at the doorway (at 137cm), or call us in advance and you will be met. There is a slight depression in the floor where the welcome mat meets the floor. The door is 137cm wide, heavy, and is not automated.

A Library Opener will greet you when you arrive and open the door, please let us know if there is any way large or small to make your visit easier. There is no obligation to chat, you can write a message down and show them if you would prefer or email in advance.

There are three doorways to pass through to access the main Library hall. Foyer double door does not stay open on its own. Floors are smooth and may be slippery if wet.

The main Library Hall is a completely step-free space, with level floors throughout. There is a set of double doors into the hall, and typically only one of them is propped open. We will open both on request. We have a variety of chairs including wide seats, and chairs with arm/back-rests. All chairs have back rests. If you need to reserve an armchair or sofa space please get in touch.

There is a narrow kitchen with crockery and cutlery, a mini fridge, and a microwave. You are welcome to bring food into the library, or use the teas and coffee in the kitchen. There is a Londis 72m (~2 mins) away which is step free and level throughout, with a step free route from the library, though please note the pavement may not be level.

Toilets are all gender neutral. There is one accessible toilet, which does not require a radar key, and two toilet rooms, located just across from library hall, offering cubicles and a urinal. Pull-down changing table is available in the accessible toilet.

Children are welcome but we do not have a creche.

Assistance pets are welcome in the Library. There may be dogs in the Library on occasion, please let us know if you are not comfortable with this.

Hand sanitiser and masks are available. Let the Openers know if you would like others to be masked