Mikki Kendall (born October 23, 1976) is an author, activist, and cultural critic. Her work often focuses on current events, media representation, the politics of food, and the history of the feminist movement. Penguin Random House published her graphic novel Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists in 2019, while her political nonfiction book Hood Feminism was released in early 2020.
Early life and education
Kendall was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 23, 1976 and was raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Kendall is a 2005 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Kendall also has a Masters in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University.
Career
A veteran of the United States Army, Kendall worked in government service until 2013 when she left her job at the Department of Veterans Affairs to pursue her writing career full-time.
Kendall is currently an essayist and cultural critic. She has written for The Guardian,The Guardian Page for Mikki Kendall, accessed September 20, 2019. The Boston Globe,Racists’ under-the-radar recruitment by Mikki Kendall, The Boston Globe, August 18, 2017. NBC News,Beyoncé's 'Brown Skin Girl' is controversial because of its inclusionary vision of female beauty by Mikki Kendall, NBC News, July 25, 2019. The Washington Post,There are two Americas. In one, you can get arrested for sitting in a Starbucks by Mikki Kendall, The Washington Post, April 17, 2018. Bustle, EssenceMikki Kendall Author Page, Essence, accessed September 20, 2019. and EaterHot Sauce in Her Bag by Mikki Kendall, Eater, February 10, 2016. (with her essay in Eater "Hot Sauce in Her Bag" named a Best Food Essay by the Association of Food Journalists). She has appeared as a cultural commentator on NPR,Five Years In, Should The First Lady Do More? NPR, December 4, 2013. Al Jazeera English,One example is and the BBC.Fidan Hajiyeva; Is feminism racist?, BBC News, accessed September 20, 2019.
She is recognizable as a member of Black Twitter.The Black Feminists Who Saw the Alt-Right Threat Coming by Rachelle Hampton, Slate, April 23, 2019. Kendall is also the creator of the viral Twitter hashtags #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen, which criticized racism in the feminist movement,#SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen Creator, Mikki Kendal, Speaks About Women Of Color, Feminism, Huffington Post, August 23, 2013. as well as #FastTailedGirls, a reference to the hypersexualization of Black girls, and #FoodGentrification, about the marginalization of traditional foods by commercial interest.
Kendall edited the science-fiction anthology Hidden Youth for Crossed Genres Press in 2016.Review of Hidden Youth, edited by Mikki Kendall and Chesya Burke, Publishers weekly, July 11, 2016. Kendall's graphic novel history Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights was released in November 2019 by Ten Speed PressPage for Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists Penguin Random House, accessed September 20, 2019. and her political-nonfiction book Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot was released in February 2020 by Viking Books.Page for Hood Feminism Penguin Random House, accessed September 20, 2019. It criticizes the feminist movement for being largely "the province of the privileged" and ignoring problems that disproportionately impact communities of color, including poverty, housing, medical care, and racism.Hood Femiism: Notes From the Women a Movement Forgot(Chicago: Penguin Random House, 2020) p.223
Awards and honors 2017: Best Food Essay Award from the Association of Food Journalists for "Hot Sauce in Her Bag: Southern Black identity, Beyoncé, Jim Crow, and the pleasure of well-seasoned food"
Bibliography Books Title Publisher Year ISBN Note Hidden Youth: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History Crossed Genres Publications 2016 Editor (with Chesya Burke) Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights Ten Speed Press 2019 illustrated by A. D'Amico Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot Viking Press 2020
Recent essays Title Publication Date Note When Black Girls Hear That ‘Our Bodies Are All Wrong’ The New York Times February 21, 2020 Feminism Claims to Represent All Women. So Why Does It Ignore So Many of Them? Time February 24, 2020 The Neoliberal Misunderstanding of Black Education Literary Hub February 27, 2020
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