Department of women, gender, and sexuality host first Black Women's Studies movie night

A screenshot from the 2022 horror film '“Master” (Photo courtesy of IMDb)

Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies associate professor Dr. Zenzele Isoke and Women’s Studies Lecturer Dr. Sydney Lewis hosted their first Black Women’s Studies Movie Night at the University of Maryland on Wednesday evening.

Students and staff were invited to watch the screening of the horror movie “Master,” written and directed by Mariama Diallo— her directorial debut. The film was centered around Jasmine Moore’s experience as one of eight Black students at Ancaster University, a prestigious university in New England. The film was chosen because it was written and directed by a Black woman, promoting the Black Women’s Studies minor at this university.

“Which scene did you most identify with and find the most uneasy?” Zenzele asked.

“Interracial interactions that were filled with racist violence, that felt more horrific than the ghost and witch story,” Lewis said.

Zenzele opened up the floor for the discussion on microaggression, specifically in academia, and how often it can mess with our minds and “question our own reality.”

Lewis goes into great detail about how often Black women in academia are expected to play the role of a “mammy” and fix the problems the university presents itself. Mammy is a historical stereotype to describe Black women that served white families. Many were underpaid and expected to care for their boss's children more than their own.

Black women in academia are expected to be a “mammified” figure because of the lack of representation at these institutions, Zenzele said. It was described as unpaid labor that can’t necessarily go on your cover letter.

Black women are expected to do more in these higher-ed spaces without receiving payment. It can be rewarding because most professors join this field with the expectation of working closely with students, but at the same time, it adds an extra layer of responsibility that wasn’t in their job description, Zenzele said.

Both professors agreed that if there was an increase in representation in higher education institutes, the feeling of unpaid labor would decrease.