The conjuring of America mojos, mermaids, medicine, and 400 years of Black women's magic
"Emerging first on plantations in the American South, enslaved conjure women used their magic to treat illnesses. These women combined their ancestral spiritual beliefs from West Africa with local herbal rituals and therapeutic remedies to create conjure, forging a secret well of health and power hi...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York, NY :
Legacy Lit,
2025.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Subjects: | |
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| Summary: | "Emerging first on plantations in the American South, enslaved conjure women used their magic to treat illnesses. These women combined their ancestral spiritual beliefs from West Africa with local herbal rituals and therapeutic remedies to create conjure, forging a secret well of health and power hidden to their oppressors and many of the modern-day staples we still enjoy. ... Black feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart exposes this vital contour of American history. In the face of slavery, Negro mammies fashioned a legacy of magic that begat herbal experts, fearsome water bearers, and powerful mojos--roles and traditions that for centuries have been passed down to respond to Black struggles in real time. And when Jim Crow was born, Granny Midwives and textile weavers leveled their techniques to protect our civil and reproductive rights, while Candy Ladies fed a generation of freedom crusaders. ... Above all, The Conjuring of America is a love letter to the magic Black women used to sow messages of rebellion, freedom, and hope"-- |
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| Physical Description: | xi, 388 pages ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-368) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781538769508 1538769506 |
| Author Notes: | Lindsey Stewart is a Black feminist philosopher and an Associate Professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis. She is the author of The Politics of Black Joy . Her work has been featured in Blavity, Signs , Hypatia, and the British Journal for the History of Philosophy, and she holds a 2021 Michael Beaney Prize. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee. |
