Solution Session
On Day 2 of Afropunk, I went by myself. But I was okay with it since I already knew what it was like from the previous day. When I arrived I was able to make it to the Solution Session. This session was dedicated to black women with the title: Reclaiming Our Time & Our Bodies. I missed the first half, but I arrived while they were talking about fibroids. One of the panelists was talking about her experience and how she got them removed without removing her uterus. She also talked about fertility and the option to freeze your eggs if you would like to have children someday, but your love life isn’t going as planned or you’re focused on your career. It was interesting to talk about fertility because sometimes I don’t know if I want children or if I will even be able to have any. Furthermore, I wasn’t aware that a lot of black women still died from pregnancy complications. We also talked about how issues that affect black women are never brought into mainstream arenas, but if black men, white women, or white men had health issues everyone would know about them.
Another topic of discussion was choosing what candidates to vote for in the political atmosphere and whether black people should focus on one topic of improving the movement or multiple topics. It was brought up that we don;t have to just vote for one party and stay solely with that party. We should vote for candidates that align with what we want to change. Furthermore, that if black people were to focus on one issue it would probably be the black male agenda and we black women would be left out. Even though during the 2016 election, 94% of black women voted against Trump because we knew he would be a terrible president.
The second part of the Solution Session focused on popular culture and media. One of the panelists was Yvonne Orji AKA Molly from Insecure. And another one was Melissa Harris-Perry. Harris-Perry threw a lot of shade at white people and she would sip her wine like she didn’t say anything. It was too funny. Michaela Angela Davis was also there and she made a powerful statement:
“The antidote to white supremacy and white patriarchy is sisterhood.”
Yvonne Orji also reminded me to stay focused on doing what I need to do instead of worrying about what other people are doing and to work with people on my level.
It was great to be in a space that was specifically for black women where we talk about politics, health, and business.
Oshun
This group had a vibe similar to Lauryn Hill in terms of their meaningful and uplifting lyrics. They both had bras that were made from copper and crystals and I thought it was pretty unique. There’s no way that I would be able to pull those off because they wouldn’t fit. They also had a song called Not My President in reference to Donald Trump of course.
Willow Smith
When Willow Smith hit the stage she was a real life rockstar. She played the guitar really well and her vocals were piercing and clear. She played her ‘Human Leech’ song and did a rock version of ‘Whip My Hair’. Willow also brought her mom Jada Pinkett-Smith out and talked about going on tour with her mom’s band. I honestly never knew that Jada had a band and it just shows how much she influences Willow. I think the bond between them is amazing.
Solange
Afropunk was literally my only chance to see Solange in Atlanta since she released her album ‘A Seat at the Table’. I took it personal that she took forever to come here. Especially since her album was for black people and Atlanta is known as a black city. But the wait was worth it. I had seen all these posts on her instagram with her set decor being extravagant and I was a little worried that she wasn’t going to go all out for us since she was a part of a festival. I had nothing to worry about because the crew transformed the stage into a completely different set. They put in a white background and added the giant statues. I was able to see the crew building her set because I literally waited for 3 hours for Solange to perform so that I would have a good spot in the crowd. And it definitely paid off because I ended up so close to the stage with only one person in front of me. I was dehydrated and my feet felt like I had been standing on spikes all day, but it was worth it.
First, her band came out. Then her dancers. And finally, Solange graced us with her presence. Everybody was dressed in red. The synchronization of her dance moves was amazing. She twerked a couple of times and I was like yaaasss Solange get it! I loved that she sang ‘F.U.B.U.’, ‘Mad’, and ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’. She also sang ‘Lovers in the Parking Lot’ from her True EP. And that’s my song! I’m happy she did some old songs. Also, I think she looked at me one time! Overall, Solange was the perfect ending to a very black experience.
