Zeba Blay | |
---|---|
Born | 1988or1989(age 36–37) [1] |
Education | The New School |
Occupation(s) | Writer, cultural critic, film critic |
Years active | 2013 – present |
Known for | CarefreeBlackGirl (hashtag) |
Website | https://www.zeba-blay.com/ |
Zeba Blay is a Ghanaian-American writer, film and cultural critic and former senior culture writer for The Huffington Post . She coined the hashtag #Carefree BlackGirl in 2013 and published her accompanying debut essay collection Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture in 2021.
Blay was born in Ghana and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. [2] She took a film class in high school that helped her develop an interest in film criticism. [3] In 2013, she received her bachelor's degree from The New School's Eugene Lang College, where she created an original concentration in cultural criticism. [4]
She named Toni Morrison, Janet Mock, Manohla Dargis, and Greg Tate as writers who are particularly influential to her work. [5] [6]
Blay's writing has been in published in The New York Times , The Village Voice , IndieWire , Film Comment , and others. [2] She was a culture writer at HuffPost from 2013 until 2021. [2] Her work has been cited in outlets including NPR , Vogue , and Vox . [7] [8] [9] She was a writer for the web series MTVDecoded, hosted by Franchesca Ramsey. [10]
She coined the viral hashtag #CarefreeBlackGirl on Twitter in October 2013, as a method "to assert and affirm my right to exist." [11] [2] In October 2021, she released her debut book based on the concept, Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture, an essay collection on the contributions of Black women to American culture. [12] [2] The book explores topics including colorism, the policing of Black women's bodies, [2] Cardi B, [2] and her insights as a working journalist. [2] [13] She also includes her personal experiences with anxiety and depression. [5]
Blay announced that she will release two books in 2022. [4]
Blay co-hosted the pop culture podcast Two Brown Girls with Fariha Róisín from 2012–2017. [14]
She uses her personal Instagram as an archive for images related to Black expression, emotion, and care. [15]
Blay resides in New York City. [2]