Lavender Fields: Black Women Experiencing Fear, Agency, and Hope in the Time of COVID-19 made Ms. Magazine’s January "Reads for the Rest of Us."

Published by the University of Arizona Press (UAPress), and edited by Julia A. Jordan-Zachery, Lavender Fields uses autoethnography to explore how Black girls and women are living with and through COVID-19. It centers their pain, joys, and imaginations for a more just future as we confront all the inequalities that COVID-19 exposes.

Black women and girls in the United States are among the hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of illnesses, deaths, evictions, and increasing economic inequality. Riffing off Alice Walker’s telling of her search for Zora Neal Hurston, the authors of these essays and reflections offer raw tellings of Black girls’ and women’s experiences written in real time, as some of the contributors battled COVID-19 themselves.

UAPress is the premier publisher of academic, regional, and literary works in the state of Arizona. We disseminate ideas and knowledge of lasting value that enrich understanding, inspire curiosity, and enlighten readers. UAPress advances the University of Arizona’s mission by connecting scholarship and creative expression to readers worldwide.

More info

• Read full news announcement on the UAPress website.
• See / purchase Lavender Fields on the UAPress website.