A journey of a Black Woman’s Archivist: Phyllis Ntantala, Margaret Walker and Queen Mother Moore’s quest for a Pan-African Liberation

Abstract

ABSTRACTPhyllis Ntantala (7 January 1920–17 July 2016), anti-apartheid writer, political activist, educator, and mother, encouraged me to become a Black Woman’s Archivist. A Black Woman’s Archivist excavates and preserves the stories of black transnational women whose works create, impact, and contribute to multiple black radical movements. By using a portraiture methodology, I share the history of Africana women like Phyllis Ntantala, while highlighting my relationship to her and other Africana women’s experiences in Pan-African Liberation struggles. Phyllis’s story led me to my initial experience with the archive, which expanded my research on Africana women’s roles in Pan-African Liberation struggles. Her work encourages my current research on Margaret Walker (7 July 1915–30 November 1998), African American writer, political activist, mother, and educator who created the Conference of African Affairs in 1971 at Jackson State University that advocated against various forms of colonialism. There is also Queen Mother Moore (27 July 1898–2 May 1997), Pan African Leader, founder of the Reparation Movement, political theorist, mother, and educator. Emergent themes like anti-apartheid advocacy, education, and literary activism connect these transnational women. They contribute to a black feminist praxis and leadership within African Liberation Movements despite the normalcy of heteropatriarchy.