Virtual Seminar: Daughters of the Dust

The first wide release by a Black female filmmaker, Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust was met with wild critical acclaim and rapturous audience response when it initially opened in 1991.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from their roots.

Casting a long legacy, Daughters of the Dust still resonates today, most recently as a major influence on Beyonce’s video album Lemonade.

Kyéra Sterling is an independent academic whose work explores intersections between Gender, African Diaspora, and critical race theory in film and literature. She completed her master’s at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and was awarded the Crossley T. Prize for her work entitled Exorcising Demons: Bush Mama and the Possessed Body. Kyéra currently serves as Chief of Staff in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.