Charles
R. Saunders and Milton J. Davis!
Griots: Sisters of the Spear picks up
where the ground breaking Griots Anthology leaves off. Charles R. Saunders and
Milton J. Davis present seventeen original and exciting Sword and Soul tales
focusing on black women. Just as the Griots Anthology broke ground as the first
Sword and Soul Anthology, Griots: Sisters of the Spear pays homage to the
spirit, bravery and compassion of women of color. Seventeen authors and eight artists combine
their skills to tell stories of bravery, love, danger and hope. The griots have
returned to sing new songs, and what wonderful songs they are!
Excerpt
for Griots: Sisters of the Spear
SPEARING
STEREOTYPES
By Charles R.
Saunders
The woman in Andrea Rushing’s evocative painting that graces the
cover of Griots: Sisters of the Spear symbolizes the essence of the anthology.
Although the painting is not a direct depiction of any of the characters in the
stories, the spirit of this woman imbues all of them. She is a teller of truth,
and a slayer of stereotypes.
As is the case with black men, black women have been subjected to
invidious stereotyping for centuries in real life and fiction alike. For the
most part, these characterizations have ranged from the condescending to the
downright hostile – from the faithful “Mammy” of Gone with the Wind to the
scornful “Sapphire” of Amos ‘n’ Andy to the degraded “Ho” made infamous in
all-too-many rap-music lyrics. The fantasy-fiction genre is no exception. Until
recently, black women have been either non-existent, or portrayed in ways that
made absence the preferable alternative.
Real life defies the stereotypes. Throughout history, there has been
no dearth of strong and courageous black women who have stood alongside – and
sometimes in front of – their men and children during the course of a
500-year-long struggle against oppression in Africa, and the places in the rest
of the world to which Africans were taken against their will to fuel economies
with their forced labor.
A few examples: The Candace, or queen, of Kush defied the legions of
ancient Rome. Queen Nzinga of Ndongo in central Africa fought to protect her
people from the depredations of European slavers. Harriet Tubman risked her
life to lead slaves to freedom in the years before the U.S. Civil War. Fannie
Lou Hamer endured vicious physical abuse from the authorities in her
non-violent quest to win basic civil rights for black Americans. Women such as
these – and many more like them – stand as living contradictions to the
misrepresentations that persist to this day.
So do the women in Sisters of the Spear. When Milton Davis came up
with the idea of a woman-themed sequel to our first anthology, Griots, I
co-signed immediately. Like Griots, Sisters of the Spear presents an
opportunity to bring more black representation to a genre that’s still in need
of more color. Thanks to Griots, we knew there were more than a few writers and
artists of all racial persuasions who would embrace our theme of powerful black
womanhood and create stories and illustrations that would be excellent by any
standard.
Our expectations have been more than fulfilled. Our modern-day
griots came through with – not to belabor the point – flying colors. The
fictional warrior-women and sorceresses you will meet in the following pages
can hold their own and then some against the barbarians and power-mad monarchs
and magic-users of both genders who swing swords and cast spells in the mostly
European-derived settings of modern fantasy and sword-and-sorcery. The reach of
sword-and soul has expanded greatly with Sisters of the Spear.
It’s time now to allow the woman on the cover serve as your guide
through the anthology. The light she carries will illuminate the truth that is
always inherent in the best of fiction. And her spear will slay the
stereotypes.
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