Independent Subtexts: Devin N. Morris, Black Futures

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Zines, with their endless design possibilities and low production cost, provide ample opportunity for expression. They serve as a space where one can own one’s media and communicate directly to a public. This agency is not often offered to Black creators or Black people in environments outside of their homes. I founded 3 Dot Zine as a canvas for sharing the words, thoughts, and visuals created by marginalized peoples who are liberated through creative expression. Here’s a selection from my personal library of materials I’ve collected over the years.

What it do: So, not many know this but the person who played the alien in Alien was a Nigerian visual artist and actor. I learned of this fact after picking up this book and meeting Samuel Hindolo for the first time at BABZ Fair 2017 at the Knockdown Center in Queens. Bolaji Badejo was chosen for his sheer height—he was 7’2” tall. I loved the ambiguity of this book; you wouldn’t know why it was created unless you researched the title or were told by a friend or Hindolo themself. Thank you for the code, Samuel.

What it do: Townies made me cry. This is a sentiment I am sure to express when describing other zines or experiences. The book is self-described as follows: “Townies is a zine cataloging the lived experiences, stories, and imaginations of PoC and LGBTQIA+ folks who live or have lived in pockets of suburban, rural, and small town America that have culturally and politically been associated with and claimed by whiteness and bigotry.” Reading “My Culture Journey” by Brianna set me in rural classrooms with an American woman of Native American and Cape Verdean descent. Reading about her experiences of racial injustice and her journey to eventually taking pride in her complex identity resonated with my own challenge of trying to assume a fractured identity. I look forward to many more run-ins with the Townies.

What it do: The allure of the zine as a self-publishing force might lie in its ambiguities and endless options for design and conception. Diffuse Glow is a visual poem, or at least that’s how I like to read zines that feature no text but provide visual context. The heavily saturated and light-filled images explore seemingly urban localities and domestic spaces. I enjoy the hints of human existence in images of blurry passersby shot from a train, a community bulletin board advertising neighborhood organizing and entertainment efforts, nail salon advertisements, and the inside of a trash can with a lone ball of aluminum foil. These images offer the viewers the freedom to determine their relationship to the environments.

What it do: When I look at the images of Nydia Blas, I whisper to myself, “Glory.” I want to run with them, hide under them, use them as proofs. They are emboldened, curious, powerful, and show a multitude of relationships between women, objects, possibly desire, and overall make you think a lot. Thank you, Nydia.

What it do: Reparations Now takes a very distracted and collaged look at how Black bodies are used in media and TV consumption. Its images juxtapose nostalgic cartoon characters, fine art, and texts that are serious, funny, poignant, and challenging to form a critique of sorts on race in America. The zine opens to an image of a Black woman KKK member opposite instructions on creating your very own “Classic Napkin Holder” by Paula Scher. Grace Jones covers the zine and is shown throughout in her many different roles alongside White counterparts. The zine is carefully crafted and although it questions race in America, it does not reject or offend. Instead, it provides space to appraise the ways that Blackness and Black bodies have been used and discarded.

What it do: Maple:Koyo is a tome, a beautifully thick and swaying zine. It is spiral-bound with silver wire and the pages glide and creak over the spine with a sound akin to a swing on a playground. This zine feels as if it’s dedicated to healing, contemplation, and interrogation, and survives under the phrasing, “Black boy be,” a phrase Jermel also places on T-shirts and sweatshirts that are available for purchase. The book features a multitude of writers, artists, and thinkers all investigating their relationship to joy and freedom.

What it do: The books of #BLKGRLSWURLD serve as diary-like appreciations of heavy metal music, tales of love lost, and a sharing of photography, poetry, and art via a rotating cast of contributors, although its creator, Christina Long, is always present. I really enjoy their honesty and rigor. Christina goes to a lot of metal shows and documents those experiences within the books, but you may also get an education on gastronomy.

What it do: Learning from Lexington is a course at UMBC, where students create public history zines and ten-minute podcasts exploring the rich history of the Lexington Market, a Baltimore institution. I spent many days walking through the market, smelling the peanuts from Konstant’s Peanuts roasting near the Eutaw Street entrance and then going deeper into the market for the nutty smell to be replaced by a sweet candy aroma. The dull and bright scents of fried foods and fresh fish followed. Lexington Market has a long history in Baltimore, and its faithful customers, primarily Black, worry that the soon-to-be remodeled complex may not center their desires and laughter, as it does now. For now, let’s bask in its rich history with Learning from Lexington.

What it do: The IRAAA provides an insightful look at African American artists, collections, critics, and scholars. Readers can find many exhibition notices, reviews, articles, and other materials about visual culture. I appreciate the rigor and intention behind this publication. I am a Black artist and homes like this are important to be exposed and shared.

What it do: True Laurels is a Baltimore-centered magazine that exposes local musicians, authors, artists, and writers to its community of readers. Lawrence is a music journalist and many can speak to him being an early champion of their careers—he served as an early inspiration for my starting 3 Dot Zine. Seeing a Black guy who grew up similarly to me start a print zine blew my mind. What Lawrence does with True Laurels provides that space for many people who encounter his work. Forever grateful to him for that.

What it do: Let’s get physical, in a sense. Olympic opens with a story from Khari, detailing his sometime morning ritual of awakening his senses and body with a brisk run on the track behind his house. There is a tenderness described in the story that permeates throughout the book, although most of the images depict a figure in action. What sticks with me most is the need to prepare to activate your body and mind for physical pursuits and what these actions, in turn, prepare us for. Sports feels like a testament to endurance, and not just the physical kind, but spiritual as well. What we do under the sun, being a sun people, resonated with me as I experienced Khari’s art.

What it do: Press Press is an interdisciplinary publishing initiative in Baltimore that hosts conversations through the ongoing Sentiments series between peoples considered “immigrants” in America. Sentiments is described as a compilation of the sensitivities, hacks, gestures, and actions that we, as immigrants, have used to bring our lives into being. Diaspora is a beautiful term but I am rarely able to fully engage with the lives of people not from the United States. Witnessing this conversation felt like a privilege and I’m happy that Press Press is providing space for these dialogues.

What it do: I love these photos and am happy to have run into Justin at the New York Art Book Fair. We just exchanged zines and sometimes that’s how relationships are organically built in the self-publishing community.

What it do: Jean & Dinah travel through the world of LGBTQ+ identified women and femme creators across the Caribbean. In issue #1, we begin with two characters letting loose on the dance floor in Maya Ramesar’s Flocking Madness. There are some beautiful works here and I love zines that act as resources for study and discovery.

What it do: .r is a zine I created as a rumination on memory; it was the first zine I designed and features only my work and writings. As a zine maker who normally operates within collaborations and with a designer, I am proud to see these works come together. This year I want to do more publishing for artists with singular books displaying their works. In .r I explore the emotional memory of objects in photographs of chairs and delve into personal experiences through fictional writings, drawings, and collage.