Recognise statecraft for the witchcraft it is. This he fifth commandment of nora chipaumire’s Black Manifesto is the spark for a dialogue between Pawlet Brookes and Dr Gladys M Francis. Francis is a scholar and facilitator of academic and artistic collaborations and a native of Guadeloupe who lives and teaches in the United States. In this episode, Francis exposes “statecraft” and discusses the importance of identity, retention, and re-creation against a backdrop of racial oppression and violence.

Black Manifesto, the 10 Commandments: Black Women Speak Out, is a 10-part podcast series hosted by nora chipaumire and Pawlet Brookes. Black Manifesto brings together voices of Black women from around the world as a collective conversation, making the invisible visible, and addressing how we work to reshape a new world in which Black women are seen and heard, and a resource for inspiring creativity, learning, and unlearning. Each guest will discuss one commandment from nora’s Black Manifesto, offering their interpretations and insights.