In January 2023, I had the honour of being invited to participate in the inaugural Freedom Writers Retreat for Black Women Writers at Black-owned boutique hotel Great Oak Manor in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. It was co-hosted by authors Natalie Baszile and Lauren Francis-Sharma, along with innkeeper Kellye Walker. I was particularly excited to meet travel writer Emily Raboteau (see our interview and her book excerpt from Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “the Apocalypse” in Panorama #11: Ecology), and to reunite with celebrated author and playwright Shay Youngblood, whom I knew from my Boston days decades before.
The venerated elder amongst us, Sister Shay was clearly invigorated by the intergenerational gathering, just as we marvelled at the life she had crafted, filled with friends, art, and world travels. We spent 10 glorious days lounging together in the various parlours displaying our work, sharing work-in-progress during our evening salons, applauding the Afrocentric menu prepared by the Caribbean chef, making s’mores around the fire pit overlooking the bay.
It was heartwarming to see her delight at meeting Natalie in person, as Natalie had recently obtained the film rights to Youngblood’s iconic 2000 Black Girl in Paris, which chronicles the Parisian odyssey of a young queer Black American woman retracing the footsteps of the literary legends who influenced her. As Maiysha Kai noted in The Grio, the novel combines “intellectualism, magical realism, and sexual awakening and exploration,” with a narrative “peppered with French recipes and reflections on the storied history of Black expats such as James Baldwin, enhancing the novel’s depth and sensualism.”
Our group was stunned and heartbroken when Sister Shay passed a mere 16 months later, on June 11, 2024. According to Nsenga K Burton’s obituary in American Theatre, Youngblood died of ovarian cancer in Georgia at age 64. Her death represented an immeasurable loss to the literary and theatrical communities, particularly for Black women writers and travellers who found purpose in her boundary-breaking work.
For those who knew the author primarily through Black Girl in Paris, her connection to the city was deeply personal and transformative. As Burton’s obituary details, Youngblood lived all over the world, joining the Peace Corps after graduating from Clark Atlanta University and serving in Dominica, working as an au pair and model in Paris and living in Japan as a U.S.-Japan Creative Artist Fellow. Burton notes that “throughout her travels, Youngblood built strategic partnerships with theatres and created opportunities for women artists.”
“Shay Youngblood was a true citizen of the world, and she did it without very much money or privilege—just a curiosity and desire to not only see the world but to be part of the world,” said author Tayari Jones in Burton’s piece. “One of the great things Shay did as a writer is, she made an African American story an international story with ‘Black Girl in Paris.’ Shay created a portrait of a Black woman artist living her life unconventionally and on her own terms.”
Youngblood’s legacy endures as a testament to the transformative power of following one’s artistic vision across borders and cultures. Her obituary in The New York Times credits her work with empowering a generation of young Black women and called Black Girl in Paris “a touchstone for many.” Even in her final years, she continued creating, understanding that art outlasts the artist and touches future generations.
I am grateful to Natalie for sharing the movie poster for Black Girl in Paris, which will screen at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival on 1st August as a short—just a year after Sister Shay’s passing. Baszile, whose first novel, Queen Sugar, was adapted into a popular television series of the same name, is currently fundraising to develop the short into a feature-length film with her daughter. As she explains, “I have loved Black Girl in Paris since I first read it back in 2003. Hyacinth and I, and our entire team, feel deeply honored and privileged bring her story to the screen.” A new, full-length adaptation (a 20-minute short directed by Kiandra Parks was released in 2013), will help Youngblood’s vision of Paris as a space of creative freedom and self-discovery for Black women reach new audiences, ensuring that her pioneering spirit continues to guide future generations of travellers and artists.
—Faith Adiele, Fès, Morocco
