Feminist philosopher Dr. Lindsey Stewart&r squo\;s book\, The Conjuring of America: Mojos\, Mermaids\, Medicine\, and 400 Years of Black Women&rsquo\;s Magic\, tells the stories of N egro Mammies of slavery\; the Voodoo Queens and Blues Women of Reconstruct ion\; and the Granny Midwives and textile weavers of the Jim Crow era. The se women\, in secrecy and subterfuge\, courageously and devotedly continue d their practices and worship for centuries and passed down their traditio ns.
\nConjure informs our lives in ways remarkable and ordinary&mdas h\;from traditional medicines that informed the creation of Vicks VapoRub and the rise of Aunt Jemima&rsquo\;s Pancake Mix\, to the original magic o f Disney&rsquo\;s The Little Mermaid (2023)\, and the true origin s of the all-American classic blue jean.
\nFrom the moment enslaved Africans first arrived on these shores\, conjure was heavily regulated and even outlawed. Now\, Stewart uncovers new contours of American history\, sourcing letters from the enslaved\, dispatches from the lore of Oshun and other African mystics. The Conjuring of America is a love letter to the real magic Black women used\, their herbs\, food\, textiles\, song \, and dance\, used to sow rebellion\, freedom\, and hope.
\nAbout the Author: Lindsey Stewart is a Black feminist philosophe r and an Associate Professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis. S he is the author of The Politics of Black Joy. Her work has been featured in Blavity\, Signs\, Hypatia\, and the British Journ al for the History of Philosophy\, and she holds a 2021 Michael Beane y Prize. She lives in Memphis\, Tennessee.
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