The Saviors of Gullah Identity: Teaching Daughters of the Dust and the “Classics” of Black Women Writers

This article explicitly names Julie Dash’s 1991 film Daughters of the Dust as both a feminist studies and queer studies “classic.” The authors both teach the film in various history, gender, queer, and ethnic studies courses. This article illuminates the complexities of Dash’s work, makes legible the film’s historical and cultural significance and context, emphasizes the work of Black women writers, and examines teaching methodologies for engaging the film in feminist classrooms. Centering a Black feminist pedagogical praxis, this article explores the challenges and successes the authors have had teaching Daughters.