Feminist to Know: Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a renowned scholar, writer, and activist, widely recognized for her contributions to Black feminist theory and queer theory. She is noted for her innovative approach to scholarship, which often intersects with artistic and poetic expressions, and defines herself as both a “Queer Black Troublemaker” and “Black Feminist Love Evangelist.”

Gumbs' writing is notably both optimistic and imaginative. She co-edited Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines and has authored many books, including Spill: Scenes of Black Feminist Fugitivity and Dub: Finding Ceremony. Her work focuses on transforming relations and systems, and she has written about abolition, interspecies solidarity, mothering, and Black feminist practice. In her complex work, Gumbs’ distinct voice is both artistic and accessible.

Gumbs approaches scholarship and organizing with a community-building ethic. She co-founded the Mobile Homecoming project, an initiative aimed at amplifying the voices of Black queer elders and preserving their histories, and founded Brilliance Remastered, an online learning community building on the legacy of Audre Lorde’s vision from “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.”

Gumbs' departure from Western academic methodologies and focus on imagination as praxis make her an important contemporary voice in Black feminist theory. Her work lays a path forward for collective liberation while honoring the labor of ancestors in our movements and our lives.