ABOUT

PROFESSOR. WRITER. ADVOCATE. MOTHER.

SHANITA HUBBARD

Shanita Hubbard’s writing has helped foster complex discourse around intracommunity sexual violence, abuse within the hip hop community, and the complicated relationship between Black women and hip hop. Accordingly, she was featured in the HBOMAX Documentary “On the Record” as an expert to provide commentary on the intersection of sexism and racism in America.

 

Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, Pitchfork, ESSENCE, and a host of other publications. Hubbard is represented by LoTurco literary agency and is also the author of the bestselling book RIDE OR DIE: A Feminist Manifesto for the Well-Being of Black Women. 

 

In the book, Hubbard, now an adjunct sociology professor, therapist and clinical consultant for therapists, interrogates the notion of the “ride or die chick”—a Black woman who holds down her family and community, often at her own expense. Hubbard argues that this way of life has left Black women exhausted, overworked, overlooked, and feeling depleted. She suggests that Black women are susceptible to this mentality because it’s normalized in our culture.

 

Combining her own personal experience with those of other Black women around her, and research on the physical, financial and emotional health of Black women, RIDE OR DIE fervently dismantles cultural norms that require Black women to take care of everyone but themselves. “I am who I am because of other Black women,” Hubbard writes, “so I wrote this book to focus on us and our well-being.”

CONSULTANT. SPEAKER.

Have an event that requires a keynote, moderator or panelist? Shanita Hubbard is also a speaker and consultant. Her recent consultation resulted in the hiring of a new EIC for VICE Media Group. She has also been hired to design and teach a  “Business of Freelance Writing” course for The University of Toronto.

 

Topics for presentation include:

 

  • How a “ride or die” mentality goes beyond romantic relationships to professional settings
  • The related health issues that accompany this mentality including mental and emotional health, domestic and sexual violence, and medical racism
  • The need for Black men to recognize how and why they too should challenge this idea
  • The trope of the “angry Black woman”
  • Recognition that Black women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community deserve freedom to express themselves sexually
  • The Prison Industrial Complex
  • Juvenile Justice Reform
  • Hip-Hop and Sociology
  • The Connection Between Media, Politics, Crime, and Society
  • Media Literacy and the “Power” of Fake News

 

If you have an upcoming project or event and would like to speak with Shanita’s agent regarding her participation, then please send a message through her contact page.

what they say

  • Shanita is one of the most thoughtful, compassionate, and insightful writers, thinkers and speakers we have. Her writing challenges us to be our best selves and demands the best from us as readers. I’m in constant awe at her bravery, standing up for those of us who need it the most no matter the backlash. I’m lucky to be able to read Shanita’s work and even more thankful to call her a friend.

    David J. Dennis Jr. - Staff writer at The Undefeated and Author of the upcoming book, "The Movement Made Us"

  • Shanita is a force of nature who can do it all. And she does it all for her folks.”

    Vann Newkirk II - Senior Editor at The Atlantic

  • Shanita’s writing is absolutely beautiful. But there’s more than just pretty words. There’s a keen eye that’s seen history, a heart that lives in present, and a pen that writes to shape the future.

    Al Letson - Entertainer and Playwright