ABSTRACT
This chapter examines representations of Black “queens” and “goddesses” within the African Diaspora. Such depictions unfold in a historical overview, from enslaved communities crowning leaders with regal titles to the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century discourse on Ethiopianism to Afrocentrism in the late twentieth century to millennial popular culture. The rhetoric of Black royalty has constantly served as a means of Black pride and racial uplift. Analyzing art and music – including the royal iconography offered by such pop stars as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Janelle Monáe – this chapter explores how the Black feminist imagination encompasses historical consciousness by conjuring a regal past for Black women.
