A pedagogical primer on integrating Black feminist thought, critical race studies, and America's most beloved pop star.

"Proving himself a worthy member of the BeyHive, Kevin Allred takes us on a journey through Beyoncés greatest hits and expansive careerpeeling back their multiple layers to explore gender, race, sexuality, and power in today's modern world. A fun, engaging, and important read for long-time Beyoncé fans and newcomers alike."Franchesca Ramsey, author ofWell, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist

In 2010, Professor Kevin Allred created the university course "Politicizing Beyoncé" to both wide acclaim and controversy. He outlines his pedagogical philosophy inAint I a Diva?, exploring what it means to build a syllabus around a celebrity. Topics range from a capitalist critique of "Run the World (Girls)" to the politics of self-care found in "Flawless"; Beyoncé's art is read alongside black feminist thinkers including Kimberlé Crenshaw, Octavia Butler, and Sojourner Truth. Combining analysis with classroom anecdotes, Allred attests that pop culture is so much more than a guilty pleasure, it's an access pointfor education, entertainment, critical inquiry, and politics.

Kevin Allred is a writer, speaker, and educator based in Brooklyn. HIs writing has been featured inSalon,INTO, NBC News, and other publications. 

Poet, critic, and activistCheryl Clarke was born in Washington, DC. She earned her BA from Howard University and her MA and PhD from Rutgers University. Clarke is the author of five collections of poetry:Narratives: Poems in the Tradition of Black Women(1983),Living as a Lesbian(1986),Humid Pitch(1989),Experimental Love(1993), andBy My Precise Haircut(2016), which won a Hilary Tham Capital Competition. She wrote the critical study After Mecca: Women Poets and the Black Arts Movement(2005), and a volume collecting her poetry and prose was published asThe Days of Good Looks: Prose and Poetry of Cheryl Clarke, 19802005(2006). Many of Clarkes most influential essays, including Lesbianism: an Act of Resistance and The Failure to Transform: Homophobia in the Black Community, first appeared in landmark publications such asThis Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color(1981) andHome Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology(1983).

Clarke was an influential administrator and teacher at Rutgers for more than 40 years. She founded the Office of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian-Gay Concerns, which became the Office of Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities, and retired as the Livingstone Dean of Students in 2013. For her service to LGBTQ communities, Clarke received a David Kessler Award. She currently lives in Hobart, New York, where she owns and operates Blenheim Hill Books with her partner, Barbara J. Balliet.