How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? A Conversation between Two Feminist Black Queer Femme Chairs

In this article, Drs. Shannon J. Miller and Mel Michelle Lewis share a conversation between two feminist Black queer femme department chairs. Despite the risks, we are brave and rooted in the spirit and tradition of Black queer feminist truth telling. It is our responsibility as Black queer feminists with tenure to share our testimonial of survival, an offering of Black queer femme ways of being (together). We recount moments when our intersections as Black queer women became a particular kind of "problem" for us as chairs, and name the ways in which misogynoir must be understood and addressed at all levels of the academy. Although conversations and remarks scheduled on formal conference programs are often submitted for publication, the conversation reflected below is an example of the theory, praxis, and support that takes place in the margins at conferences and annual meetings. Our margin talk is a project for healing and loving ourselves.