By Darya Foroohar

image from the VBR’s first print edition

“I’m a believer in the power of knowledge and the ferocity of beauty, so from my point of view, your life is already artful – waiting, just waiting for you to make it art.”

This quote by Toni Morrison, featured against a dynamic red and gold background, is the first thing readers see when they visit the website of the Virginia Black Review (VBR), the University of Virginia’s only undergraduate publication dedicated to Black writing and art. For a journal less than three years old, with a masthead of five people, the VBR, which aims to highlight “the abundance, richness, and ubiquity of Black creativity,” boasts an impressive diversity of creative work. Prefacing one’s literary journal with a quote from a legendary American novelist indicates a desire to not just appeal to the UVA student body, but to achieve creative excellence. Yet Morrison’s point about life and art is not only applicable to the works in the VBR, but to the effect it has had on many of its members. Recently, I had a chance to speak with Editor-In-Chief Shaleah Tolliver, as well as other staff members, about their experiences with the journal. 

Tolliver, a fourth-year at the university studying honors politics and African-American Studies, joined the VBR in 2023 and is the VBR’s second EIC, directly succeeding its founder, Tolliver Mance. She was accompanied by Managing Editor Aleyna Loughran-Pierce, who majors in Environmental Science and Astronomy and minors in Art History. Pierce, who started out as a Staff Writer, was one of the youngest founding members at the journal’s genesis in 2021. Two current Staff Writers, Asia Harford (fourth-year) and Esther Olulana (second-year), were also present for the interview. Olulana studies Global Studies and Cognitive Science, but writes fiction for the Review. Harford, who studies Political & Social Thought and African & African-American Studies, is planning to pursue a career in law; her interest in law has carried over to the VBR, where her first article was about Black women in the field. This diversity of interests is encouraged by VBR’s masthead. Not only does each issue not have a specific theme, but authors are not required to abide by a particular genre or topic: Pierce noted that when editing, she tries to make the author’s vision clearer “rather than making it my own.”

While no one person dominates the journal’s vision, the creative background of its masthead shapes what is published. Before she took over the VBR, Tolliver wrote and edited for UVA’s main student newspaper, The Cavalier Daily. Her background in journalism has been a big asset to the publication, allowing her to teach workshops for staff writers on skills such as editorial writing and interviews. These workshops are something Tolliver picked up during her time as an opinions editor for The Cavalier, where she led training sessions for new opinion writers. The VBR gives regular craft workshops for its staff writers on various topics, such as interviewing, editorial writing, and poetic structure. So far, they have been a success. “I really benefit from the workshops VBR has for staff writers,” Harford told me. “I’m able to learn and apply what I learn to my writing.” 

Tolliver’s reporting experience has also led her to cover multiple campus events for the VBR, such as a recent panel for Women of Color in Law (which Harford helped organize). Journalism and editorial writing from a Black perspective is something she and Loughran-Pierce feel very strongly about. As more well-known publications, such as The Cavalier Daily, as well as UVA itself, are mostly white, Tolliver feels that a “foundation [of an established Black student publication] is important,” especially for the larger Black community, both on and around campus. It is her hope that as the Review gets more well known, Black community organizations will come to them for coverage, something that has already begun happening. She mentioned that the VBR partnered with a campus group called Black College Women, who reached out to her before spring break to initiate a collaboration.

The VBR also partners with other publications and affinity groups on campus, such as {in}Visible, a magazine by and for UVA’s AAPI community, to foster a community of student writers of color at the university. In February, they co-hosted a zine-making workshop with UVA’s queer student union, as well as other campus magazines, in order “to celebrate queer, trans, BIPOC love.” These events help unite marginalized students on campus and increase the intersectionality of VBR. As a journal staffed mostly by women, intersectionality is already at the forefront of the Review, with many editorials and poetry collections dealing with issues pertaining to Black womanhood. This is largely due to the lack of men– the VBR currently has five male staff members– in the publication rather than an executive editorial choice, but its effects mean that the VBR has become a place where Black women can write about feminism in a space with people who understand their point of view and can contribute to constructive dialogues on the matter. “There’s a lot of stuff about black womanhood that neither Shaleah nor I were expecting,” Loughran-Pierce mentioned, something she attributes not only to the high proportion of female staff writers, but to the editorial board letting writers have full freedom to choose what they want to write about. 

Along with diversity of content, the VBR’s editorial board is constantly looking for ways to diversify and expand the scope of the magazine, one of which is getting more male staff writers. Tolliver says that she “would actually like to see more explorations of Black men and masculinity” in the future. This, like their other expansion goals, will come with more exposure and awareness of the Review. The VBR is still relatively small, partially due to their budget. Tolliver explained that the VBR, like most student publications at UVA, is a Contracted Independent Organization (CIO), meaning that they have almost full creative control, but do not get funding from the university. Most of their funding comes from UVA’s Student Council, a self-governing branch that allocates funds among the different CIOs on campus. While they get some alumni donations, VBR members are eager to find other sources of income, especially as they aim to increase the number of print editions per year and expand their coverage of local events. 

At its inception, the VBR was entirely online. Its first print issue came out in May 2023; its second and most recent was published this February. When I asked about her feelings on print versus online issues, Loughran-Pierce explained that while online publishing is more accessible, “actually having something [physical] to distribute out to the Black community at UVA and others… is especially important to an organization like VBR, that relies on getting stories out there and making sure that students have a safe space to share their art.” Additionally, as an artist, she noted the importance of visual appeal and page layout to reader engagement, something that is more effective in the print medium. Tolliver wants the VBR to get to a point where it is publishing a print volume every semester, something that appears feasible given the journal’s already existing timeline for staff writers. Content from staff writers starts out as pitches that, after two weeks (or three if you’re an artist) following approval by the editorial board, become fully-fledged pieces that Tolliver and Loughran-Pierce edit. Given the intense time commitment of editing every single piece for the VBR with only one other person, it makes sense that one of Tolliver’s goals is to have “a more structured, organized way to do things,” something she imagines will improve with each future EIC.

Already, the VBR’s publishing structure has helped its writers become more disciplined about their craft and confident in their own abilities. “You’d think working on a deadline would stifle your creativity,” Olulana said, “but it personally helped me channel it even more.” Her most recent fiction piece, “Edelweiss,” is a poignant exploration of longing to be close to home, whether that’s a place or a person. Tolliver and Loughran-Pierce also started as staff writers and continue to both write and edit. Loughran-Pierce emphasized how VBR’s deadlines helped her as a writer and that she will use both the writing and editing tactics she’s picked up in her future endeavors, such as grad school. Graduate school is also in the cards for Harford, who plans to get a law degree. She appreciates the VBR for giving her “the time, the accountability, and the space to put my thoughts on paper,” and says that it has “prepared me … to continue seeking journalism” even after she has graduated. From speaking to these staff members, it is clear that the Review’s impact on their creative work is something that goes far beyond its weekly meetings. “I’ve always wanted to pursue writing… professionally,” Olulana admitted. Her experience writing for the VBR has not only allowed her to entertain this dream, but she says it has made her “a lot more accountable to what I wanted out of my writing.”

The impact of the VBR on its members’ writing and future goals speaks to the power of a strong community organization. Being surrounded by other creatives is something that has the power to inspire and uplift individuals, especially those who may not have known about the depth of art and culture there is to learn from. At a PWI like UVA, this power is all the more important. Loughran-Pierce stated that not only did the VBR strengthen her connection to other Black writers and artists, but “gave me a sense of community” by introducing her to older students who made her feel more at home not only in a creative space, but in her Blackness. As a mixed woman, she appreciates how “it strengthened the black part of my identity and helped me feel a little bit more like I belonged, especially at UVA, where the Black community is very strong.” “Before I joined VBR, I didn’t know that many Black organizations, and now I know plenty,” Tolliver said. “I know where to go if I want something specific for VBR.” With more collaborations coming up for the journal and an enthusiastic team of editors, the future looks bright for the Virginia Black Review. While structural improvements are along the way, the VBR has already fostered a long-lasting loyalty among its members by being a space for them to explore their interests, creativity, and culture. “I’m being encouraged to… explore other forms of writing,” Harford said. “[The VBR] has allowed me to express myself in a way that i want to continue doing in the future.”