Sometimes I wake up in the morning scrambling for a scrap of paper because my dreams have delivered an idea. And this is how the anniversary came to be. 

See a show. 

That was the idea. Celebrate the first year of Black Star Reviews doing the thing I’ve been doing, but with friends. And tonight that idea moved from my dreams to my memories. 

We — you and me and all of this — are turning one year old. And like a baby must feel at its own first birthday party, I’m still trying to make sense of this moment. I remember every day and every doubt, every play and every exhibit, every awkward introduction and cold call, every deadline missed and met. But it was also a blur. One minute I was at the Victoria in Harlem lighting a manifestation candle for something I couldn’t yet coherently describe to the friends who’d come out to join me. “It’s a multi-platform media thing…I’m going to have a YouTube channel where I review Black plays…but it won’t be just plays…I’m finally getting an Instagram…I’m going to write about Black art…I feel like this is my divine calling.” And the next minute, I was on 42nd Street having a lovely post-show chat with a playwright who referred to me as a critic. 

And maybe I am. 

I am also: grateful.   

I’m grateful to everyone who came out and took a chance on a show none of us had ever seen just because I asked them to. I’m grateful to everyone who met me at a bar to patronize a Black-owned business. I’m grateful to everyone who read, or liked, or watched, or commented, or accompanied me, or went out to support an artist this year. Black Star Reviews turned one today because people didn’t stop asking me, “What have you seen lately? What are you seeing next? When is the next episode? Where should I go for drinks? Where should I take my date? Where’d you get those boots? Did you know about this art fair? Okay, but how many stars?”

I’m grateful to Shon for building this website because I was losing my mind trying to bite-size artists’ impact for social media platforms that dehumanize all of us. And, in researching the lives of so many artists past and present, I’ve learned that ownership of what you produce matters and has to be prioritized. 

We’re homesteading here on this website. We’re building a living archive so that we’re not tempted to believe them when they tell us we aren’t brilliant, that we never did anything of note, that we don’t support each other, that any of us is a singular anomalous genius, or that our works need to be translated to resonate with ‘mainstream’ audiences. So here we are, charting the course and keeping a record. Let the record show the following:

On the last day of Black History Month, one grateful writer and fifteen friends went to the third preview of a brand new play written by Nia Akilah Robinson entitled The Great Privation. After the performance the party visited S’Aimer, a Black-owned restaurant and lounge on Restaurant Row. The group was celebrating the anniversary of the Black arts blog, Black Star Reviews. Founded by anastazia x in 2024, Black Star Reviews is an independent media company that covers the work of Black creatives in museums, galleries, and theatre. This year, Black Star Reviews launched a digital archive of commentary at www.blackstarreviews.com, which is an addition to their established presence on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.   

Blacklove and starlight. Stay shining y’all.