Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? I started asking myself this question when I was six years old. Five days before my seventh birthday, my pregnant aunt was killed by an impatient driver. That moment began shaping the rest of my life in ways I would not realize until my second attempt at a master’s program. Everyone talked about her being in a better place but what was the place and what is heaven for a Black girl? I ask myself if heaven for a Black girl is a place where Black girls do not die exhausted, exceptional, or extraordinary? Is it a place where we can be mediocre for a day? Or a place where baby hairs and kinky edges do not cause uproar or debates? Most importantly, is heaven for a Black girl a place where the intersection of race and gender do not deny us access to survival? This is a work a fiction exploring the questions above regarding survival in waking life and the afterlife.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? </em>I started asking myself this question when I was six years old. Five days before my seventh birthday, my pregnant aunt was killed by an impatient driver. That moment began shaping the rest of my life in ways I would not realize until my second attempt at a master’s program. Everyone talked about her being in a better place but what was the place and what is heaven for a Black girl? I ask myself if heaven for a Black girl is a place where Black girls do not die exhausted, exceptional, or extraordinary? Is it a place where we can be mediocre for a day? Or a place where baby hairs and kinky edges do not cause uproar or debates? Most importantly, is heaven for a Black girl a place where the intersection of race and gender do not deny us access to survival? This is a work a fiction exploring the questions above regarding survival in waking life and the afterlife.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jennings, Montez"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Creative Writing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Morgan Read-Davidson","Jaime Campbell","James Blaylock"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:31Z","subjects":["Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing","Fiction"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/creative_writing_theses/93","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Morgan Read-Davidson","Jaime Campbell","James Blaylock"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jennings, Montez"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-04-27T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Creative Writing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing","Fiction"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/creative_writing_theses/93"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? I started asking myself this question when I was six years old. Five days before my seventh birthday, my pregnant aunt was killed by an impatient driver. That moment began shaping the rest of my life in ways I would not realize until my second attempt at a master’s program. Everyone talked about her being in a better place but what was the place and what is heaven for a Black girl? I ask myself if heaven for a Black girl is a place where Black girls do not die exhausted, exceptional, or extraordinary? Is it a place where we can be mediocre for a day? Or a place where baby hairs and kinky edges do not cause uproar or debates? Most importantly, is heaven for a Black girl a place where the intersection of race and gender do not deny us access to survival? This is a work a fiction exploring the questions above regarding survival in waking life and the afterlife.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Jennings, Montez T. L. Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? 2023. Chapman University, MFA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000482"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Do Black Girls Go to Heaven?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Morgan Read-Davidson","Jaime Campbell","James Blaylock"],"dc:creator":["Jennings, Montez"],"dc:date.available":["2025-04-27T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? I started asking myself this question when I was six years old. Five days before my seventh birthday, my pregnant aunt was killed by an impatient driver. That moment began shaping the rest of my life in ways I would not realize until my second attempt at a master’s program. Everyone talked about her being in a better place but what was the place and what is heaven for a Black girl? I ask myself if heaven for a Black girl is a place where Black girls do not die exhausted, exceptional, or extraordinary? Is it a place where we can be mediocre for a day? Or a place where baby hairs and kinky edges do not cause uproar or debates? Most importantly, is heaven for a Black girl a place where the intersection of race and gender do not deny us access to survival? This is a work a fiction exploring the questions above regarding survival in waking life and the afterlife.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/creative_writing_theses/93"],"dc:source":["Jennings, Montez T. L. Do Black Girls Go to Heaven? 2023. Chapman University, MFA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000482"],"dc:subject":["Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing","Fiction"],"dc:title":["Do Black Girls Go to Heaven?"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Creative Writing"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:31Z"}