How do the legacies of Black women, passed down through struggle, love, and resilience, shape who we become?
Join writer and cultural critic Sasha Bonét as she presents The Waterbearers, a heartfelt memoir exploring Black womanhood, motherhood, and culture through three generations of women who built legacies and changed the world.
Wherever there is water, there is mystery. And mystery breeds mythology.
When Sasha Bonét's grandmother, Betty Jean, raised eleven children in a Texas bayou house, she did it alone, creating a home that was the heart of their family. Her daughter, Mama Connie, vowed to live differently but found herself echoing her mother's struggles. Now, Sasha navigates motherhood, reflecting on the legacies of Black women like Nina Simone, Betty Davis, Michelle Obama, Rosa Parks and Darnella Frazier (the woman who told the world about George Floyd) to build a portrait of Black womanhood through time.
Join us for an evening exploring the myths we inherit, the patterns we repeat and break, and how personal memory intersects with cultural history. Sasha’s clear-eyed tenderness reveals intimate vignettes mixed with cultural history of Black women who shaped the world through the ties of love—and complexity—that bind them.
“A tale of evolution and hope.” Hilton Als, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of White Girls

The ‘stream and book’ package includes a unique ticket for the stream, and a copy of The Waterbearers (RRP £16.99) deliverable to any UK address.
The event will initially be broadcast on 24 February at 6.30pm UK time. It will be available to view up to two weeks after the event has ended and can be accessed Worldwide. If you live in a time zone that does not suit the initial broadcast time you can watch it at any point after the initial showing for two weeks.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].