Ebony Tomatoes Collective

Ebony Tomatoes Collective is a literary and arts magazine for personal and political liberation—by a Black, intersectional collective.

Read our Digital Magazine

ISSUE 24: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

We are seeking writing submissions and an editorial artist for our 24th issue about grief.

After generations of unbridled loss and trauma, Black folks from across the diaspora have much to mourn. We’re interested in stories that capture grief in its many forms and faces. 

Featured

WRITING

Fresh new pieces, hand-picked by our editors

Marbles

Grace Martin, at eight years old, held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles. Only, her name wasn’t Grace Martin then. She was Kaysha Williams.

By Mon Misir

Mon Misir (she/they) is a queer Black British writer and recovering lawyer based in London, UK. They use their writing to explore facets of their experience as a black woman, with a speculative bent. They have work published in the Decolonial Passage, Torch Literary Arts and Midnight & Indigo and are nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2025. You can find their links here: https://bio.site/Nomonbooks.

 

Review: The Ghost of Leslie-Fucking-Feinberg + What Could've Been

It’s a dewy, drizzling night in Williamsburg, burdened by similar winds that brought Dorothy and Toto to Oz. Inside The Vino Theater, there’s a sea of queer and trans twentysomethings eagerly awaiting What Could’ve Been, written by Lu Davis, and The Ghost of Leslie-Fucking-Feinberg, written by Kaila Tacazon.

by Cheyenne Edwards

Cheyenne Edwards (they/she) is a screenwriter, essayist, & narrative film storyteller. Cheyenne’s artistry builds on the undisputed principle that representation matters, but dares to take things a step further by putting their Black and queer—often lesbian-identified—characters in audacious situations bolstered by the sharp, ironic humor of their generation.

safe keeping

please, I mutter back, 

I am not in the business of building ghosts, 

and I think myself very little but 

a woman blurred by the shadows who care for me: 

by Charlinda A. Banks

Charlinda Banks (or Chachi!) graduated from Brown University in 2024 with a double concentration in Literary Arts and International Affairs. In college, she completed a creative writing thesis which centered queerness, ghosts, and a road trip. She is often thinking about family, language, spirituality, and conceptions of ‘truth.’ She also likes vampire stories. “safe keeping” is derived from a completely different idea of community ghost writing. She then thought of the ghosts that exist within herself and which blur her into existence. 

featured writing

Fresh new pieces, hand-picked by our editors

Marbles

Grace Martin, at eight years old, held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles. Only, her name wasn’t Grace Martin then. She was Kaysha Williams.

By Mon Misir

Mon Misir (she/they) is a queer Black British writer and recovering lawyer based in London, UK. They use their writing to explore facets of their experience as a black woman, with a speculative bent. They have work published in the Decolonial Passage, Torch Literary Arts and Midnight & Indigo and are nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2025. You can find their links here.

 

Review: The Ghost of Leslie-Fucking-Feinberg + What Could've Been

It’s a dewy, drizzling night in Williamsburg, burdened by similar winds that brought Dorothy and Toto to Oz. Inside The Vino Theater, there’s a sea of queer and trans twentysomethings eagerly awaiting What Could’ve Been, written by Lu Davis, and The Ghost of Leslie-Fucking-Feinberg, written by Kaila Tacazon.

by Cheyenne Edwards

Cheyenne Edwards (they/she) is a screenwriter, essayist, & narrative film storyteller. Cheyenne’s artistry builds on the undisputed principle that representation matters, but dares to take things a step further by putting their Black and queer—often lesbian-identified—characters in audacious situations bolstered by the sharp, ironic humor of their generation.

safe keeping

please, I mutter back, 

I am not in the business of building ghosts, 

and I think myself very little but 

a woman blurred by the shadows who care for me: 

by Charlinda A. Banks

Charlinda Banks (or Chachi!) graduated from Brown University in 2024 with a double concentration in Literary Arts and International Affairs. In college, she completed a creative writing thesis which centered queerness, ghosts, and a road trip. She is often thinking about family, language, spirituality, and conceptions of ‘truth.’ She also likes vampire stories. “safe keeping” is derived from a completely different idea of community ghost writing. She then thought of the ghosts that exist within herself and which blur her into existence. 

• New Issue • New Issue • New Issue • New Issue • New Issue • New Issue • New Issue • New Issue • New Issue • New Issue

Against the Tide

Against the Tide: Community Care in the Collapse of Empire is a testament to the power of grassroots organizing and resistance. Featuring essays and interviews with U.S.-based activists in the wake of the 2024 election, Against the Tide is a freedom cry and a call to action. Our editors went to The Free Black Women’s Library in Bed-Stuy, to enviornmental land trusts in New Mexico, to raves led by Black queer DJs, to non-profits in Texas, and beyond to connect with community leaders building a liberated future. Our 23rd issue reveals that oppression is not the end of our stories. With imagination and action, it is only the beginning.

Soul Food

Poem by Kendall Emphasis

Photo by Kendra Shiloh Russell

Collective Altar

A spiritual path towards communal healing by Taj-Levi 

Photo by Kendra Shiloh Russell

Ola Akinmowo and The Free Black Women’s Library

The transformative community power of one librarian and 100 books by Binny Onabolu

Photo by Kendra Shiloh Russell

I Think I’m Going to Raise Hell: In the Depths of Texas with Denita Jones

Tracing the journey of a Texas community organizer by Yumna Elhdari

Photo by Kendra Shiloh Russell

Lessons from a Lost Garden

The ongoing battle to bring fresh food to Atlanta’s West End by Imani Kriseé Herring

Photo by Kendra Shiloh Russell

Disruption on the Dancefloor

A Conversation with Black Queer DJs by Binny Onabolu

Photo by Kendra Shiloh Russell

Love Thy Neighbor, Honor Thy Land

A portrait of community leadership in the Southwest by Ava Pauline Emilione

Photo by Kendra Shiloh Russell

Beyond the Margin

This issue was created by an editorial team of Black lesbians with the intention to explore the expansiveness of our identities and pay homage to our ancestors. In a culture that is obsessed with placing Black people into limiting roles and stereotypes, Black queerness—more specifically Black lesbianism—is vastly underrepresented and misunderstood. It is our right to tell our stories, so if mainstream media and literature won’t represent us with respect and candor, we will create the space to do so ourselves. The issue you hold in your hands is one such space.

The Liberation Zine

As a grassroots literary and arts magazine by and for black creatives, this issue is a part of our effort to express solidarity with our comrades who are fighting to tell stories of our culture, suffering, and resistance. The magazine you are holding features work from black palestinian, sudanese, and american writers. these stories are as vulnerable as they are striking—revealing a rich black diaspora who has sustained hope, despite unspeakable suffering, for a liberated and just world.

The Village

The stories across the Black diaspora

The Self

The stories from within

The Lovers

The stories for those we love

keep in touch

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Editorial updates, watching and reading recommendations, calls for submissions, community events, and other Ebony Tomatoes musings—delivered straight to your inbox!

keep in touch

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Editorial updates, watching and reading recommendations, calls for submissions, community events, and other Ebony Tomatoes musings—delivered straight to your inbox!

meet our team

Creative Tomatoes

Want to work with us?

Shoot us a message, we’re always looking to grow our community!