The Reasons I Study Freaknik

Since HULU's annoucement about a documentary on Freaknik, public commentary on the legendary event has revitalized on a national scale. So much discourse is being discussed about what Freaknik is or was, when it occured, who went, and what happened. Of course, the hot topic up for debate is how will women be seen and framed in this documentary especially when most of the images and videos show Black women as lewd sexual objects. On the other hand, how will men be portayed in the documentary especially when most of the images and videos show them being sexually promiscous and even aggressive. Many feel that this is not the way Black people need to be portayed in the media as it only confims the centuries old, racist, negative sterotypes and narratives about Black people in the United States.

As a scholar who has studied Freaknik, I have anaylzed the historial, social, and cultural aspects within the annual event. My main objective *in my work serves to center the voices of Black women who attended. With this in mind, I felt I could share some words to the world. As a requirement to finish my Masters program at Georgia State University, I wrote the historical thesis, "What Happens At Freaknic Cannot Stay At Freaknik: Centering Black Women's Stories at Atlanta's Black College Spring Break (1983-2000," where I interviewed men and women to understand what Freaknik was and the personal experiences of Black women at the event. I completed my Masters in May of 2021. Since HULU's annoucement has caused such a national resurgence of interests, I decided that I wanted to share the preface of my thesis on this platform.

Excerpt from "What Happens At Freaknic Cannot Stay At Freaknik: Centering Black Women's Stories at Atlanta's Black College Spring Break (1983-2000)" written by Kimberly Oglesby

Many questioned why I decided to write about Freaknik. I certainly did not intend to. As a matter of fact, I was born right in the middle of its existence (1996). So, by the time I moved to Georgia when I was four, Freaknik was over. My interests in this party revolved around two things: Black women’s voices and Atlanta. Since attending Georgia State University and learning about Black Atlanta, Freaknik was eventually spoken of. I never heard of it before as my parents were too old at the time to have been involved. I must have overheard it in a conversation or maybe even in class. I was intrigued. What is a Freaknik? I searched for it on the internet and found the 2015 Atlanta magazine article written by Errin Haines Whack and Rebecca Burns. Ironically, that is the year I graduated high school and started college. In the article, I read many familiar voices like former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, Jermaine Dupri, Sharon Toomer, and Ryan Cameron sharing their experiences about the event. I learned about the who’s, what’s, when’s, and where’s, fueling my knowledge about Black people and their triumphs and battles in the “City Too Busy to Hate.”

When I finished reading, I thought, why don’t I look on YouTube to see what this event actually looked like? Well, I got more than I bargained for as the videos posted, whether they were authentic or not, showed an atmosphere that looked fun and familiar, but they made me feel uncomfortable. In the videos, often filmed by males, women were objects where their chests and behinds were the film stars. It reminded me of some sexual harassment trauma I dealt with when I began navigating the party scene as a college student. I knew how I felt about being touched unwantedly or treated like a sexual object or piece of meat where I was reduced to my bodily assets. It did not make me feel good, and the women I knew around me kind of overlooked this feeling or accepted it. So, I wondered how were those women having so much fun? Were they accepting this treatment? What was I doing wrong? Was I overreacting? Were there other women who felt like me?

As I moved into graduate studies and the decision to determine my thesis topic became imperative, I thought back to my discovery of Freaknik. I thought what if Freaknik was told from a woman’s perspective? Why weren’t more women talking about their experiences at Freaknik? Did they not want to, or were they being overlooked? When I decided to take on this project, I didn’t realize the different stories I would get that would surprise me and convince me to want to go. I talked to so many women who smiled at their memories regardless of if they experienced some negative interactions, which I found pretty odd. What made Freaknik so special?

At that point, I knew I was on to something way bigger than little ole me. My work may upset some people, but it also may be praised by others. All I know is I only intend to retell the stories from the mouths of the people. I want to show the significance of Freaknik as well as its problems. No one thing is ever all good or bad, and we should not expect Freaknik to be any different. Therefore, I hope this work is only the beginning of unraveling honest truths while also celebrating our people. We are human, and no one should expect us to be anything else. I hope this work encourages more women to speak up about their stories. I hope this work helps us all to understand and define what Freaknik meant to the Black community and Atlanta at large. My work is only for my people, which includes Black Americans, Black Women, and Black people rooted in the South. God Bless and enjoy!

Footnote for the article mentioned earlier: Whack, Errin Haines, and Rebecca Burns. “Freaknik: Rise and Fall of Atlanta's Most Infamous Street Party.”Atlanta Magazine, March 18, 2015. https://www.atlantamagazine.com/90s/freaknik-the-rise-and-fall-of-atlantas-most-infamous-street-party/.

Recommended Citation

Oglesby, Kimberly K., "What Happens at Freaknic Cannot Stay at Freaknik: Centering Black Women's Stories at Atlanta's Black College Spring Break (1983-2000)." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/22766865

If you are interested in reading my work, you will find it available for public download on May 3 of 2023 at this website https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses/73/.

Future projects are in the works for further expasion on this topic! If you are interested in knowing more or would like to be apart of such project please do not hesitate to email me at kimberlyoglesby@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!