Permission to Leave: Dr. Qrescent Mali Mason on Sabbatical, Survival, and Black Women's Liberation

What does it mean for a Black woman to truly leave? Not a vacation. Not a long weekend. But a full, intentional departure from the grind, the performance, and the burning plantation of a nation in freefall? This week, I sit down with my dear friend and one of the most important philosophical minds of our generation, Dr. Qrescent Mali Mason. A proud Spelmanite, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Haverford College, and former President of the International Simone de Beauvoir Society, Qrescent stands in a history-making trifecta of Black American feminist philosophers alongside Angela Davis and bell hooks herself, who personally passed the baton to her. During her sabbatical, Qrescent did what Black women rarely give themselves permission to do. She left. Mexico. Ghana. Jamaica. She moved through the world entirely on her own terms and came back changed. We talk about what that reclamation actually looked like, what she had to unlearn about productivity and performance, and why the sabbatical needs to extend far beyond the university into nonprofits, executive leadership, and every space where Black women are running on empty. We also go deep on the femicide epidemic, the 4B movement, Black women's exit planning from the Divided States, the polycrises reshaping how we survive and heal collectively, and the new book. And we talk about bell hooks, the love story she helped architect, and what true liberation actually looks like for a Black woman in the world today. This one is personal, urgent, and long overdue. Follow Black Broads Abroad: Website: blackbroadsabroad.com Instagram: @blackbroadsabroad Facebook: Black Broads Abroad Connect with Dr. Qrescent Mali Mason: Instagram: @waxingqrescent