My freshman year, I signed up to take a freshman seminar called “Feminism, Racism, Gender, and Sexuality” because I had never thought of these four terms in conjunction with one another. By the fourth class meeting, I realized that this class was a safe space for me to speak about my own experiences as a…
My first name is Karléh – the Ghanian word for “lovely”. My middle name is Ashanta, which is an extension of the Swahili word for life, “Asha”. In some Southeast Native American tribes, Ashanta means Princess. And for the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, having the name Ashanta denotes royal blood. So, my name can be…
The most recent occurrence of misconduct by the New Haven Police Department (NHPD) was at the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Following the parade, a police officer was videotaped slamming down Teandrea Cornelius, a 15-year-old Black girl, face first into the ground while she was already handcuffed. The video of this incident has gone viral,…
Serena Williams has an ambition and drive that is larger than life. This has helped her become the face of her sport, but she is consistently considered exceptional for a Black woman. The language used to describe her career goes like this: Serena Williams is an excellent tennis player even though she has a big…