Today I turn 18. As always, this birthday has prompted self-reflection, perhaps even more so as I sit quarantined in Saybrook College at Yale. I cannot help but wonder what life would have been like if this pandemic had never happened. It is quite likely I would have ended up at a different university. I…
Category: Voices
Hair
I run my hands through the thin, terse waves of unnatural brown Dyed forcefully in a small act of rebellion Against what I can’t remember now, And I can feel the calmness of when My hair jet black and thick, was plait Left-over-middle-over-right Falling down my back, each bump from the root to the tip …
Black Women Matter
George Floyd’s tragic death has changed the tides for the Black Lives Matter movement; Black men and the BLM movement have finally gotten recognition and support. But the same cannot be said about Black women. Despite the hindrances Black people have overcome, Black women do not receive respect for the work they have done in…
An Open Letter to Professors
Dear Professors, Stop assuming that I know things. In fact, assume that I don’t know anything at all. Assume that I only have two old brain cells left and they’re only enough to remember my name and birthday. When you feel yourself starting to say, “You should’ve learned this in high school…” remember that me…
Pavement, Politics, and Privilege
You stand on College and Grove Street. Staring intently at the spotlight, you wait to cross the street in a group of twenty students all huddled together. Suddenly someone walks right past the group (most times, but not always, a man, and most times, but not always, white) and crosses the street without hesitation. The…