JUly 5th, 2022

Happy July everyone! I’m excited and nervous to figure out the next phase of MCN before stepping back into the academic track in the fall 🤓… I’m grateful to share that I’ll be continuing my studies in African and African American Studies as a PhD candidate at Columbia University in the Theatre & Performance Studies English Comparative Literature Department.  

A few months ago, a mentor suggested I spend this summer getting lost in a “PhD mindset” by throwing myself into new readings & systems of thinking. My (personal) goal is for academic research to consistently feel accessible through creative work, public discourse, and even by sharing sporadic thoughts & feelings ♥️….  I hope that you enjoy my next few months of reflection with a true focus on prepping for burying my head in the 📚 this fall :).  

“I want an interdependence of lots of kinds of people with lots of belief systems, and continued evolution.” (-adrienne maree brown)  

As I continue to settle back into my life stateside, I catch myself referring to the quote above by adrienne maree brown. Gradually, I'm realizing how ~comfortable~ I feel living in NYC. It’s odd, being back in a space I feel like I fit into like a “missing puzzle piece.” At times, I catch myself craving “more—“ More puzzles that I don’t fit into— I like those puzzles just the same. In the strangest way, they make me feel less like a “puzzle piece” and more like me. Crazy. I never knew that moving to Dakar (and back 🗽) would change my individual & collective vision for justice & evolution in this way 🙏🏾 

I can’t wait to share more thoughts with you soon, AND thank you for reading our first reflection piece of the summer!  

 LSB ✨

This is my first time visiting Italy 🇮🇹 and I absolutely love it. Gratefully, I’m finding slow moments that remind me of my favorite parts of Dakar— beautiful minds coming together to eat, connect and create 🎨. 

I’ve spent these last few days thinking of Dr. Korka Sall’s (PhD) (Season 4, Epi 4) encouragement to “believe in [our] natural power.” Dr. Korka advised our community to incorporate multiple *cultural frameworks* into our journey of self-exploration and expression. As I continue my research for MCN & immersing myself into the arts, my personal goal is to continue noting how various cultures intentionally take up space through their own *cultural frameworks* in order to imagine futures that do not yet exists— hopeful futures that are rooted in generous thinking 🌎

As previously stated after my conversation with Dr. Korka last April, throughout this interview, I gradually realized how imperative it is for individuals to be able to confidently refer to multiple pools of cultural frameworks.... There is beauty in choosing to shield aspects of our identity, and growth in choosing to open our mind to other modes of thinking & feeling. Similar to cultural analysis, studying the history of “Black hair” is a tool that can help us sit with the complexities of existing. 

If interested, you can find season 4 epi 3 of MCN wherever you listen to your podcasts 📚🎧. Thank you for reading, for being you & thank you for believing in this work ♥️! 

 LSB ✨

Hello everyone!! I am officially moved into nyc and it feels insane. Lovely & odd. I miss Dakar, but I remain incredibly grateful and eager for this next chapter of MCN as I've slowly realized that this work can only expand if I allow myself to expand along with it. SO, I'm intentionally spending time embracing my discomfort and exploring parts of myself I've denied previously. If you follow this page, you've (likelyyy) learned that I'm incredibly passionate about highlighting the complex culture of Black hair and the myriad ways of understanding "who we are" in relation to the way we choose to present ourselves.

For me, my hair represents my culture, my gender expression, my sexuality and lastly, my humanness. Former MCN guest, Dr. Korka Sall is the person who planted the seed in me that opened my eyes to the ways in which Black hair is a tool to understand the significance of "Pan-African Solidarity." Similar to the work I'm interested in pursuing around language analysis in creative & academic spaces, studying the history of "Black hair" is one way to help us sit with the complexities of existing.

I'm excited to continue learning, questioning, and creating art when it makes sense to do so 🎨I wrote a poem about some of the feelings I've been thinking about in relation to "blossom(ing),” and I cant wait to find more ways to connect with the community we've built over these last few years soon :). This work and your support has given me the confidence to embrace every part of living.

Thank you for reading these words & thank you for believing in My Colorful Nana ♥️!

LSB ✨

Blossom(ing)

“To know the self is to allow everything, to embrace the totality of who we are–– all that we think and feel, all that we fear, all that we love.” 

It’s quite grounding,

To consider,

How cyclical,

Life can feel. 

Confused. 

Is who we are–– 

Who we have always been?

Or, 

Is who we are–– 

Who we will become?

Relieved. 

Playing with my masculinity and 

Letting my femininity run-free. 

The “totality of being” 

Is finally making 

A little bit more sense 

To me. 

The energy to act, 

Our craving to blossom. 

The enthrallment 

And choice to stall 

Sides of who we are

presently, 

Oh, and, every side of who we will become.

momentarily. 

A momentary shift 

To choose 

To recognize 

Our divinity. 

Finding Excellence In The Shadows of Humanity…

It’s quite delightful,  

To remember, 

How cyclical,

Life can feel. 

Shadows being 

The parts of our skin that rises 

When we consider all of the possibilities. 

Shadows being 

Light smiles & kind waves 

As if every stranger sparked our curiosity.

Shadows being 

The hurt cries screaming: 

“Don’t confuse the world with 

Your divinity.”

“Don’t confuse the world with 

Your extremities.”

“Don’t confuse yourself with 

‘The self’” 

And don’t get lost in “trying to become “

When we were 

Always meant to 

Just breathe.

Nostalgia comes in waves, 

And then I end up

Just finding it all 

To be funny. 

Hilariously surprised by 

How cyclical, 

Life can feel.

And how lovely it feels 

to  b l o s s o m  within 

Life’s extremities…

To realize that 

Our very nature 

Is extreme:

How we can “CRAVE” 

       “TOO”

          “MANY” 

            “THINGS.”

I like the idea of 

simultaneously being and becoming 

everything I’ve always wanted 

to be. 

It’s nice. 

To find peace. 

In our extremities. 

Even. 

When I am 

Scared.

 LSB ✨

Helloo everyone, I start classes as a PhD candidate tomorrow 📚, and I am equally as nervous as I am excited :). My research is rooted in social advocacy, creativity, and theory. I focus on uncovering self-curated mediums of self expression like Black hair as the root of Pan-Africanism, and I hope to continue this research while sparking conversation in different contexts, cultures and classes while using poetry, podcasts, theatre, film and the arts as a tool to connect with a broader community. I have a lot more reading, work and thinking to do, but I am overjoyed and inspired by the possibilities of it all.

My goal in the first year of graduate work will be to understand *how* to fearlessly & strategically advocate for the marriage of art, academia, and activism while elevating marginalized voices in unexpected (or non traditionally) spaces.

Joyce Brown (my Nana) is the inspiration behind this project, and I plan to use her passion for the arts as fuel to understand "duality," "intersectionality," and self-expression through the lens of Black hair. Stay tuned for future readings, events and a new direction for MCN. Thank you for believing in me & this work <3.

LSB ✨