The Motherhood Support Group, composed of young mamas from all over turtle island, has been gathering for the past few years to offer support, upliftment, and love to each other. Sharing stories, sharing tears, sharing laughter, all through virtual shared space. This...
She Writes A Response to The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice, by Fania E. Davis Ani Bere A Enso Gya Asase Ye Duru Dear Ms. Davis, Our book circle has read your book, small but packed with so much power. We completed this read before the break of...
In honor of Indigenous Heritage Month Trusting one another, Respecting what is being shared, A teaching moment, Direct from ancestors that were forced Into institutions, That created friction and diminished our cultures. Initiating our heritage and being Open to...
While preparing for a webinar on colorism, I Am Why’s Racial Justice Team commissioned me to create a painting on colorism and women of all cultures. They asked me to do this after seeing my “I Am Woman” painting that I created while at Artistic Noise, one of I Am...
Vivid Overturning, Samantha Cortez Although this wasn’t a positive inspiration, the first 24 hours of a post-Roe world is what gave me the spark to paint. When creating this piece, I couldn’t help but think of my son. I love my son and would do anything in my power to...
It had been years since I had been in the Artistic Noise space. This would be my first time participating in an I Am Why workshop and I was excited at this new opportunity. As I entered this space I could feel the art in the room coming alive—it appeared to be its own...
...Mental Health... Who you or me/ Yea they come in waves/ They come in stress or tears/ They come when I try/ My fears, my doubt, my past, I hide/ ...Mental Health… We are in a world where if you don't grind/ You get left behind/ Who you or me/...
I Am Why’s book opens a door… Ebony, one of I Am Why’s consultants, nominated me a while back to receive a dream reader copy of the I Am Why book, I Am Why Reclaiming the Lens. At that point I didn’t even know what the book was about or what I Am Why was. Dream reader...
Imagine curating an art show with your homegirl—showing artwork that captures our collective struggles while recognizing our shared hope in the community that watered our growth. Well, that's what my comrade Xochtil Larios and I learned how to do when we curated the...
We just wrapped up an incredible 13-week virtual curriculum for young people in Minneapolis in partnership with the Enough program at the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities. Part of the curriculum involved the virtual version of our art-making and writing workshop and...
