Zeniya Cooley

The public continues to grasp at pieces of Monroe instead of acknowledging the toxicity of their obsession with her.

“always meeting people / with a mean mug always / brooding out of the blue / the world calls you difficult / a black girl with attitude.”

What does safety look like for a Black girl? A world where we do not feel burdened by our Black female bodies.

This love, a distinctly and beautifully Black love, is what nurtures me. And it is this love that keeps my community alive. 

These influencers assert that the memories we make and the emotions we experience because of anime are worthy of celebration and preservation.

From depictions of the charm and energy of young Black life, I learned about the importance of representation in young adult literature.

A full and inclusive history allows students to understand the role of themselves and their communities in the construction of a better democracy.

In a world that denies Black men and boys their joy, this is my earnest attempt to celebrate their happiness and grace.

I want to celebrate Black women who choose to be who they are, even if they don’t exude the glamorous extroversion that society often expects from them.

Black artists sing and scream the stories of our lost ones in hopes that we are seen, listened to and remembered.