Dystopia, IRL
Parable of the Sower (1993). The Wilderness (2025). Assata (1987). One, a dystopia set in what is now present day. The second, a searing contemporary reflection of how we somehow manage to balance light heartedness and impending doom. And third, a stark reminder that the doom is not impending, nor has it already befallen us,…
Wildest Dream
If you’ve heard the phrase “fuck the police” you’ve probably also heard the quip “nobody ever says fuck the fire department.” It’s usually used to explain to people who don’t quite prescribe to tear-it-all-down tactics that there wouldn’t be such a clarion call to abolish the police if they were actually protecting and serving rather…
I dey come
There are many beginnings to this story of becoming, or perhaps many becomings in this story of beginnings. There is a moment that occurred in the summer of 2011 that has never slipped my mind. In fact, it has held fast to the deepest crevices in my memory. I was born on a Spring Wednesday…
Womanism: a knowing & a being
“My education, my lived experience, and my ancestors qualify me, authorize me, and amplify me.” ebonyjanice moore wrote this in her book All the Black Girl Are Activists: A Fourth Wave Womanist Pursuit of Dreams as Radical Resistance. For years I have referred to myself as a womanist and everyday this proclamation rings more true…
No Funding for a Title
Yesterday, the only thing that stopped me from calling an ambulance was the realization that I would have to get up from my bed and my pain-induced paralysis to unlock my front door in order for anyone to reach me. Sometimes when I watch action movies, I wonder if I would be particularly resistant to…
destiny, my old friend
I remember my future clearlynestled in the coziest recesses of my mindvivid in my heart’s eye have you ever been so sure of your destinyit’s as if it already happened I have. I am.my future is had, is Ekeọmagood destinyo kere m ya k’ọma Ekeecut, divide, set apartremoved and saved speciallyfor memade and givento me…
Ekeoma Sunday Ezeh
Aunty grew up with my dad, she was like a sister to him. When Aunty told me she would like to keep in touch, she input my name in her phone, then offered it to me to input my number. I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw: first name – Ekeoma, last name -…
The Ties that Uplift
.. this one is dedicated to my community, you know who you are, happy three years of Signed, N.A.! .. Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli is a masterful portrayal of community; an exploration of loneliness, community, and the ties that not only bind, but uplift. The tale is centered around Aṅụrị, a…
Saturdays in São Paulo
One mid-June madrugada, I finally landed at São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport. “Madrugada” is one of those words that doesn’t have an English translation, but my personal translation for it is “the butt crack of dawn.” The morning prior, I woke up bright and early, on just a few hours of sleep, to make it to…
What Francia Márquez Reminded Me About Black Women’s Activism
Almost two years ago, I wrote an article about how newly elected Colombian vice president Francia Márquez would be great news for human rights. Yesterday, I was honored and delighted to be in the room as she addressed a group of Afro-descendant land and territory defenders from across Latin America and the Caribbean; and I…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Signed, N.A. 