Her Melanin
Hi, APC! My name is Krsna Garr, I’m currently a 17-year-old who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m Black, Puerto Rican, and Italian and I take pride in all my ethnic diversities. This spoken-word piece was inspired by Black History Month and the beauty of melanin. It was written for the Black History Showcase presented by Southern Word in downtown Nashville. I hope that this poem really sinks in and allows others to feel confident and powerful in regard to their history and the pigment of their skin. Her Melanin So pure and elegant Yet envied so hated Whipped and controlled Because her beauty They could not translate it … Smooth…
Aoide
Hey APC! My name is Safiatu Diagana and I am 19 years old. I’m currently pursuing a dual degree in Global Public Health and Nursing at NYU. I live in Queens, New York but am from Mauritania, West Africa specifically the Soninke tribe! Below is my writing piece Aoide. Aoide “When loving yourself as a black woman brings more shame than hurting a black woman, that’s when the tears begin” I sit with my sisters in my room, the laptop equipped with our playlists of Akon, Rihanna, and One Direction. We scream the lyrics that tie us back to elementary school, where playdates and friendships were the backbones of our…
Crystal Tears
Hey APC! My name is Skye Bennike. I’m African-American and Danish and I’m from Los Angeles! Photography is my passion, however, different mediums allow me to express different ideas. I photograph, write and paint. I share my ideas and thoughts through colors and I write to help convey my message on a deeper level. When people view my work I want them to understand my vision and emotions while also relating it to their own. My inspiration comes from my environment but also how I feel. I’m deeply driven by my emotions. To create how I feel in a visual sense is very empowering. Attached are two of my latest art projects.…
When There Is Worship
Hello, APC! My name is Janay Kelley. I am a literary artist from Memphis, TN (the most beautiful land in the world). This summer, right before my senior year at White Station High School, I learned that I am an Aquarius Sun, an Aries Moon, and an Aquarius Rising. I have absolutely no idea what that means. It was this year, actually, when I come to realized that I have had absolutely no idea what anything means until this point in my life. Coming to that realization is a terrifying feeling. It feels as if the ground is swept from underneath you, but you are not falling. There is just…
Living Within the Pages
Hi APC, my name is Ines! I am 16 and I am a senior in a French high school. I am Moroccan on my father’s side, and French on my mother’s, but I have spent my entire childhood in France. Writing is a tough exercise, especially when you have a lot of ideas in mind. I have decided I would use this white page to talk to you about literature, and about how I discovered my-feminist-self through reading. I guess I can only consider myself a lucky person when it comes to books: my mum is a literature teacher, and I remember spending hours as a kid in front of…
Who is Morena?
Hey APC! My name is Brianna Slaughter! Here is a piece I wrote about my Afro-Latin identity, family, mental health and general experience. Check it out below. Who is Morena? Morena is not who she presents. Morena means brown-girl in Spanish. It is not the name she chose. Her Nana, pale, with her hair, neatly brushed, screams when her granddaughter plays in the sun for too long, her hair is in all different directions. “Pareces a Celia Cruz. Tu cara parece muy sucia, mija” [You look like Celia Cruz. Your face looks so dirty, my girl] Her mother, with tight lips and a tender voice, forcibly brushes Morena’s hair back…
My Existence Is Intersectional
Hi APC! My name is Nya Etienne, and I hail from the D(M)V, but currently live in New York City and am a freshman NYU. ✨ I plan on co-majoring in Journalism and (hopefully) Media, Culture, and Communication. Through my passions for storytelling, social justice, & sustainable fashion, the goal of my work will always be to voice underrepresented experiences and issues. As an 18-year-old Haitian-American girl, growing comfortable within my skin has been something I struggled with for a long time. For years, I yearned to look, talk, act, think–BE someone else. Anyone but me. But now I am finally growing to love the individual I am, and out of…
Individuality Is a Weapon
Heyyy APC. My name is Mars, short for Kumares, and I’m 16-years old, living on the west side of Jersey City, NJ. I’m Filipino-American, or FilAm; and I’m an artist and musician, amongst other things. Most importantly, this makes me a creator; and in my opinion, that is one of the greatest things you can be at such a young age. The vitality of discovering self-value and expressing individuality is a common issue in society today. It took quite a while for me to break out of my shell and figure out who I am. Of course, I’m still on my way to truly figuring it out, but in the years…
Divisions
Hi APC! My name is Lidia Solomon, and I’m a 17-year-old from North Carolina. My race is black though I identify more with my Eritrean nationality ( barely any people know this country exists sadly ) The piece I’m submitting was an independent writing project my AP Lang teacher asked my class to write. I chose to write a poem and I knew I wanted it to be about something I was really passionate about. Trying to figure out which passion of mine I would want to write about wasn’t that hard. I like to watch spoken word videos on Youtube and the day this project was assigned I went…
Art Meets Food
Hi APC! My name is Jane Li, and I am a Taiwanese American lettering artist/illustrator based in the Bay Area. I work in both digital and mixed media, and my art typically reflects my culture, current passions, and recent events. Last year, I created a series inspired by my love for food and Netflix’s adaptation of Jenny Han’s book, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before! This series was very meaningful to me because it helped me appreciate food as a reflection of culture and a language of love. Check it out below!
Rainbows
Hello APC, my name is Laila Stevens and I am an 18-year-old interdisciplinary artist from Queens, New York. I am currently a freshman at the Fashion Institute of Technology studying Photography & Related Media. I hold strong pride in identifying as a Queer Black Womxn Artist because it fully encompasses the parts that make me whole, inclusive and personal. If anyone were to ask me who I am, I would tell them just that. It is my belief that POC LGBTQ+ identifying folks have incredibly valuable perspectives, holding incredible strength in their voices and stories. The more I discovered each side of who I was both interchangeably and in collaboration,…
Where Design Meets Engineering
Hey APC! My name is Sarika Kumar and I’m a current sophomore at UC Davis! “Design” is an interesting word. Drop it in a highly technical conversation amongst engineers and immediately the idea of design means pure aesthetic rather than usability. When used in just a general conversation, there are several different meanings to the word —which connotation does the person intend? Aesthetic? Or functionality? Both? And so the main question becomes: how does one define design? In grade school, I was the kid that everyone knew to be “the artist”. However, what people didn’t see was that I spent an equal number of hours building lego sets as I…
