Artist Statement  Shaza Tariq Elnour’s Happy Feet is a short retrospective that looks at her work capturing celebrations and events during her role as Marketing Director for the University of Waterloo’s Black Association. The aim of this series is to highlight how community events enabled the positive and joyous communion of Black, African, Afro-Caribbean, and Caribbean communities in Waterloo-Kitchener. The …

I often think of the elder Sudanese women around me when I think of their resilience to stand in beauty. I think of my mother, my haboba (grandmother), and of my aunts. I think of the way they have gracefully embraced tradition throughout generations—specifically the tradition of the Sudanese toub from its vibrant colours to the way it elegantly flows …

You can find bleaching products in Nigeria in just about any beauty store. In 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) cited that approximately 77 per cent of women in Nigeria bleach their skin. I was one of them. This is how I got there and, eventually, how I quit for good. Skin bleaching entails using creams, oral supplements, or injections …

Black women should abandon racial activism, to attain their dreams – it is not my job to go into this space, it is not my job to revolutionize this space, it is my job to enjoy it.   I am sitting on my couch in my flat in Berlin retelling the events of my day to my wife Deidre while our …

To the Rudasumbwa—Dusabimana Matriarch: Thank you for teaching me—in subtlety—to embrace the beauty of the little moments.  I remember Saturday mornings with you, as we got ready for church. The weekends that we the cousins would spend with our grandmother. You’d wake us up early to bathe (bucket and water style), have breakfast, and then the dreaded hair combing fiasco …

The moment a woman becomes aware of herself and begins understanding the world, she goes to war to gain freedom and autonomy over the vessel she walks the earth in. From the images we see on television and in magazines to our society’s cultural practices and beliefs, women are consistently told what they should define as beauty. In some African …

Ages 0-10: “Nappy” Phase All of the Disney princesses that I obsessed over had long, flowing and silky hair. My hair was always in braids, little pony tails, Bantu knots, puffs, or whatever elaborate hairstyle my mom decided to style that week. Every two weeks was “wash day:” a full-day event that consisted of shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, and squirming …

What does it mean when a woman keeps her last name in marriage? Is this a protest against patriarchy? A radical act of self love and self preservation? Is it normal?

The city of Timbuktu became the centre of knowledge in the region, its prolific libraries contained literary works that focused on the study of medicine, mathematics, astrology, grammar and geography, not to mention the most expansive accounts of African history, in a mixture of Arabic and African languages.

As an Igbo woman living in Canada, I have experienced a fusion of cultures. This means that while I do understand the values held within Igbo marriages, I have also come to see what marriages in this part of the world look like. This piece will contrast Igbo and Candian marriages to explore how power works within them.

Muslim African women, lead by example. They rally the troops, cultivate awareness and inspire generations. They do not need to declare their presence and showcase their battle scars to command authority. In fact, most often, their sole objective isn’t to become warriors of a cause or the face of a movement.

The act of removing the monument universally stands for the refusal to accept that colonial forces shall continue to define our present and future. The perpetuation of racism and oppression is no longer an option. By keeping these monuments in public parks or in front of government buildings, they validate and normalize the atrocities these generals, emperors and governors inflicted on human lives.

“At the time too, I was contemplating what justice could mean. Right? And not even just justice, honestly, it was what kindness meant on a deeper level, it was what patience meant on a deeper level. It was the beginning of me understanding forgiveness and how it heals you more than it heals the other person.

Because national trauma is hardly discussed in the context of its effects on diasporans, we often experience a dissonance between the distress we feel as we watch our motherland bleed, and the unspoken message that we should not be as affected because we are far away from home. The lack of validation and under recognition of the impact of national trauma on the wellbeing and mental health of members of the diaspora is a huge disservice and quite frankly harmful.”

We talk to Kabaka about the ideas behind his music, and how he uncovered an alternate curriculum of consciousness

A celebration of the food we love. The food that reminds us of home and awakens our senses of nostalgia.

I love ganja, herb, marijuana, cannabis, weed, trees… whatever name the plant goes by in your world. I love everything about it. The colour, the smell, the taste, the texture, what it represents, how useful it is in the world, how it makes me feel, the ceremonious way I encounter it within Rastafari, the space that it brings me to.  …