Lessons from conversations with my past

Part one: {the intimate} I am 20 years old. This means, I was born 2 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi. If you know me, You know I breathe, eat and sleep Rwanda My life… is Rwanda And Rwanda… is my life. My drive in life… is Rwanda And when I say Rwanda I …

Reclaiming our identities through names: from Inès to Amata

{there is beauty. rhythm. songs. respect. dignity. pride. history. struggle. resistance. in my mother tongue. everything i forget when i borrow the white man’s language.} All transitions are hard. Nothing concerning change is easy. I know this because ever since I decided to, well not change, more like take on another name, it has been …

The cost of being a conscious student activist.

My heart has been bleeding every day since I started my activism. Whether my eyes are closed, enjoying my own company or simply trying to find peace in silence, I cannot stop myself from thinking about the discomfort I have faced since I got here. In my free time, I watch political documentaries, listen to …

Embracing the angry. Black. Woman.

Before I start, I want to mention that I am an Afrikan woman living in the United States. However, upon my arrival, I quickly learned that there is an identity that was manufactured for people like me. It did not matter that I was not African American or that I was Afrikan, I became Black. …

Hey, Black Child! ~ Countee Cullen~

Hey Black Child Do you know who you are Who you really are Do you know you can be What you want to be If you try to be What you can be Hey Black Child Do you know where you are going Where you're really going Do you know you can learn What you …

A mother’s promise to her unborn Afrikan son.

When you get here, The world will be ready for you To receive you as another Black child, Another Afrikan child. But I promise you, You wont be. When you get here Even before you figure out How to open your eyes, You’ll already be labeled As the hungry sick Afrikan child! The world will …

The absence of Afrikan women in feminist dialogues.

When I got to college, I decided to take a gender’s studies courses because I thought hearing and learning about other women’s stories would be empowering and would help me find the sense of self-love I had been looking for all my life. I had always been the type of person that spoke her mind …

Rwandan workforce: The culture and double standards of internships in Rwanda.

"It is a privilege to study in the U.S." I have said this before but maybe I should put more emphasis saying that we are socialized to believe that education in the U.S. is the best education one can acquire. Ministers, deputies, ambassadors and other important people in our country have in some way studied …

My children will NOT be lied to: Why I decided to give ALL my children female Afrikan warrior names.

When I took my first women studies course, my LIFE CHANGED drastically. Besides the obvious fact that you learn about women’s oppression, intersectionality and ways to bring about change, I owe my renewed strong love for Afrikan women to this course. Towards the end of the course, for our final project we were supposed to …