Farhat Ali is a Master's student in Africana Studies. This past spring, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arizona State University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Women and Gender studies as well as a Minor in Socio-Legal Studies. Previously, she served as a research assistant for FROGS (Feminist Research in Gender and Sexuality) and in 2019, created The Period Project - a program that supports menstrual equity and accessible health education for women in East Africa. Her passions include menstrual health education  and accessibility and literature surrounding Black feminist theory. She hopes to explore Black diasporic thought, Black women’s citational politics and Black women’s foundations in linguistic and intellectual history. In her free time, Farhat is an avid reader and street photographer. 

Esther Attueyi is a Master's Student in Africana Studies. She recently graduated from Université Paris-Sorbonne with a Licence de langues étrangères appliquées as well as a Bachelor's in French and Comparative Literature from Queen Mary, University of London. She enjoys reading black feminist literature and developing her critical analysis skills. Her aims are to curate a space that allows marginalized communities to thrive and doesn't lose its focus as it grows.

Shadé Laurie Freeland is a Master's student in Africana Studies with a concentration in Museum Studies. She previously attended Herbert H. Lehman College where she received her BA in Africana Studies. Her love of visiting museums and the knowledge gained from those experiences is the driving force in her pursuit of higher education in the related field. Her desire to learn and educate others about the unique and rich history of Black culture is the catalyst behind her dream job of working at museums or cultural institutions that highlight African and African American contributions.

William Hartl is a Master's student in Africana Studies. He graduated from Providence College where he studied History and Philosophy; researching Black and Catholic Americans’ resistance to the Second Ku Klux Klan through an examination of these groups’ public and private publications. He is currently interested in researching the impact western society’s racial foundation has had on contemporary American politics and on the dynamics of inter-racial movements within the American context. He aims to study how a nuanced understanding of the past can better inform our social, cultural, and economic creativity in facing the problems of Modernity.

Jana Ralph is a Master's student in Africana Studies. She received her BA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Education from the nation’s first HBCU, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 2022. Her thesis explored the achievement gap in American education as a microcosm of the inequalities present within historically oppressive institutions. Jana’s current research interests include critical theory and understanding issues of identity in Black Americans through digital culture.

Emeka Ochiagha is a Master's student in Africana Studies. He earned a Media Studies degree from Pitzer College, concentrating on both film production and the visual epistemologies of the African diaspora. He intends to continue working within Black Visual Culture, academically and creatively. He hopes to continue the legacy of deconstructing the white supremacist, cisheteronormative, biodeterminist notions that were inherent within the hegemonic gaze. Emeka's interest also includes unpacking narrative themes that define Nigerian's past and contemporary life. He would like to situate his homeland within its postcolonial/neocolonial framework, to understand it, and develop an eye to depict it with grace, nuance, and dignity.

Imari Symone Williams is a Master's student in Africana Studies. Eight years ago, she graduated from Hampton University where she received her BA in Broadcast Journalism and a minor specialization in Criminology. Post-graduation, she has immersed herself in the criminal justice system. While working as a reporter for Homicide Watch D.C., she tracked and covered homicide cases from crime, dismissal, acquittal, and conviction. She currently works at the Legal Aid Society as a criminal defense investigator. Her current research interests are womanism, gender and sexuality and how integral these movements are in the fight for criminal justice and an abolitionist mindset. Additionally, she's interested in Black literature and archiving Black life in America. She'd like to eventually expand this to a career in academia, the museum industry or a cultural organization.

Below is her favorite quote.
"To a new era of understanding and action rooted in honest, open, and sometimes painful talk between people." -Sister Souljah