Titanium Armor. Samuel A. Blay. Digital Painting. 2023. Read in browser In loving memory of General Alhaji Bushura, our beloved Uncle. In memory of Marcellus Williams and the billions we’ve lost unjustly since the MAAFA began. Hoteps, Stand Up. It was in Brooklyn that I first learned what a Hotep was, in the mid 2000s. The vegan restaurant, Imhotep, just blocks from my Crown Heights apartment, was where we'd listen in on elders' conversations about Marcus Garvey and the impending Fall of...
8 days ago • 4 min read
Mothering us from Westernization. Asiko, 2024 Read in browser Hi beloved Reader, How are you? We're teeming as there is so much to celebrate. We shared the first peeks of our interactive digital narrative, New World Haven, this week. We also joined the founding partner Economic Cooperative at Sangha House NOLA. Additionally, the NOIR Labs team continues to grow. After adding a product team in June to help us close out Phase I of the Brooklyn Innovation Portal, we’ve expanded our editorial...
2 months ago • 2 min read
The Galaxy Within. Source Unfound. Read in browser Hello Reader, How are you? This is Yetunde, the daughter of Olori Lolade! Here at NOIR Labs, things are getting hectic. We have so many more people, including myself, and we are getting ready for you all. I’m hoping to work on my first formal article for noirpress very soon and I’m so excited to share this! In the meantime please continue to check your inbox and junk mail for updates and messages from us! Thank you, Yetunde Olowosoyo Proud...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Yoruba Talking Drummer by Dorr Bothwell (1969). Serigraph. Private collection. Read in browser Ede Ni Koko (Language is Key) Bawo ni Reader? How are you caring for yourself with everything happening in the world? I hope that you are well. Let me give you a fair warning about this message. We have started a new phase. A phase where we have removed whiteness from the center of our universe. Will this work for you? Báwo ni ẹ ṣe ń tọ́jú ara yin Reader, pẹ̀lú gbogbo ohun tó ń ṣẹlẹ̀ ní ayé? Mo ni...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Intimacy as Prayer: Persephone & Hades. Nouketou, 2019. Read in browser Intro to the New World Greetings Reader, How does this find you? Are you navigating the heat waves ok? Drinking enough water…melon? Wading through heavy rains? Or are you just chilling? I write you from the first known Black Buddhist temple in the US, where I am expanding my heart. As NOIR Labs prepares to launch a number of cultural experiences this summer, I am urged to share an update or two, and to provide some...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Center of the Universe. Nettrice Gaskins. 2020. Read in browser Sunday Sermon The world remains aflame, but Black Genius leads the way. The Church of Baduism Did you know the term "stay woke" originated from Erykah Badu's 2008 album, New Amerykah? Her semi-recent interview with Ari Melber was the church we needed today. She gave a Word on being yourself and allowing Divine alignment for the Divine timing of your purpose fulfillment. Watch below. The Global Masses Support Palestine As much as...
12 months ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, How you holding up? I genuinely want to know. Here’s a hug and a breathing break if you need it. Why can’t every day just be like a Gilmore Girls episode? If there’s anything I’m grateful for in this moment, it’s the fact that people are being rudely awakened to the fact that their governments are not all they’re cut out to be. The fact that the US government, and many churches, can stand with the Israeli military at a time like this is just so overwhelmingly nauseating....
12 months ago • 3 min read
Fam, How’s your social life? Do you feel deeply connected to the people around you? Do you have a consistent community of folks who are deeply invested in your success and capable of helping you achieve your dreams at the highest level? I hear so much from people about how unsupported they feel in their communities, friend groups, professional environments. So many of us need authentic, loving emotional and psychosocial support. People to call out our genius, amplify our talents, show us the...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read
Kriatura Martinique. Séphora Joannes. Read in browser Re-claiming Black Citizenship at the Crown Centering our textured humanity in the fight for political equity. Can you imagine an America in which you could wear the wildest, most expressive hair design to work and be fully embraced in your individuality? That America is on her way here. All she needs is your vote. If you had told me 10 years ago that I’d one day be using my mighty pen to fight for America's democracy, I definitely would...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read