WYHP: When You're Hurting | When You're Healing Oral Histories

Ashley-Joy Smith

I met Ashley for the first time on the day of the photo shoot in 2016; the photographer, Curtis, was her cousin and suggested Ashley as a participant. When I reached out a few weeks before, she was open and down for the cause. Ash came in with her raspy voice and spicy personality, ready to shoot. She was still and fully present in herself.

Mia Wright-Ross

I met Mia in 2014, in the computer lab at Parsons School of Design (The New School). She became a creative mentor, muva, and sister, pouring into my creative practice and trusting me as a muse for her own creativity.

Djali Brown Cepeda

Djali and I met when she was in kindergarten; she is a recurring presence in my life that I embrace each time she comes back. It feels like I have had the pleasure of watching her become a woman up close and at a distance, and her participation in this project speaks more and more to the need to return to one's younger self to embrace the next version. Listening to her tell her story felt like seeing the full culmination of a person's being.

Carly M. Heywood

Carly and I met in 2014, the first week of undergrad, and like most Black people I know who attend PWIs, we are looking for other Black bodies at every event that we attend. I was taking a lap when a girl with extra-large black-and-purple box braids at a table of other Black freshmen told me she liked my outfit. Since that moment, Carly has been a sister, friend, and collaborator.