Interviews
Over four months, we held interviews and conversations with Black womxn stakeholders across Roxbury identifying as artists, organizers, or entrepreneurs in any capacity. The diverse group we spoke to spans multiple generations, representing the voices and experiences of womxn in their 20’s through 60’s.
Alessandra Brown
Alessandra is an organizer and entrepreneur seeking to build resilient community ecosystems through innovative strategies towards engagement, entrepreneurship, and corporate responsibility. She is the former Director at the Roxbury Innovation Center where she worked to build economic development in the community through resources and programming for local entrepreneurs.
Bridgette Wallace
Bridgette is an entrepreneur and planner motivated to build innovative platforms to create pathways for marginalized communities to reach their full potential. She served as a leader in launching the Roxbury Innovation Center and as a member of the Plan Dudley (Nubian) Project Review Committee. Currently, Bridgette is developing G|Code House, a co-working and living space in Roxbury connecting young womxn of color to educational and employment opportunities in the technology sector.
Arirá Adééké
Arirá is an organizer, herbalist, healer, and wellness-worker passionate about creating spaces and processes for healing and community building. Through her business, Seed of Osun, Arirá runs a mobile and stationary apothecary seeking to invoke traditional medicine of the African diaspora. She is also the founder of Ile Ase, a monthly school and sanctuary space for Black, indigenous people of color.
Nakia Hill
Nakia is a writer, educator, and journalist specializing in teaching womxn how to use writing as a tool for healing, self-care, and resistance. Currently, she serves as the director of the Writers’ Room program at 826 Boston, managing writing programs for urban youth. Nakia recently released her second book, I Still Did It: Stories of Resilience, an intergenerational anthology featuring stories written by girls and womxn of color in Boston.
Nia Evans
Nia is a community organizer with experience in policy, research, and education, driven to create community-led change that allows marginalized people to live in space where they are enriched, valued, and free. Nia is the current director of Boston Ujima Project, working to organize neighbors, workers, business owners, and investors to create a community-controlled economy in Greater Boston.
Priscilla Azaglo
Priscilla is a poet, organizer, and educator inspired to leverage storytelling as a tool for information sharing, affirmation, and capacity building within the community. Through her practice, she leads workshops encouraging self-care and healing through poetry and visual arts. Priscilla is also the founder of Black Cotton Club, a monthly pop-up jam session with a live band creating space for the community to share their stories, collaborate, and connect.
Sam Casseus
Sam is a writer, organizer, and coder passionate about creating accessible, healthy, and safe space for womxn of color to help them thrive. She is the founder of Queens Talk, a womxn’s empowerment meet-up for womxn of color that is centered on mental health and wellness. Additionally, Sam is a full-stack developer advocate for empowering people of color to build careers in the coding and tech industry.
Candelaria Silva-Collins
Candelaria is an arts administrator, consultant, and writer working to bridge the gaps between arts, culture, and community. She was the first director of ACT Roxbury—launching notable programming including the Roxbury Film Festival, Roxbury Open Studios, Roxbury Literary Annual, and Roxbury In Motion.
Ekua Holmes
Ekua is a mixed-media artist whose work explores universal themes of childhood, family, and remembering, deeply influenced by a lifetime of moments shared with members of her community. She also maintains a strong commitment to arts education and outreach, serving as Assistant Director at the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at MASS Art and Director of sparc! the ArtMobile.
Chanel Thervil
Chanel is an artist and educator interested in the racialized politics of representation through her creative practice. Her use of different patterns, textures, and materials speaks to the diversity in the subjects she depicts, seeking to honor their dignity and command empathy for their humanity.
Kai Grant
Kai is an organizer and entrepreneur driven to reframe marginalized futures through social entrepreneurship. She the co-founder of Black Market in Nubian Square (formerly Dudley Square), a space launched in 2017 to help eradicate the wealth gap between indigenous Boston Black families and their counterparts. Furthermore, the Market serves to catalyze investment and transformation of the Nubian area through economic justice, arts and culture, and civic engagement.
Tyahra Angus
Tyahra is an artist passionate about increasing representation of Black and brown people in media, particularly Black womxn, and even more particularly Black queer womxn like herself. Through her platform AfroCentered Media, she seeks to document and publish photos to highlight, Black & Brown creatives, spaces, and events throughout the Boston area.
Destiny Polk
Destiny is a dancer, poet, organizer driven to leverage art, creation, and movement to spark radical change in people and communities. She is the founder and organizer of RadicalBlackGirl, a platform where she curates events, creates performances and short films, and sponsors young and developing talent in the Boston community.
KellEy Chunn
Kelley is a social impact entrepreneur, speaker, and former broadcast journalist. She currently leads her own collaborative consultancy, Kelley Chunn & Associates, which specializes in multicultural and cause-related public relations and marketing. Kelley also served as the founding president and now current board member of the Roxbury Cultural District.
Jessicah Pierre
Jessicah is a writer, marketer, and organizer who is passionate about creating space for relationship-building and empowerment amongst womxn of color. Through her work she hopes to inspire people towards social and political change in their communities. Jessicah is the founder and president of Queens Company, a network for womxn of color actively seeking to advance their livelihoods.
Jha D Williams
Jha D is a spoken word artist, architect, and organizer working to inspire people to speak their truth through creating spaces for artists, particularly those that are of the LGTBQIA communities of color. She is the co-host and founder of the “If you can Speak it, You can feel it” Open Mic Movement, as well as the executive director and producer of Womxn of Color Weekend (WoCW).
Alessandra Brown
Alessandra is an organizer and entrepreneur seeking to build resilient community ecosystems through innovative strategies towards engagement, entrepreneurship, and corporate responsibility. She is the former Director at the Roxbury Innovation Center where she worked to build economic development in the community through resources and programming for local entrepreneurs.
Bridgette Wallace
Bridgette is an entrepreneur and planner motivated to build innovative platforms to create pathways for marginalized communities to reach their full potential. She has served as a member on the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Committee as well as a leader in launching the Roxbury Innovation Center. Currently, Bridgette is developing G|Code House, a co-working and living space in Roxbury connecting young womxn of color to educational and employment opportunities in the technology sector.
Lanise Colon
Arirá Adééké
Arirá is an organizer, herbalist, healer, and wellness-worker passionate about creating spaces and processes for healing and community building. Through her business, Seed of Osun, Arirá runs a mobile and stationary apothecary seeking to invoke traditional medicine of the African diaspora. She is also the founder of Ile Ase, a monthly school and sanctuary space for Black, indigenous people of color.
Nakia Hill
Nakia is a writer, educator, and journalist specializing in teaching womxn how to use writing as a tool for healing, self-care, and resistance. Currently, she serves as the director of the Writers’ Room program at 826 Boston, managing writing programs for urban youth. Nakia recently released her second book, I Still Did It: Stories of Resilience, an intergenerational anthology featuring stories written by girls and womxn of color in Boston.
Nia Evans
Nia is a community organizer with experience in policy, research, and education, driven to create community-led change that allows marginalized people to live in space where they are enriched, valued, and free. Nia is the current director of Boston Ujima Project, working to organize neighbors, workers, business owners, and investors to create a community-controlled economy in Greater Boston.
Priscilla Azaglo
Priscilla is a poet, organizer, and educator inspired to leverage storytelling as a tool for information sharing, affirmation, and capacity building within the community. Through her practice, she leads workshops encouraging self-care and healing through poetry and visual arts. Priscilla is also the founder of Black Cotton Club, a monthly pop-up jam session with a live band creating space for the community to share their stories, collaborate, and connect.
Sam Casseus
Sam is a writer, organizer, and coder passionate about creating accessible, healthy, and safe space for womxn of color to help them thrive. She is the founder of Queens Talk, a womxn’s empowerment meet-up for womxn of color that is centered on mental health and wellness. Additionally, Sam is a full-stack developer advocate for empowering people of color to build careers in the coding and tech industry.
Candelaria Silva-Collins
Candelaria is an arts administrator, consultant, and writer working to bridge the gaps between arts, culture, and community. She was the first director of ACT Roxbury—launching notable programming including the Roxbury Film Festival, Roxbury Open Studios, Roxbury Literary Annual, and Roxbury In Motion.
Ekua Holmes
Ekua is a mixed-media artist whose work explores universal themes of childhood, family, and remembering, deeply influenced by a lifetime of moments shared with members of her community. She also maintains a strong commitment to arts education and outreach, serving as Assistant Director at the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at MASS Art and Director of sparc! the ArtMobile.
Chanel Thervil
Chanel is an artist and educator interested in the racialized politics of representation through her creative practice. Her use of different patterns, textures, and materials speaks to the diversity in the subjects she depicts, seeking to honor their dignity and command empathy for their humanity.
Kai Grant
Kai is an organizer and entrepreneur driven to reframe marginalized futures through social entrepreneurship. She the co-founder of Black Market in Nubian Square (formerly Dudley Square), a space launched in 2017 to help eradicate the wealth gap between indigenous Boston Black families and their counterparts. Furthermore, the Market serves to catalyze investment and transformation of the Nubian area through economic justice, arts and culture, and civic engagement.
Tyahra Angus
Tyahra is an artist passionate about increasing representation of Black and brown people in media, particularly Black womxn, and even more particularly Black queer womxn like herself. Through her platform AfroCentered Media, she seeks to document and publish photos to highlight, Black & Brown creatives, spaces, and events throughout the Boston.
Destiny Polk
Destiny is a dancer, poet, organizer driven to leverage art, creation, and movement to spark radical change in people and communities. She is the founder and organizer of RadicalBlackGirl, a platform where she curates events, creates performances and short films, and sponsors young and developing talent in the Boston community.
KellEy Chunn
Kelley is a social impact entrepreneur, speaker, and former broadcast journalist. She currently leads her own collaborative consultancy, Kelley Chunn & Associates, which specializes in multicultural and cause-related public relations and marketing. Kelley also served as the founding president and now current board member of the Roxbury Cultural District.
Jessicah Pierre
Jessicah is a writer, marketer, and organizer who is passionate about creating space for relationship-building and empowerment amongst womxn of color. Through her work she hopes to inspire people towards social and political change in their communities. Jessicah is the founder and president of Queens Company, a network for womxn of color actively seeking to advance their livelihoods.
Jha D Williams
Jha D is a spoken word artist, architect, and organizer working to inspire people to speak their truth through creating spaces for artists, particularly those that are of the LGTBQIA communities of color. She is the co-host and founder of the “If you can Speak it, You can feel it” Open Mic Movement, as well as the executive director and producer of Womxn of Color Weekend (WoCW).
*We recognize that beyond the scope of this research, there is a breadth of other womxn in Roxbury doing the work to create change in the community. We hope that this selection provides a representative sample to speak to the larger themes and outcomes inferred through this research effort.
