The Credits

I firmly believe that life is a group project. These are the other members of this group project called life.

THANK YOU to the following people, communities and experiences that make me the person I am today. Without these, I would not be the same- for sure.

  • GOD and all the Ones who walk with me

  • My maternal and paternal lines - those I know by name, and those I do not. Whose stories I know and those I do not. Nothing has been in vain.

  • Me: I’m dope. I’m creative, resilient, funny. Thank me for me (a la Snoop and Neicy Nash)

  • My children: for being my teachers, my muses, the batteries in my back.

  • Every friendship I’ve ever had. For every friend that ever showed me a mirror of myself, gathered me when I forgot who I was and what I was capable of. For the laughs, the cries, the ups and the downs. You some MVPS.

    • My MF Sister, Khia, Tamika, Zerina, Naomi, Tiffani, Simone, Aseante’, Markeith, Alonzo, Malika, Beatrice, Kiyama “Other Janine,” Brittnie….to name a few

  • For every romantic relationship I’ve ever had. The people who have known me more intimately than I’ve known myself- for a large part of my life. I’ve learned so much, and continue to learn through our connections.

  • Anyone who ever supported something I was doing- from my designs in high school (Pyzaaz), to Support Black Businesses wristbands, to being a member of my bookclub (On the Same Page), to downloading my mobile app (Around the Way), to buying my wares on ETSY, to “coming to my actual TED Talk," to downloading my e-book during the Pandemi, to attending my divorce retreat, to listening to my podcast ….to my current projects… Thank you for believing.

Fashion and modeling was a big part of my life and my identity for a long time:

  • Ruth Taylor (R&J Productions). She provided model-hopefuls with a platform to strut…often. She also provided the opportunity to put my designs on a runway as a teenager.

  • April Fresh. She created an organization to teach high school students about the fashion industry. We took a trip to NY and met Kimora Lee Simmons (and her ex-husband), Misa Hylton, Essence Mag, Click modeling agency, and more. A trip I will never forget.

  • Lynda Erkiletian. My first DC modeling agent. She provided opportunities that legitimized my dream of modeling.

  • Mykola Webster. My first NY modeling agent. Such a warm and powerful force to gave me opportunities to flourish as a model.

  • Miss Coco Mitchell. A supermodel who took me under her wings when I worked in a designer showroom many moons ago. When I see her to this day, it’s all love.

Travel and Communities

  • My trips to the Dominican Republic (RD), Taiwan, India, Jamaica (2020 specifically)- all gave me things I will never forget. Other trips were cool, but these …hit different.

  • Jamaica- the whole country…just everything. I love you so much. Thank you for choosing me to be your daughter.

  • The TULSA100 family.

  • The FastGirl community.

  • The LS/poly community.

  • Any and everyone that I know in Brooklyn. Y’all some real ones.

  • The Landmark community (circa 2013-2014)

  • Lil Raggmuffin Summer Camp FamBam

  • Sister-2-Sister FamBam

  • Anyone who’s ever sat with me during a Sacred Medicine ceremony.

  • Anything “Black in Tech”-related: past, present and future.

  • Every WhatsApp group that I’m in.

    ……and much much more.

Books and Podcasts

  • Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome

  • The Isis Papers

  • The Mountain is You

  • The Way of the Superior Man

  • Multiamory (podcast)

  • All About Love

  • The Will to Change

  • Pussy

  • Vagina

  • Pleasure Activist

  • The Fire Next Time

  • Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey

  • The Alchemist

  • Who Moved My Cheese

Since college, I almost exclusively read non-fiction books (roughly 5-10/year). This is not an exhaustive list, but these are the few that come to mind.

Also! There are too many documentaries to name but they have mattered too.

Mi luv allaunu.

There’s no me (and the way I show up in the world) without each and every one of you. And it keeps getting better!

Onward and upward.