During my first day at the organization, I recognized a person who was a part of the “Illness and Identity” exhibit at City Lore. Her name is Erika Hart and she is known for her work in raising awareness of breast cancer in the black community. She has had a double mastectomy so she has scars as nipples. She attended AfroPunk top-less and engaged with people who inquired about her scars. The importance of this act was linked to the lack of images online of black women cancer survivors with reconstructed breasts. Her activism and work in increasing visibility among black women has been very inspirational for me. In this day and age of social media, I stay connected to her mission by following her on Instagram.
Myself standing next to the Erika Hart feature in the Illness and Identity exhibit at City Lore
Along with being a cancer survivor, Erika is also a queer black woman. Her Instagram follows her life as a sexuality educator as well as a human being in a romantic relationship with a black woman. The fact that she is with another black queer woman has other implications, as showing love between two black women.
My identity as questioning positions me as in between heterosexuality and non-heterosexuality. I refrain from saying “homosexuality” as the opposite of heterosexuality because it fails to acknowledge the people who are more fluid. I consider myself as liking people for their souls (as cliche as that may sound). This train of thought makes me weary of labeling myself in regards to sexuality. My personal view on sexuality, as well as the language that I chose to use, will allow me to approach the topic of my research from a place of opened-ness while, at the same time, prompting inquiry.
Imani, it’s so exciting that you linked up with Erika through this placement even though you’ve been following her work on Instagram already. I think your essential approach to research as you’ve described it — that is, open and questioning and fluid — will serve you well as you meet people like Erika and others. These are the exact stories that are undertold or under documented because they do not fit predetermined narratives. That puts a lot of onus on you to be creative in how you ask questions and hear what your collaborators have to say. It’s so easy for all of us to take for granted that people fit into clear categories, but, as you’ve noted, Erika does not. And nor do you!