Feb 22, 2021
Black History Month is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to Black thought-leaders, artists, authors, and creators. We asked a couple of our scholars to share some of their favorite Black artists and thought leaders:
is a seriously underrated artist, but she makes beautiful music about evolving, being, and owning yourself and your passions, and creating your own world. She’s been a powerful force for me in this new year. – Lash O’Cain (she/her) 2nd Year GSBA Scholar
by Melanie Holst-Collins
This is a platform that has allowed me to see myself in my most natural of forms, and be real with myself. It has shown me that it is more than ok to be a black, it’s more than ok to be trans, and it is more than ok to be the woman I am, especially in a world that is adamant on me not existing. She has an excellent exercise where you write a letter to yourself, and heal through movement of your body, self love. And I did just that. It was a very emotional, yet empowering moment for me. My dream that once brought shame, is now shameless. – Ro Boyce (she/her) 2nd Year GSBA Scholar
Ro’s letter:
Dear Beautiful Black Girl
Let me start off by saying, I love you. I used the word beautiful because I know that isn’t a word you would call yourself. I look into your eyes and I see the hope and dream of myself. You look happy and scared, relax baby, it’s gonna be alright. You see yourself through the eyes of him, that’s a lesson you will have to learn over and over. To see yourself and love yourself through your own eyes.
My darling, never forget who you were before the world told you who to be. I understand how and why that happened now, the wounds of your past, you will ALWAYS BE a survivor, yet through it all you managed to hold on to a belief that someday it will get better. That, baby girl, will be your single greatest gift, to see through a foggy mirror. Hold your head up my beautiful black girl, we don’t want your crown to fall. #BlackHerStory
I get a lot of confidence boosts from her unorthodox style of rap, her goofiness, and straight-up blunt-being.
Ro Boyce grew up in Miami, FL and is now living in Lynnwood, attending the University of Washington, pursuing an undergraduate degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. Her hope is to continue the conversation and inspire LGBTQ youth, especially QTPOC to recognize their own power, to learn and be the transformation the world needs. Ro has made becoming a Speech and Language Pathologist her long term goal. She will continue working with communities that are frequently marginalized and denied access to medical resources due to their identities.
Lash O’Cain is a queer film and art history buff born in Renton, WA. After growing up in South Park, WA she is currently living in Mount Vernon to attend Cornell College for the rest of this academic school year, intending to transfer to California for Sophomore year to study film in a more opportunistic atmosphere. She has many goals, one now being to get closer to the entertainment industry where she plans to execute incorporating more queer identities of color in stories untold. Lash has decided that art is a passion she cannot step away from, and intends to graduate with a Bachelors in Film Study or Acting by using connections made through the poetry and music communities where she’s been involved for several years.
