Niambi Moore: When it comes to being black, it’s like people expect something from you. Stereotypes are so prevalent, they’re literally everywhere and many people hold these stereotypes so near and dear to their hearts because it’s all they’ve been fed through art. It’s all they know regarding our lives and as a race we’re generally held to this. It’s fun to combat these stereotypes with my art and I hope to help peoplerealize that we’re people too. Whether it be a photo series, a drawing, a poem or whatever the case, I’m going to show that we live. We’re not in this constant state of depression because we can’t find a decent man, not every second of our lives is spent bashing white people. We’re not full of hate for ourselves and our culture. We love too, we aspire and work hard too. We have fun, sneak drinks and party without it ending in some sort of blowout or drama contrary to what is being shown on television. We have stories outside of what you’ll normally see in popular media outlets. We live too and that’s not shown through art at this current time. Life is not just for white people and I’m showing that through my art. I want my art to allow us to be kids again without us worrying about how we look to others outside our race.
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Taylor Best: As an African American as well as a female, working in my field comes with the struggle of always being assumed as the weaker link amongst your colleagues. I work for Atmos Nyc and there’s a connotative meaning behind the title of a well-known sneaker boutique but regardless of that, I have to push myself a lot harder because of who I am and what I look like. It’s sad but I’m not seen as good quality to most but I make sure to put all of my amazing qualities out there so they see I’m more than meets the eye. On top of worrying about my race, I’m also faced with a double standard by being a female. I can’t help but worry about the fact that I’m not as developed as most females and this comes into play when the customers are mainly men. So now not only am I constantly over-compensating with the fact that I’m African American, but I’m also worried about “who is more developed?” or “who is more attractive to most”. To not get wrapped up into this circle of ridicules, I’ve learned I can’t put my attention into those thoughts. I keep my head high because I know I came from kings and queens and overall greatness