Yaye Marie Ba has a passion for sharing the beauty, style and cultures of African people. On her blog she speaks with African women on many topics ranging from art to life. Her blog truly shows the diversity of Africa and the importance of learning from each other. We are pleased to have interviewed her and to share her thoughts with you.
Can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Yaye Marie Ba, I am half Senegalese and Guinean on my father’s side, and Malian on my maman’s side. I moved back to the capital of Senegal, Dakar, after having spent 10 years in the United States.
Can you describe your blog at www.yayemarieba.blogspot.com to us? Why did you create this blog? What do you hope to accomplish with this blog?
I started my blog close to four years ago out of curiosity and hunger for knowledge about my African culture. I wanted to know more about the youth of Africa, wanted to discover what we are all about. I wanted to find out what a Tunisian or Togolese young woman, for example, was all about. I know what we came from, but I didn’t know enough about where we are today in terms of social development, self confidence and entrepreneurship.
It started slowly, but today I’m proud to say that through this blog, I know that we’ve learned, and are still learning, how to keep our traditions and develop ourselves with Western ideas. Finding the right balance between the two can be hard sometimes, but I think that we’ll get there. Keep reading →
Haiti has captured the attention of the United States in this extreme moment of grief and loss. Weeks since the initial event, assistance to organizations and efforts for Haitian relief have begun to decrease. As Haiti is still recovering, we must keep our Haitian family in our thoughts and prayers. If you do not know who you would like to contribute to, we recommend Yéle.
For Haiti we feel saddened, but not defeated. We know that hope in times like this is not naïve, but bold. A nation founded by enslaved African revolutionaries, boldness is literally, what Haiti was built on.
In this entry, two friends of Haitian descent, Mirline Labissiere and Johann Richard share their reflections on the earthquake, media representations of Haiti and their heritage.
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Mirline Labissiere
January 12, 2010 I sat there watching CNN not fully digesting the “Breaking News” that Haiti had just experienced a 7.0 earthquake. Thirty minutes Keep reading →
On January 10th, 2009, Live Unchained was launched. Since our birth, we…
smiled, laughed, made mistakes, networked, re-grouped, danced, wore bright colors, traveled, repeated mistakes, wrote poetry, video-chatted, got our hopes up, proof-read, got angry, sold a t-shirt, read a lot, made time, received much love, learned about the Diaspora, strained our eyes, made ends meet, listened to Nina Simone all day everyday, turned off the television, tried to live green, cried, were silly, spent money, planned trips to Africa, educated, were professional, picked ourselves up and committed to living unchained.
In short, 2009 was great!—In a rich and challenging way….
Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout the development of Live Unchained. It is still a work in progress and we love what this project is evolving into.
Below is a quick re-cap of what we did in 2009, what we want for 2010 and what we learned along the way.
We recently added the following sentences to the ABOUT section of our website:
“For women to Live Unchained, they must be allowed to simply, live. For many black women across the globe, this basic entitlement is threatened on a daily basis.”
We thought it was important to acknowledge that although the intended scope of the project is vast, we recognize that so too are the challenges facing women of African descent. The resources and perseverance needed to bring about basic opportunities for women of African descent, their communities and family members is bigger than any one movement or publication–especially our own.
We were so honored and happy to connect with and learn from Jemila Abdulai, an International Development Correspondent based in Washington D.C., who believes that free women are important to Africa’s economic and political growth.
Born in Nigeria, and raised in Ghana, Jemila developed a keen interest in the history and current policies that continue to shape African development initiatives. Fluent in English and French, she also keeps her ear to the ground concerning Francophone countries, such as Senegal, where she traveled with the African Women’s Millenium Initiative (AWOMI). Jemila believes in the power of information sharing and discusses many of her experiences and ideas on her blog: www.circumspecte.com.
In this interview Jemila shares how she became involved in the African Women’s Millenium Initiative (AWOMI) in Senegal (as well as how you can travel and help with AWOMI), her interest in international development and her vision of empowered women and Africa at it’s strongest.
Can you tell us about your background? Where are you from? Where have you been?
Originally from Nigeria, author Nnedimma (Nnedi) Okorafor, returns frequently; In her books she often brings her readers along the journey. Nnedi writes science fiction and fantasy novels, often exploring the hero’s experience from a young female’s perspective. Everything comes to life in her work–the trees, creatures and even the ground are animated in her stories.
In this interview, Nnedi shares her thoughts on how Nigeria influences her work, explains her thoughts on the business of writing, offers advice to aspiring authors, and shares what living unchained means to her.
You say Nigeria is your muse. How does Nigeria inspire you?
It’s not something I can really put words to. My parents have been taking me to Nigeria since I was a kid. It’s where some of the funniest, craziest, weirdest, scariest, happiest moments of my life have taken place. It’s where most of my relatives are. It’s where I’ve seen the coolest creatures.
It’s the place of the stories my parents and oldest relatives have told me. And I can’t name any books that contain the stories about Nigeria that reflect the ones in my head. That particular part of the earth speaks to me.
Sara Baartman became popularly known as the “Hottentot Venus” throughout Europe in the 19th century.
Many black women have been exposing her story, drawing connections between her experiences and their own, as well as identifying her by a different name–Saartjie.
Jessica Solomon, along with other founding artists, formed The Saartjie Project, a Washington D.C. based performance collective to honor Saartjie’s experience.
In this interview, Jessica explains Saartjie’s history, why she started the collective, the attention it has received and why Saartjie’s story is so significant and relevant to black women today.
What is the Saartjie Project?
Wow. I always get a little stuck when asked this question because there are so many layers!
We are a tribe of creative women willing to stretch our own boundaries and those imposed on us.
“That is not how we do it in South Africa!” Laverne Wyatt-Skriubakken proudly explained to the audience at a fashion and music party in Oslo, Norway. Instead of striking stiff stone-faced poses, the models at this event danced down the runway smiling and laughing. Their attitudes complemented the bright and bold patterns they wore-it is all part of what Laverne, founder and Art Director, calls the mZansi Life. mZansi comes from “e zantsi” which, is slang for South Africa. mZansi Life includes events planning, fashion sales and graphic design. Laverne, who is originally from Durban, South Africa explains that “mZansi Life represents my personal philosophy and that is to enjoy the ‘Southern Life’. This is a life of sunshine, creativity, optimism, color and design. My goal is to bring these ideals from South Africa to Norway.”
Banner from mZansi Life blog at www.mzansilife.wordpress.com
It was a pleasure learning from someone with such a happy and energetic creative spirit. In this interview Laverne explains her artistic style, why she “love migrated” to Norway and brought the sun with her and gives advice to graphic designers who are interested in working for themselves. She also mentions that she is open to collaborations for future projects so we encourage all the budding designers and fashionistas to keep in touch.
You are originally from South Africa and currently living in Oslo, Norway. What made you want to travel? Why Norway?
We want you to tell us (1.) what Live Unchained means to you and (2.) why you want to contribute to and or support this project. Anyone can participate, in any language—this includes our brothers and sisters outside of the continental United States. Simply make a comment to this post. In no more than 5 sentences, respond to both points (1.) and (2.).
The editresses will review the responses and announce the reply that we feel touched us the most. The “winner” (even though we love you all) will receive a free t-shirt from our Live Unchained store. The winner will be announced, February 22, 2009.
Here is what Live Unchained means to us:
We have described Live Unchained as a collection of women coming together, from across the African Diaspora, to collectively create a multi-media anthology. Beyond that, however, it is a way of thinking and living (a philosophy), as well as a movement.
