royalty ENCOUNTERS MAGAZINE PRESENTS
B A RU C H C O L L E G E ’ S A RT S & L I T E R A RY M A G A Z I N E
by Jabari Canada
Letter to the Reader Dear reader, Intent on legitimizing our platform as a vehicle for empowerment, Royalty began with a strong focus on what it means to be black today. Still we see a gap in the narrative that is spun and so through the lens of identity, culture, work and creation, we focused our efforts on not just producing commentary but on celebrating and elevating greatness around us. Looking into the rich seams of blackness, sewn inseparably into the spine of this city, we calibrated our focus to not only capture snippets of the life, but to honor it in a way that is reflective of its true and vibrant story. This was done primarily through keeping the voices in this publication as true to experience as possible. We hope that as you go through this zine you find a truth that we are pressed to share: no experience or identity is quite the same, but through the solidarity that exists in some shared struggles, we find ourselves thriving and taking charge of our own spaces. Through this reclamation we reveal the glory and beauty that is carved in our image, worthy of the praise and adoration that has been
hidden for too long. Through these acts of unabashed existence can we finally lay claim to Royalty. In creating this zine, I would like to first and foremost thank Brandon Paillere, our creative director, who helped not only conceive this idea but take charge of its creative content and direction. I’d also like to thank my e-board members: Aidan Dominguez, Sarah Miskin, Britt Molloy, Brandon and Esther Wong — all of whom are the tireless backbone of Encounters. Your hard work and dedication keeps this magazine running in one piece and your efforts will never go unnoticed! I would also like to offer my sincere gratitude to our founder Bridgett Davis. You are a force of nature in your field and we’re proud to have our beginnings cemented in your boundless passion and creativity. And, most importantly, I thank you reader. You make our dreams a reality with each page you turn. Thank you. Sincerely,
Bianca Nitta Monteiro Editor-in-Chief
ROYAL OR
Millions of Africans were displaced in slave trade to provide forced labor across Europe and the Americas. While many were imported into Europe, the vast majority of slaves were sent to the Americas.
RIGIN
WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE JONES
THE DIASPORA The term diaspora suggests a scattering or dispersion of a group of people to many far-reaching areas across the world. The development of the first humans in Africa served as the foundation for all human diasporas: between 70,000 and 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens began migrating from the African continent and populating parts of Europe and Asia and, as a result, skin color is merely ancestral proximity to the equator. In the beginning of the fifteenth century, one of the largest robberies in his-
tory took place in Africa: The Black Diaspora. Over 500 years later, in the early 21st century, it now embraces the entire globe. The European slave trade to the New World forced the migration of African populations, particularly from West and central Africa to the Caribbean, to South and North America to provide cheap labor on white-owned plantations. This marked the beginning of “Blackness� and its stolen people, history and culture. The Black Diaspora is a term coined in the 1990s to explain this displacement.
THE ORIGINS OF BLACKNESS The European-initiated slave trade from Africa to the New World was primarily motivated by economic factors. Race came second and was invented to justify and maintain the African slave trade and its systems of
oppression. Before African slavery, European landowners primarily used the Irish, Indigenous Americans and poor Englishmen as indentured servants in their colonies.
by Paola Parola
The demand for labor served as the catalyst for the displacement of Africans. Up until the 17th century, displaced Africans, the Irish, the poor English and the surviving Indigenous Americans worked together without racial stratification. This harmony led to Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 when these disenfranchised races rose against the ruling class in Virginia. The alliance between the European indentured servants and Africans, united by their bond-servitude, served as the catalyst for the invention of race, “Blackness,” and the myth of white superiority that continues its oppression today. The rebellion troubled the ruling class, who responded by hardening the racial caste of slavery with the passage of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 in an attempt to divide the two groups from subsequent united insurrections. The 18th century marked new social identity for black people as Europeans began to adhere to so-called scientific theories of race.
These theories relegated the darker-skinned peoples of the world to the bottom of a supposed hierarchical human stratification, and to false biblical notions about black people as fallen angels condemned to eternal servitude by God. Race and “Blackness” was configured as an autonomous mechanism of social differentiation that transcended the slave condition and persisted as a form of social identity long after slavery ended. Despite its beginnings, Blackness has transcended its origins of suffering and has been transformed through the persistence of its people. Our current understanding of Blackness encompasses what was stolen from us and where we were stolen from. The toxic hand of the indoctrination of colonization tried to turn it into an alt-history tale built on our pain and our differences rather than our intersections, the wealth of our ancestral history and the culture we’ve built as a result. Still we persist.
Blackness isn’t just the hue of our skin, slavery, the rape of our ancestors, bodies hanging from trees, Martin Luther King Jr., wealth inequality and mass incarceration. Blackness also involves the instinctive way our eyebrows raise and our eyes lock when we bear witness to “white people sh*t.” Blackness is that big tub of green hair gel in the back of our bathroom cabinets, it’s braids and barbershops, it’s the breath that leaves our bodies when we look across the room and see the splash of color in the form of a Black woman, it’s the sound of good mac and cheese and the tears that arise when Ricky dies in Boyz n the Hood. Blackness is the natural way our feet move in harmony with our hips and hands when we dance,
whether it’s gyrating to Buju Banton, bachata or stomping n*ggas out to Knuck if You Buck. It’s our collective dedication to anime and telenovelas. It’s Lauryn Hill. Blackness is summertime. It’s a distinct joy you get when reading “Sister Outsider” and “I Am Not Your Negro.” Blackness is the fact that Tyler Perry movies somehow always top the box office. It’s the power of our money. Blackness is sometimes so miniscule, it appears in the face we create for people who see the pigment of our skin and refer to us, not as humans, but as situations. Because of blackness, we’ve been able to not only survive, but also thrive and truly love in a country that was built without us in mind.
CAPTURED by Brandon Paillere
The deep, rich culture that black folk have is often lost in the way they are framed. More often than not, the black image has been equated to a mugshot and is the default view cast upon us. No matter who we are, what we do, what food we eat or how we speak, that image seems to be the only way we are seen. CAPTURED is a statement piece on this loss of culture that utilizes the mug shot in order to reveal culture and personal trials.
JAMES ENGLAND “People automatically assume I know certain things because I’m black. Like ‘Oh, you know this song, you’re black.’ It’s like if I tell you that you know Death Magnetic from Metallica because you’re white or you know Enrique Iglesias because you’re Hispanic — that doesn’t make any sense. People just think certain things because I’m black. At the end of the day I’m a person. They don’t take the time to know me as a person.”
PA O L A PA R O L A
“People think that they should be a certain way, look a certain way, talk a certain way. Sometime we’re not even aware of it — sometimes we act a certain way and don’t even know until it’s pointed out or you realize ‘thats not me, I don’t act like this. This doesn’t resonate with me anymore.’ I think what’s important for me is that I take a step back and really dig deep inside of me and ask myself if I’m being real with myself — am I being real with my relationships, with my interactions with people, with my artwork, with every little decision. I have to take a step back and ask myself ‘Am I being real?’ It’s ok, it happens to everybody. It’s ok to have those moments when maybe you’re not in your element, but I think it’s important once in a while to step back and do the groundwork, the self reflection and all that.”
TA J A HELIZ
“I’m a first generation American by way of Belize and Honduras. Specifically, my family comes from a tribe called Garifuna, it’s West African- and Spanish-dialect and origin infused. It’s beautiful but there’s a lot of intentional cultural genocide when people move to the U.S. because they don’t necessarily see the beauty and essence of where they come from, so the language is kept alive and the culture is only spoken about, not lived. I don’t speak Garifuna and I haven’t been to Belize since I was 8. We sever to live this American life, which I’m very grateful for — don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t even be here if they didn’t come to this country. I get the whole us being an individual thing, which is true, but we are individuals under a myriad of so much more. I think it becomes very dangerous when we get these Westernized ideologies of ‘No, this my life’ and individualism. Great, that’s true, but that’s half the pie; it’s very much half the story.”
FOUNDER OF ENCOUNTERS MAGAZINE
BRIDGETT DAVIS by Bianca Nitta Monteiro
Bridgett Davis is a writer who holds an extensive list of creative and professional accomplishments. A graduate of Spelman College and Columbia University, she is the author of novels “Into the Go-Slow” and “Shifting Through the Neutral,” as well as her newest publication and memoir, “The World According to Fannie Davis,” her first non-fiction book. Bridgett is currently a professor at Baruch College and the founder of Encounters Magazine, establishing it 25 years ago as a literary journal. She is also the current director of the Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence program, which arranges award-winning authors, playwrights and other creative writers to host workshop courses for Baruch students. In her endeavors within Baruch, she explains the value in her trailblazing. “At Baruch, my goal hasn’t changed in 28 years: To be the kind of
professor I would want to have myself. To encourage students’ creativity, to help them give themselves permission to create.” Hosting creative workshop classes focused on flash fiction, screenwriting and other special topics, her teaching and curriculum sharply pushes the boundaries of students and the limits of their creative writing.
“The key is to not be defined by it. Challenge it, subvert it or question it — but don’t let it define you.” In her own journey with writing, she recalls first becoming enamored in grade school. Shortly after, she wrote her first short story after exposure to the word “permeate.” Her full plunge into creative writing, however, was not until her late 20s when she studied creative writing at The New School. “Who I am, how I move through and experience the world, is the lens through which I create,” she explains, dismissing the widespread myth of an objective point-ofview in writing. Bridgett is a big advocate of writing what one knows about, frequently extending this advice to her students. She assumes ownership of her identity as a writer and encourages the same for others diving into literature. She also advocates against the false veil lying in between creativity and the rest of our efforts. She explains, “We need to stop separating that aspect of our
humanity into a separate silo.” For people of color entering the professional workforce, Bridgett explains that the effects of unresolved racial tensions and dynamics will always remain. The ways in which these gaps in experience play out professionally and beyond continue to affect people of color in the form of social hierarchy, especially in the workplace. She advises, “The key is to not be defined by it. Challenge it, subvert it or question it — but don’t let it define you. You are not how others see you. You are who you are.”
PAPER MAGAZINE
PEYTON DIX In the media landscape, creating and maintaining the voice of an organization has become paramount in cultivating social image. For social media managers, this concern looms deepest, with just a small team curating posts across their social media platforms. At Paper Magazine, Peyton Dix serves as its social media manager and primary point of contact through social channels. Peyton is an African-American queer woman with a background in journalism. Her first venture into media began with her own fashion column, which prompted her to explore it formally through internships with outlets like V Magazine, PAPER and Flavorwire. After several jobs, she found herself back at PAPER in the role of social media manager. Peyton identifies mixed experiences with her work. She explains much of her voice is coveted due to its trendiness on social media. “Very often I felt that my voice was co-opted or [companies] were trying to lean into my humor,” she explains, citing the
“There was this peak in profitability from queerness and from blackness, and sometimes not for the right reason.”
by Brandon Paillere, Bianca Nitta Monteiro
popularity of Black Twitter. While she was often the only queer woman of color in the room, she found and assumed space to express herself, though sometimes at an expense. “There was this peak in profitability from queerness and from blackness, and sometimes not for the right reason,” she explains. In her work, Peyton finds these concerns to stress the demanding nature of social media. Being at the forefront of conducting all social media interactions, especially during nonwork hours and crises, social media managers can never log off. “Most social media managers don’t, it’s so reactionary. It’s all the time and it’s usually a team of two people,” Peyton explains. In spite of its challenges, she finds social media to be rewarding, especially in her ability to demonstrate voice and package it online, which she stresses isn’t teachable. She urges young professionals interested in social to try it out and not be afraid to jump between different outlets if it isn’t working. She also encourages to be bold in their approach to learning more about the professional world through current workers. “People are more accessible than you think,” she explains, “and more willing to talk about not just themselves but their workplace. Trust your gut — the worst thing anyone could ever say is no.”
by Brandon Paillere
Creating While DYNASTY GEORGE by Kyrah Brown Dynasty George is a fashion designer whose clothing caters to women of all colors, body types and personalities. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, she grounds herself in her Christian faith and finds inspiration in the strong women who raised her. The flow of her collection is wrapped in warm and neutral colors, set with strong feminine undertones. Her clothing, and what is sold through her online shop, promotes values of sustainable, zero-waste fashion that pays tribute to craftsmanship and handiwork.
From a young age, her rich appreciation for their individual boldness, strength and characters has been highly influential to who she has become as a designer. In her early education, her fair-toned skin led her to feel “too dark” for her predominantly white school, and “too light” for her predominantly black school. Fortunately, she found her high school to nurture a blend of cultures and she began embracing her Puerto Rican and Trinidadian background. To Dynasty, creative expression is nothing new.
B
BLACK As a child, she wrote stories about her family, illustrating designs for each character. When Disney debuted The Cheetah Girls in 2003, Dynasty was among those inspired by their coordinated looks, confident strides and unique personalities. She loved styling her friends in coordinated outfits and began to form her life’s plan at just 10 years old. As an alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she was trained in the artisan nature of fashion with a focus in the business scope of the industry. Dynasty learned about the demanding and unsustainable nature of the fashion industry. Opportunities, she discovered, aren’t given based on just skill and merit, but
on who you know and the connections you have. The challenges she met as a person of color in a fiercely competitive industry forced her to embrace risks and failures. She currently lives by the quote, “failing forward” — when challenges arise, she rebrands, reconstructs and moves forward, trusting that those who are persistent will make it. Dynasty hopes to open her own business and create an environment where people of color can have the opportunity to create. With faith and trust in God, support from family, and the ammunition of knowing her worth, she fiercely persists in designing clothes for women and making her mark in the industry one day at a time.
ALAN-MICHAEL DUVAL by Bianca Nitta Monteiro Alan-Michael Duval is a Trinidadian American fashion photographer based in New York City. A recent alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, he already dons a portfolio with impressive work with clients like Converse, Metal, Wonderland, HYPEBEAST, RFCMG and more. Alan-Michael made his first break in the creative field after working with Smoke DZA and Pete Rock for Don’t Smoke Rock, which featured artists like Mac Miller and Rick Ross. From there, he emphasized networking and worked his way into shooting Rick Ross and cemented himself into the reach of visibility. His prolific work following included the opportunity to serve as the casting director and photographer for Converses’ Global OneStar Campaign, which gave
him the chance to not only help other emerging artists but get a clearer look into creative media. As a freelance creative, Alan-Michael has made himself comfortable with casting his net for work. From emailing potential clients to keeping track of follow-ups, he is constantly reaching out to expose his photography to the right people. He believes in the importance of getting comfortable with inserting yourself into the conversation. “Force them to see your work,” he explains, “you never know what people are looking for.” One of his biggest takeaways of working creatively is to stay mindful of the progress of growth. “You have to understand growth is not a race — life has both losses and gains, it just depends how you handle it.”
by Cory Rice
Summer Where? GRACE CASTLE “Summer Where?” is a response to the 2017 critically acclaimed poem “summer, somewhere,” written by Danez Smith.
Black boy, Black boy, please tell me where this summer is at because that is where I long to be. Black boy, I want the bright rays and and brighter days. I want the summer nights where my melanin is something to be praised. I want the summer days where my hair unapologetically stands tall. I want the summer days where the world is not intimidated by my blackness. Summer where? Black boy… Black boy PLEASE tell me where this summer is. I want the summer days where black boys can be black boys without being gunned down and criminalized. I want the summer days where my black body isn’t a sex symbol, but a temple worthy to be praised. So black boy tell me. Tell me where is this summer? I want the summer days where I can be a hurt black girl without being looked at as an angry black woman. Black boy, I just want the summer rays to shine down on me. Is that too much to ask? Is my request too irrational?
I simply want the summer days where my voice matters in a society that has tried to silence it for too long. I want the summer where my black body is respected and my black life matters. So where black boy? Where does this summer exist?
by Paola Parola
PROBLEMS JEAN-SEBASTIEN SURENA There’s been a problem lately in our community, It’s been met by the people with a lot of acidity. Some think it’s the cops walking in and killing our youth. That’s part of it, but brother, it’s not the whole truth. We have to look within ourselves to find out what’s wrong, Instead of pointing with our fingers and a hatred so strong. Some of our kids are having to grow up without dads, Who realize far too late the effect their actions had. Those who do have their father may not be much better, They are not quite being taught how to be a go-getter. The child is raised in the image of a failing parent, So when you think about the problem, the roots are quite apparent. You’re teaching your kids about manning up, If they don’t punch that other boy, they’re not man enough. But what you don’t see is, he doesn’t need to be; He’s just a boy trying to forge his own path in history. You raise your hand to him, thinking you can smack this boy into a man, Instead of helping him become the best student he can. Now we can see Black on Black crime starts in the childhood, It reveals the roots of the true violence in our hood. We appropriate a word of segregated origin To address our friends, our peers and our kin.
Brothers oppressing brothers, we’re all stepping on each other, It makes me wonder why the white man even bothers. We’ve been thrown into a hole with no ladder or rope, But the answer isn’t to go to a corner and sell some dope. Nor is it to go in the alley and kill young Corey, Ending another chapter in the black man’s story. A lot of our youth just end up in jail, Their families struggling to even post bail. We’re taking to the streets chanting “Black Lives Matter!” But clearly that doesn’t apply when we kill one another. We have to realize that we’re stuck together in a box, And we all need each other in order to pick the lock. So let’s stand together, brothers and sisters, hand in hand, And bring about the change in society that we know we can.
HOME ISAAC AKANMU At my autopsy, the doctor will slice my stomach open and find jollof rice plastered to my ribs and stomach. “Surely, this man was an African,� he will think. Three hours later, his mind would change.
by Jabari Canada
The doctor’s final verdict: “death by culture” And in the notes: “rejection has slowly murdered this man” Detectives would commence investigation. White gloves gingerly analyze my possessions. “His shoes did not have many creases – he must not have danced much.” “His most favorite playlists did not include afrobeat – it must not have been his taste.” “His voicemails were all in English – he must not have spoken his mother language.” “But his skin was very dark. His lips – large. His name – tribal.” “We have seen enough,” the captain would say. “File a warrant for the arrest of the United States …and Africa.” In one last perusal through my vital documents, the detectives will see a passport not for the United States not for any African country But for my real home.
ROYALTY CONTRIBUTORS
WRITING Stephanie Jones Kyrah Brown Bianca Nitta Monteiro Brandon Paillere Grace Castle Jean-Sebastien Surena Isaac Akanmu
VISUAL Brandon Paillere Jabari Canada Paola Parola Cory Rice
DESIGN Bianca Nitta Monteiro Brandon Paillere
ENCOUNTERS MAGAZINE Since its inception in 1993, Encounters Magazine has set the standard for creative excellence within Baruch College. Operating in a business-oriented environment, Encounters showcases and empowers the extraordinary talent with Baruch through its main print publication, released once each semester. From its origins as a literary print journal, Encounters now also hosts events, produces creative content, and releases mini publications, all with the intent to support the talented creators that thrive within its walls. Encounters Magazine is currently a student ambassador for Adobe Creative Cloud Network. This zine was created using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Adobe InDesign.
For free trial links for Adobe Creative Cloud products, please visit tinyurl.com/AdobeBaruch!
“No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.” Maya Angelou
Baruch College 55 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10010 NVC 3-291 www.encountersmagazine.org