In this continuation of our “She’s the Bridge’' series, guest host Faitth Brooks talks with artist Morgan Harper Nichols about the intersection of Black womanhood, art, community, and passion. Morgan is a renowned digital artist, poet, new mom, and upcoming author! Listen as Morgan and Faitth dissect common stereotypes of Black women, explore what it’s like to have a hyper-visible platform, and give tips on building each other up even during a pandemic.

Host & Executive Producer - Latasha Morrison

Senior Producer - Lauren C. Brown

Producer, Editor & Music By - Travon Potts

Transcriber - Brittany Prescott

Quotes:

“Passion and righteous indignation are often misread as irrational anger, and are used to degenerate and disarm Black women who dare to challenge social inequalities and question the validity of circumstances—and get this—have the temerity to demand and expect fair treatment.” - Faitth Brooks

“I don’t know how to fix this—how to fix the portrayals, how to fix how other people see me. But I am going to put me out there.” - Morgan Harper Nichols

“I am only here because of the people who paved the way for me to be here today. I can’t talk about the future without talking about them—whether that’s people in my own ancestry or authors like Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. Who am I without what they’ve already written and what they’ve already done? They paved the way.” - Morgan Harper Nichols

“You have to dig to find people that look like us in these fields. They’re there, but again, they’re not pushed to the front as others are. So it’s a lot of work to even find your people. I wish I didn’t have to dig so much to find references. I wish I didn’t have to dig so much to find other Black people who’ve been in similar situations. I shouldn’t have to dig so much.” - Morgan Harper Nichols

“Give yourself permission to start small.” - Morgan Harper Nichols

“Will people in the world actually even be able to see me as an artist or is my Blackness all people see? I know a lot of other Black artists feel that way: did they only just pick me because they needed a Black artist? Or do they actually like my work too? But I have been so pleasantly surprised by people who are willing and able and have the capacity to hold me in terms of what I do and what I share, and not just divide it into categories.” - Morgan Harper Nichols

“Black women literally feel the pressure to carry the weight of everything...to be the educator, to be the encourager, to be the old wise soul, to be young and hip, to be all these things, which is literally impossible. We cannot be all of that. But as we see, historically, that pressure has been put on us. So I have to give myself permission to say, ‘Hey, today, I’m going to be the artist who is speaking from a Black woman’s perspective about joy. I don’t always have to educate about joy.’” - Morgan Harper Nichols

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