Meet Nyasha Williams | Author – Creator – Activist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nyasha Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nyasha, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
I have two quotes that are close to my heart.

1 – The quote I aim to live by is, ‘The true meaning of life is planting trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit’ (Nelson Henderson)

2 – And How Are the Children? (The Masai)

The quotes are important to me because the well-being of a society can be measured by the well-being of its children and acknowledging that we don’t inherit the earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
A little background on me, I am a transracial adoptee, I have five siblings, and we are all Black, and my parents are white. While as both a descendant of Ancestors who were stolen from Africa and enslaved and a transracial adoptee, I have done my fair share of processing around loss, seeking both Ancestral kinship and acceptance. Decolonizing and indigenizing have been my movement toward liberation and belonging.

I started teaching Kindergarten in 2016, and when in the classroom, I wasn’t seeing my students reflect in the decor, literature, and media provided through the curriculum. This got the wheels spinning. I started working on some manuscripts. I only stepped into actually working towards publishing two years later after moving to Colorado with my husband. I planned to self-publish but didn’t have the funds to publish a book. I kickstarted my first picture book, What’s the Commotion in the Ocean?, starring a Black mermaid who spreads a message of marine conservation. The beautiful illustrations and diverse representation caught the attention of many, and my Kickstarter was publicized on Pantsuit Nation before becoming fully funded.

When reading my first picture book, What’s the Commotion in the Ocean? to my students, about three pages in, one of my students (an African American child with locs) raised her hand and, when called upon blankly stated to me that ‘Mermaids aren’t black.” And this is why we do it. The work that we do.

In the heart of Africa, Africans and people of the diaspora, mermaids are not only real, but there is an inherent sense that they can affect your life, your hopes, and your prospects. The idea of this is whispered into our DNA.

We know there are black mermaids.

Each year, more children’s books are published about animals than Black people. Black people have historically been, and continue to be, underrepresented, misrepresented, or invisible in children’s literature. I aim to do my part in changing this.

Children’s books with black characters should not be limited to oppression narratives. Diversity in children’s literature doesn’t just benefit little black and brown kids. All children need to understand that other cultures are much more than a few historical figures or ethnic traditions. Black children deserve black protagonists doing all sorts of things in all places. And we need educators, librarians, and communities who are willing and committed to reading these books and promoting an appreciation and love of good children’s literature in all its varied forms.

Over history our literature and media have illustrated, described, and modeled thousands of variations of whiteness. White people have stood as the face of humanity’s fullness and complexity. We have watched and continue to watch white people traverse the boundaries of class, history, sexuality, gender, disease, fame, and technology.
Children and adults need a diverse universe of media images. And for the most part, we haven’t had one.

We need an era of unapologetic diverse works of art, media, and literature. And we need a society willing to promote, show, model, and engage in these works.

I am working to be a part of that change. It is time for new narratives.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Week Long Trip in Colorado

Sunday

Arrive in Durango (Stay Overnight)

Monday

Train Ride Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Tuesday

Drive from Durango to Glenwood Springs

(Stay overnight in Glenwood Springs)

Wednesday

Morning Hike in Hanging Lake

Iron Mountain Hot Springs

(Stay overnight in Glenwood Springs)

Thursday

(Drive down from Glenwood Springs to Denver)

Brunch at Jelly

Visit Meow Wolf Museum

Afternoon Tea at Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

Dinner at Outworld Brewery

Friday

Tubing on the South Platte River in Littleton

Lupper at Breckenridge Brewery

Saturday

Tarot & Flow Class at Urban Sanctuary

Brunch at Mimosas

Crafting Bar Session at Upstairs Circus

Dinner at Hickory & Ash

Sunday

Brunch at Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox

Visit Denver Art Museum

Visit The International Church of Cannabis

Kapwa Sound Bath with Christina Ifurung at Urban Sanctuary

Dinner at Mercantile Dining and Provision

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have so many people to thank for being cheerleaders as I jump and take leaps of faith. I will start with a big thank you to everyone who supports me on my creative journey. If you have attended any of my events or bought a book, you know who you are.

I have to shoutout to teachers and librarians for all their hard work, daily perseverance, and dedication towards the health and growth of our world.

I also want to shoutout everyone who is getting into good trouble – fighting in the ways that play to their strengths towards a sustainable, regenerative, just, decolonized, Indigenized, and liberated world.

Website: https://www.nyashawilliams.online/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writingtochangethenarrative/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyasha-williams-95528848/

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@decolonize_yourself

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/NyashaWilliams

Image Credits
Illustrator Credit: Sóf’ya Glushkó Ashley Evans Sawyer Cloud Sanelisiwe Singaphi Publisher Credit: Running Press Kids Penguin Random House South Africa