I have been privileged in my travels and research to meet human beings who, like me, write for a purpose – that purpose being manifold – to share traditional knowledges and wisdom in diverse formats, to bring awareness to inequities and injustices, to co-create a shared vision for a better world. I am honored to be able to showcase their work here.
I met Dahlma on a panel I chaired at Medgar Evers College called, “Writing Our Stories.” She spoke about how we measure our success as writers and urged us to reflect on our objectives. Is it just to get published? Or is it something deeper? Her historical novels bring attention to the neglected history of slavery in Puerto Rico. This is groundbreaking work, and I am so proud of the work she is doing to highlight this shadowy history of our island-nation.
Arturo Massol-Deya collaborated with me on Decolonizing Paradise: A Radical Ethnography Of Environmental Stewardship in the Caribbean. He is a scholar and an activist doing amazing work in Puerto Rico.