From Crisis to Liberation 19 Dec 2024 6:57 AM (3 months ago)
I’m sharing some reflections and pictures from a 2024 highlight in June, when I organised an event titled “From Crisis to Liberation” as part of the program Black Feminism & The Polycrisis, which I lead as Research Chair at The New Institute.
What is the polycrisis? It’s the entanglement of interconnected crises—climate change, wars, economic instability, social inequality—each crisis worsening the others.
The dominant response to the polycrisis reflects the standard europatriarchal approach: Decision-makers are predominantly white and male, it relies on techno-optimism, reductive dualisms, and scientism (not to be mistaken with something being scientific).
For two years, I have worked on this program alongside brilliant black feminists to challenge the exclusion of our voices from these discussions. The program exists to intervene in this annihilative europatriarchal framework of crisis management with decolonial, feminist visions.
From where I write this, in Nigeria, I see the long shadow of this framework, which has created a perpetual state of crisis for centuries. As women, we have lived in man-made crises for millennia. And as women of African heritage, we have much to say about crisis.
The term “Liberation” framed the event because liberation is not just intellectual or feel-good — it’s about knowing, being, feeling, transforming and experiencing. Liberation is a radical concept: it points to the future, to hope and joy, but it also confronts the present truth that we are not yet free.
The event honoured sensuous knowledge. The space celebrated ecology and nature, recognising that humans are an extension of both. Art, music, talks, film, and conversation came together, without hierarchy, to create a holistic experience.
I am deeply grateful to our amazing guests:
- The phenomenal Sandra Nkaké, who brought us to a place of awe and liberation. There are no adequate words to describe her gifts, they need to be heard.
- The scholar Akosua Adomako Ampofo, who illuminated the layered history of our liberation movements.
- The breathtaking film Mami Wata by CJ Fiery, which unravelled history, gender, and myth.
- The art by Mac Premo, an eclectic collage capturing the spirit of our collective work.
- Th photography by Luzia Cruz, which captured the day.
My heartfelt thanks to all who participated. 
Will there ever be a cure for endometriosis? 18 Dec 2024 7:46 AM (4 months ago)
As many of you, I find myself reflecting on 2024 and I wanted to share one of the most significant moments for me this year, namely undergoing surgery for endometriosis, a condition that affects 5% to 10% of people with a uterus.
Endometriosis occurs when endometrial-like tissue grows outside the uterus, and in rare cases, like mine, it can grow in other parts of the body. (I suffer from umbilical endometriosis.)
Yet, despite being so common, it takes an average of TEN YEARS to get diagnosed.
Why? The medical industry says it’s because the symptoms overlap with other conditions.
But wait, isn’t that true for most illnesses??
Or maybe the real reason is that it doesn’t affect cismen?
Imagine if 10% of male people endured debilitating tissue growth in random parts of their bodies. Would it still take a decade to diagnose? Would we see this neglect, or would we see comprehensive education for medical professionals, prioritised funding for research, early screening methods, diagnostic tools, specialised care, and plausibly a cure?
I believe that one day, when feminism finally shifts the neglect of women in healthcare (and other domains), endometriosis will not only be diagnosed swiftly but will also have a cure.
Right now, there’s no cure. Many turn to alternative therapies, lifestyle changes, hormonal treatments, before eventually opting for surgery.
Even surgery is not a complete solution. While the pain is often reduced, it’s rarely eliminated. I still manage symptoms by adjusting my lifestyle, but surgery was a game changer for me.
Surgery is a big decision, and I’m not writing this to advocate for it as such. Each case is unique.
What I do want to say is this: even if society doesn’t yet take endometriosis seriously, your symptoms are not trivial and something you should “just cope with.” It’s hard to imagine illnesses that have such severe consequences that affect all sexes, being treated as flippantly as endometriosis still is.
I have a diagnosis for this: patriarchy.
A deep dive into Europatriarchy 6 Dec 2024 3:33 AM (4 months ago)
I’m thrilled to share a talk I gave recently at Puistokatu4, a space for science and hope in Helsinki. The talk is about the dominant philosophy of the 21st century – what I refer to as Europatriarchal Knowledge. It delves into the foundational roots and methodology of Europatriarchal Knowledge from its inceptions in Ancient Greece to fifteenth century Europe to our present day polycrisis. I also suggest feminist and holistic shifts and why those especially matter now. These are subjects that I think are crucial for feminists to engage with, and I do so also in my forthcoming book Can Feminism Be African? – because to thoroughly understand an oppressive system is in many ways to dismantle it.
You can watch the full talk below:
I hope it inspires thoughts and reflections. The audience had great questions for me, and I would love to hear from you too. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions by leaving a comment below! What resonated with you the most?
We won a Lovie Award 24 Nov 2024 3:49 AM (4 months ago)
I am so thrilled to share that our film Black Feminism and the Polycrisis has won the silver award for Public Service and Activism at the 14th Annual Lovie Awards—the most prestigious pan-European awards recognising Internet excellence, with over 1,200 entries from more than 35 countries this year.
Our film was also shortlisted for Best Art Direction and for the People’s Favourite Award. This recognition is a win for black feminist perspectives and for all of us pushing for change.
This wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible group of fellows who joined my program of the same title, Black Feminism and the Polycrisis at The New Institute, and the brilliant filmmakers @macpremo and incredible composer @shishani.music who all brought this vision to life.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. When I conceived of the project, I could never have dreamed of the impact it would have and the people I would build with, it’s everything to me. I really enjoyed working with film as a medium, a first but hopefully not last for me.
A Film by Mac Premo & Adrianna Dufay
Creative Director: Minna Salami
Sound Design & Mix: Mac Premo and Hearby Sound
Musical Score: Shishani
Photography: Mac Premo
A new film! 16 Jul 2024 1:41 PM (9 months ago)
In 2022, historian Adam Tooze introduced the term “polycrisis” to capture the complex web of crises like climate change, pandemics, inequality, wars, and economic downturns impacting our world. It quickly became a buzzword in influential circles—from the World Bank to university lecture halls and podcasts.
When a term gains such explosive traction within key institutions, it becomes important for feminists to engage with it. Patriarchal power typically takes refuge in “high-level” decision-making and agenda-setting platforms, precisely where the term polycrisis also travels.
Black feminists are not typically called upon to respond to “big” global political phenomena like the polycrisis. This gap prompted me to chair a year-long program on black feminism and the polycrisis at THE NEW INSTITUTE, a platform that gathers thinkers across disciplines to engage the challenges of our time, and to make a film about it.
Black feminism has long been responding to intertwined crises through concepts like intersectionality, which highlight how systems of oppression overlap and compound. As Audre Lorde wrote in Sister Outsider about the ways the global machine, “orchestrates crisis after crisis and is grinding all our futures into dust”. Contemporary work by black feminist scholars such as University of Sheffield Professor Akwugo Emejelu also explores the impacts of crisis in Europe, and Duke University Professor Jennifer Nash’s similar explorations of black women and crisis in the US context. While the term “polycrisis” may be new, its challenges resonate deeply within black feminist thought.
Traditionally, “solutions” to such crises are crafted by predominantly white and male perspectives, despite these crises disproportionately affecting women, black, and brown communities. This skewed approach fails to address the root causes or involve those most affected in meaningful solutions.
To give with one hand and take with the other, does not solve the polycrisis. This is why those most affected by multiple and overlapping crises need to have a say in how we address them. Marginalised, minoritised, and disenfranchised groups have a grasp of critical situations that are not only theoretical but also experiential. This makes them less likely to formulate duplicitous “solutions” to the polycrisis.
Black feminists not only critique these biases, however, but offer alternative, more inclusive ways to understand and respond to crises. They emphasize the need for diverse voices and holistic approaches that blend critical argument, analysis, aesthetics, imagination, and embodied knowledge—a “black feminist poetics.”
At THE NEW INSTITUTE in Hamburg, we’ve been exploring these ideas and we made a short film that could reflect them. As Professor Akwugo Emejelu reminds us in the film, “These are problems about imagination and the exclusion of different voices and ideas from the decision-making table and black feminism has important things to say about that.”
Watch our film below, and if you are in New York this week join us for a screening and discussion at the Brooklyn Circus.
A Film by Mac Premo & Adrianna Dufay
Creative Director: Minna Salami
Sound Design & Mix: Mac Premo and Hearby Sound
Musical Score: Shishani
Photography: Mac Premo
Interview about African Feminism with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs 11 Dec 2023 5:59 AM (last year)
I am pleased to share a recent interview with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)
We spoke about feminism today — with a focus on African feminism at the intersection of current crises and debates.
See some extracts below and read the full interview here. 
Why black feminists are responding to the polycrisis 23 Nov 2023 10:04 AM (last year)
I’m currently in Hamburg, Germany chairing “Black Feminism & The Polycrisis”, an essential and exciting program at THE NEW INSTITUTE that I had the great pleasure to put together earlier this year.
Read more about the program in THE NEW INSTITUTE’s press release below and follow our upcoming work here.
Press Release
ANNOUNCEMENT “BLACK FEMINISM AND THE POLYCRISIS”
THE NEW INSTITUTE is proud to announce the launch of a pioneering program titled “Black Feminism and the Polycrisis: Configuring a Novel Solution Space Through Intersectional Methodology,” running until June 2024.
At a moment when the world desperately needs transformative visions, the program offers a forward-thinking space to converge bright minds dedicated to challenging the status quo and reshaping the global discourse on crises.
How can the unique insights and intersectional methods of Black Feminism respond to the complexities of the contemporary polycrisis?
Chaired by feminist author and social critic Minna Salami, with her “epistemically polyamorous” vision, this paradigm-molding working group convenes at THE NEW INSTITUTE’s Warburg Ensemble in Hamburg. It is comprised of six eminent fellows who are intellectual leaders and experts in their respective fields.
The fellows in this distinguished group are:
KATHRYN SOPHIA BELLE
Philosopher and Author. Founding Director, Collegium of Black Women Philosophers. Founding Director, La Belle Vie Academy. Previously Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University.
AKWUGO EMEJULU
Author and Professor of Sociology at University of Warwick.
PUMLA DINEO GQOLA
Author and Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies, and Research Chair of African Feminist Imagination at Nelson Mandela University.
ABOSEDE PRISCILLA IPADEOLA
Author and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University of Ibadan. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
MAHA MAROUAN
Author and Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, African American Studies and African Studies, and Director of Graduate Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Scholar in Residence, Harvard University.
ADENIKE OLADOSU
Climate Activist, Nigeria. Fellow, “Panel on Planetary Thinking” at Justus Liebig University. International Climate Protection Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The group is joined by the philosopher and scholar, Delicia Antoinette- Kamins, as program coordinator.
The working group grapples with the central question “How can the unique insights and intersectional methods of Black Feminism respond to the complexities of the contemporary polycrisis?”
Since the Financial Times declared 2022 “the year of the polycrisis”, we recognize (or respond to) the need to delve deeper into this pervasive topic and to provide a forward-thinking lens of understanding by drawing from the wealth of Black Feminist thought. Toward that end, the group will:
- Address patriarchal and Eurocentric diagnostics,
- Elevate intersectional theory, emphasizing Black and African diasporic perspectives; and
- Challenge conventional “crisis mode” methodologies and articulate new visions and possibilities grounded in intersectional insights.
In this era of uncertainty and unrest, THE NEW INSTITUTE’s initiative promises a novel perspective that could redefine the way we understand and navigate our global challenges.
For more information or interviews, please contact Minna Salami (minna.salami@thenew.institute).
Download our Press Release in English or German.
Keyword: Desire 22 Sep 2023 6:24 AM (last year)
How does male dominance shape desire? This question has always informed feminism. Yet the focus has been on sexual desire. Are there other considerations? And if so, how do they intersect with each other? Last year, I wrote an essay for The Philosopher’s Summer issue, which explores the entangled relationship between desire and patriarchal thought. The essay is now available to read online.
The artwork by Samira Abbassy is enchanting and corresponds really well with the text.
Read the essay here.
Sensuous Knowledge, a Black Feminist Course for Everyone. Join us! 12 Jun 2023 4:36 AM (last year)
In order to transform social reality, we must transform what, why, and how we know.
I could not be happier to share that in partnership with the global platform for alternative education and transformative experiences, Advaya, and the black feminist advocacy organization Black Women Radicals, I’ve developed a feminist course titled, “Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Course for Everyone”.
The conventional and dominant approach to knowledge production that shapes the underlying thought patterns of our societies has made us confused and detached from reality. Subsequently, we are detached from each other, from the nonhuman natural world, as well as from our own inner experiences that we find ourselves in a state of systemic confusion and crisis, oppression and injustice.
It’s more important than ever to continue to forefront this criticism and to explore new ways of being in the world.
In this interactive and in-depth course, we will transform and shift perspectives holistically. Enriched by an alternative model of knowledge rooted in the dynamic landscape of black feminist thought, we will discover sensuous knowledge.
We will learn feminist, alive, and empowering ways of knowing that foster clarity and embodied insight. There is no perfect knowledge, but deceptive and delusional knowledge will certainly not heal our societies and our ecosystems. To change the world, we need to change our illusions.
The course is a journey into exploring paradigm shifts and hidden truths through Africa-centred and black feminist perspectives.
Join this journey of Sensuous Knowledge in a course that illuminates nonconventional ideas and norms. Discover how to think about reality in feminist-empowered, non-fragmented and non-dualistic ways that are healing, elucidating and ultimately liberating.
I would love you to join me on this journey!
Thoughts on Aliveness and Artificial Intelligence 8 May 2023 7:37 AM (last year)
There is no satisfactory way to fully describe what it means to be alive. There are ways to describe what it means to be a person, a human, or a living organism, but besides the corporeal processes that keep the body biologically active, it is more difficult describing what it means to be alive.
Is being alive a sense of feeling good, of gathering certain types of experiences, of dancing like no one is watching?
Is it to love or to show compassion? Or to feel fear, and act in self-interest?
Is it to get goosebumps reading a beautiful passage in a book, to eat your grandmother’s pastries, or to love again after heartbreak?
I’m not sure that you could find the right word, factually, for what it’s like to witness a child be astonished by an ant stack, or the kinship you feel when you stroke your cat, or for that matter any other living animal that, like you, is moving through spacetime like a dream. For there is simply no encompassing way to describe the complexity of embodiment, of being in a body that changes, that is fleshy, that gets sunburned, that tenses and releases.
Whatever it is to be alive, it certainly isn’t what Artificial Intelligence is. Europatriarchal Knowledge has conditioned people to think that intelligence is synonymous with quantifying and measuring logical sums of information, data systems, algorithmic discoveries, technoscience, rationality. And if this is what intelligence is considered to be then it is no wonder that there is so much fear of how AI is more “intelligent” than us. After all, it can outshine humans by far in producing *this* type of knowledge.
But can AI be alive? And if it can’t, then why is so much of the commentariat centralising AI as more-than-technology and a competitive phenomenon of aliveness to either be afraid of or excited by? Is it, perhaps, just another victory of Europatriarchal Knowledge? Yet another means to blind us from reality, from our animal nature, from the truths of our searching selves, and from the expansive experiences that emerge from non-hierarchically variegating sources of knowing.