Bushmama Africa. Bush (as she is called in community), is currently the Master Teacher at Black Star Academy and poet, workshop facilitator and spiritual healer based in Oakland. As an arts designer, visual and performance artist her past works include: Featured artist 2011-12 with Jaki Lee & The Womens Committee of the GLBT Historical Society, curator of the one-woman exhibit Healer Woman for the Oakland Library, five year visual Artist In Residence at The People” and exhibiting artist in The Black Women Is God” at San Francisco’s African American Culture Complex.
Everything I’ve seen you create is firmly rooted in a sense of community and promoting a strong counter narrative to more negative images of African people. Can you talk about the role community building and reclaiming narratives play into your writing and media work?
It plays into my desire to recite and to perform spoken work. I was born and raised in Oakland and I want people to know black artists were made here, were cultivated here and are still here creating.
What are your thoughts on how sexuality, race and gender intersect, specifically as it relates to queerness in the African Diaspora?
I know there are queer people in Africa just we dont see much. But I feel it and that lineage lives in me. I must be a voice to the voiceless. My privilege to live my life and love who I want openly requires that I speak up and out proudly. I believe in doing so and it will open up a dialogue everywhere especially in Africa. I want to see African queerness represented and it starts with me.
The black future will be boldness, fierceness unapologetic realness. We created next level shit and we will continue to present that and so will our offspring.
What are you working on now and how does your work tie into your views on culture, community, sexuality and identity?
Im working on a play and it’s about the love stories of slaves. Queer folks will be represented in this body of work. It has to.
