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How is Black culture created and experienced across different regions of the world? For the last decade, Erica Ayisi has covered food, fashion, art, and politics, providing a window into the global Black experience in Africa and beyond. In this talk, she will share insights from the stories and documentaries that have defined her career so far.
This is a hybrid event. If you are located in Madison, you are invited to join in-person at Science Hall room 140. If you are unable to join in-person, you will see a zoom link for the event available within Eventbrite on April 20.
Questions? Contact outreach@iris.wisc.edu. This event is co-sponsored by the African Studies Program, African Cultural Studies, and African American Studies at UW-Madison.
Erica Ayisi is a freelance multimedia journalist focusing on human feature stories and documentaries around the world. Her work has appeared in numerous digital outlets, including NBCNews.com, The Root, Essence, Afroelle Magazine, and xoNecole.
Her work includes online stories pertaining to the African diaspora, reporting on the surfing community in Ghana, Black atheism in London, natural beauty remedies with Rastafarian women in Jamaica, the legacy of activist Recy Taylor, the opening of Juices for Life juice bar in Brooklyn, as well as several other long-form articles capturing the global Black experience.
Her passion for telling international stories has earned her a Distinguished Alumni & Friends of the Worcester Public Schools Achievement Award and a Ceremonial Key to the City of Worcester, Massachusetts. She is a two-time Pulitzer Center Reporting Grantee publishing ‘Swallowed by Sea’ an investigative project exploring coastal erosion livelihood in Ghana for MongaBay in 2022. In 2019, with the Pulitzer Center’s support Erica published ‘If This Hair Could Talk’ which examines how women in some of the most impoverished areas of Cambodia sell their hair as a means of survival for NBC News. She is also receipt of the National Association of Black Journalists 2021 Ethel Payne Reporting project.
A graduate of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), she holds a master’s and bachelor’s in Communication Arts with a focus on broadcast journalism. She also teaches digital media and journalism production classes to high school and middle students outside Boston. Erica also founder and chief executive office of Akosua’s Closet-an African sourced online boutique shop featuring women’s clothing, jewelry, and home décor curated by Erica.
Be sure to join us alongside Erica! Registration is encouraged!
