Jennifer Tosch

Jennifer Tosch is a cultural heritage historian, entrepreneur, and activist with Surinamese, African and Native American roots. She lives in Amsterdam where she founded Black Heritage Tours in 2013 and in 2016 she launched Black Heritage Tours in New York State (formerly, the Dutch colony, New Netherland). She is also a member of the Mapping Slavery Project (MSP), also based in the Netherlands, which connects and maps the Dutch colonial empire around the world. In 2014 she co-authored a book with her MSP team: ‘Amsterdam Slavery Heritage Guide’, and is currently co-writing the next publication in the series, ‘Mapping Dutch New York: Connecting Histories of Slavery, African & Native American Heritage’.

Ashleigh Zvobgo

Ashleigh Zvobgo was born in Zimbabwe and grew up between Africa and the UK. She has an honours degree in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of Pretoria and is currently doing a Masters in Development Studies at Great Zimbabwe University. She is passionate about developmental issues that affect African women as well as the environment.

MissyD

Missy D is a bilingual female emcee born and raised throughout the Motherland. She loves to embrace diversity in instrumentals, music, and most of all people. You can find her on Instagram @missyd_femcee. Missy D’s debut album “When Music Hits You Feel No Pain” is available on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, Google Music, Tidal and more.

Fary Maria

Fary Maria has Dutch nationality, but culturally identifies as Caribbean. She currently works as a marketing project manager in The Netherlands. Photo of author by Crelight Photography.

Tapiwa Makaka

Tapiwa Makaka was born in Zimbabwe and lives in Birmingham, England. Tapiwa enjoys writing poetry and performing in various underground clubs in London. A typical 20 something, she is pursuing her academic and career goals while managing the occasional existential crisis.

Lene Hypolite

Originally from Bermuda, Lené currently based in Amsterdam, the 5th country she’s lived in. She's the co-founder Amsterdam Black Women, an Amsterdam based community for black women, and the founder/director of takeflightlife.com, an online resource for current and future expats looking to make their transition smoother. Lené has a passion for building community within fellow travellers and nomads of the diaspora.

Miriam Ayoo

Miriam Ayoo was born and raised in New Jersey, but has her roots in Kenya. She spent the last four years mixing and mingling with artists and change-makers in Nairobi before setting off to study in the Hague and Barcelona. Policy student by day, youtube singer by night, and writer by occasion, she finds joy in creative multi-dimensionality. She is a lover of 90's golden era hip hop and R&B, indie films, and all things #blackgirlmagic.

Uyoyou Eto

Yoyo is a proud Nigerian living in Vancouver. She loves meeting new people and can be caught either playing somewhat good basketball, dancing (even if the music is sometimes in her head) or being completely wrong in trivia questions but with confidence.

Melanie Habwe Dickson

Melanie Habwe Dickson is the American-born daughter of a Kenyan mother and Ghanaian father. She was raised and educated in Washington DC, New York City (Columbia University), and London (SOAS and Kings College). She is a lifelong wanderlust who feels equally at home in Kenya as in Ghana and is seeking her place in the world. She is a lawyer who cares deeply about injustice and who specializes in international corporate accountability. She loves food, frolicking, corny jokes, and all things African. Most of all she loves hearing peoples' stories and helping people elevate their voices.