Each month the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) highlights one of our activists in our “Poderosa Profiles” blog series. This month we’re highlighting Omilani, who is part of our Florida Latina Advocacy Network. Thank you for your hard work and unwavering dedication to reproductive justice.
Biography:
Hailed by The Source magazine as a “precocious figure on the spoken word scene,” audiences often compare our July poderosa, Omilani, to Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Macy Gray, Duffy, and Lauryn Hill.
This Afro-Filipina songwriter has definitely proven she can hold center stage. Performing since the age of seven, Omilani has been featured in many programs. She is most noted for performing her original works of neo-soul music, folkloric dance, tropical fusion/salsa, and hip-hop. Her eclectic vibe has become a very popular among all age groups.
Her love of languages has blossomed into a musical explosion that bridges language and cultural boundaries. Mixing Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and Yoruba into her repertoire has added a unique twist to her show. Omilani feels that this diversity of her work enables her to reach a wider audience.
She is especially proud of the reaction of young people to her positive and inspirational messages. It is her intention to showcase the art not the artist, and to let you be impressed by the message not the messenger. Omilani hopes to inspire others to pick up a pen and write.
In her own words:
Most people know me through my music or poetry, but I am an undercover scholar with over eight scholarly publications before the age of 25. Among these is an entry in the Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora about Piri Thomas, an Afro-Puerto Rican man who traveled through the Southeastern United States during the segregation era to see if he would be treated differently for being Puerto Rican – and as he saw it at the time – not black (American).
I have been researching Piri Thomas, Latinegras (Afro-Latinas), and Afro-Latino identity since high school and most of my publications are centered on the message of loving the skin WE are in.
My poetry and music also address the issues we are confronted with as women, Black women, and Latinegras. I was acclaimed as a youth for my activist work linking the Black and Latino communities, and was co-director of the Latino Youth group, Jóvenes Lideres en Acción, as well as one of the originating establishers of El Centro Hispano in North Carolina.
I am a Cornell University graduate (2010) and my thesis was on Creole identity and the politics of “authenticity” as it relates to the African traditions that have been maintained in the Caribbean.
My participation in NLIRH has expanded my knowledge in interest in women’s reproductive rights and justice immensely. As women we may take for granted what we “don’t know.” For example, one of the biggest misconceptions I had was about Planned Parenthood, and through NLIRH I learned that they do so much more than abortions and safe sex talks. Also, the trainings and events I have attended were great for expanding my horizon about the meaning of women’s reproductive justice, including elderly women, or things as simple as access to transportation being a reproductive justice fight.
Being a woman is something very sacred, special, and powerful! Humanity shares the commonality of all being birthed through a woman and ironically this same passage has been exploited, abused, negated, suppressed, and violated in every language, location, and period of history. It is for this reason we must reclaim that sacred knowledge, protect our power, and have an understanding so that we can share resources and information that can save lives, not just of women, but also of humanity. NLIRH is such an important organization because as the old cliché goes, ‘knowledge is power,’ and this organization is empowering so many who may not know that they can find the help and obtain the necessary resources to make an informed decision about their sacred temples.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of NLIRH.
