2022 RWW Words of Resistance & Restoration Fellows

  • Portrait of a smiling woman with short hair, wearing glasses, hoop earrings, a necklace with a cross pendant, and a purple top, against a purple background.

    Chere Hampton, Fiction

    Chere R. Hampton (She/Her) is a queer Black author and poet who lives in Columbus, Ohio. She writes haiku, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. She believes her work tells the stories of her people that haven’t been told yet, and also says the things that people don’t have the courage to verbalize. Her work can be found on her Instagram (@goblkphoenix), Facebook page (Chere Hampton), and blog writtensuicide.wordpress.com.

  • A man wearing a green cap and a pink hoodie with a bird graphic, standing in front of shelves filled with pottery and ceramic dishes, smiling with eyes closed.

    Dom McPhearson, Fiction

    Dominique Alexander McPhearson (he/him) is a writer sculpted out of the red clay of Georgia, busy transmorphing black words on white spaces into 3-D pictures.

  • A person with short curly hair and a septum piercing, wearing a black t-shirt, stands against a plain off-white wall.

    ángel thompson, Fiction

    ángel (they/them/el) is a cultural worker and community organizer based in Piscataway Land (MD). They are a descendant of griots, they experiment with storytelling through writing and moving images.

  • A young person with short curly hair, wearing glasses, a pink collared shirt, and a dark sweater, standing against a plain light-colored wall.

    Omaria Pratt, Fiction

    Omaria Sanchez Pratt (they/them) is a Black queer writer from High Point, North Carolina. They hold an M.F.A. from the University of Kentucky where they were a recipient of the 2018 Nikky Finney Fellowship. Their work can be found in Taint Taint Taint Taint Magazine (upcoming), Story Magazine, and the Anthology of Appalachian Writers volume XII, where they were nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

  • A man with short dark hair, a beard, and large hoop earrings is wearing a black T-shirt with white script that says 'ladki power.' He has a turquoise ring and tattoos on his left arm, and is touching his shoulder with his left hand.

    saahil mehta, Fiction

    saahil m. (they/it) is a writer and editor who uplifts storytelling as an educational tool. they are currently writing a memoir on love, lust, home and (be)longing while pursuing an MFA at Hunter College in NYC.

  • Portrait of a woman with long, curly hair, wearing a beige top and colorful jewelry, posing against a plain background.

    T'challa Williams, Fiction

    T’challa Williams (she/her) is a published Author, Poet, Activist & Connecticut native. Executive Co-Founder of Hartford’s L.I.T, Board member of the Greater Hartford Arts Council & a Teaching Artist who shares her love of writing with all ages.

  • A woman with curly hair wearing an orange headband, colorful tie-dye shirt, and a black earring with white text that says 'NO SUGAR NO CREAM'.

    Unity Powell, Fiction

    Unity (she/her) is a multi- disciplined artist whose mediums include writing, photography, theater and filmmaking. You can catch her on her yoga mat, with coffee in hand and exploring this beautiful world.

  • A woman with curly black hair smiling in front of a blue and white circular patterned background, wearing a white shirt.

    AL Lazaro, Non-Fiction

    AL Lazaro (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist, activist, and business owner. They are a disabled, gender non-conforming, Queer, Black, Latina revolutionary.

  • Close-up of a smiling woman with short, curly pink hair, wearing a dark top, against a blurred background with bokeh lights.

    delmetria millener, Non-Fiction

    delmetria millener (she/her) is a Louisiana-bred, Texas-fed, storyteller, socialpreneur, speaker, and tea sommelier. She lives and teaches Literature and Writing between Bangkok, Thailand and Dallas, Texas.

  • A woman smiling, wearing glasses and hoop earrings, dressed in a patterned top with a pink cardigan.

    Esi Mathis, Non-Fiction

    Esi (she/her) is committed to criminal justice reform. An experienced conference speaker, panelist and life coach with a bachelor’s in Business and a master’s in Theology, she is currently enrolled as a PhD student at Antioch University.

  • Close-up of a woman with braided hair, makeup, and earrings, smiling slightly, in front of a beige wall with white decor.

    Heather Stokes, Non-Fiction

    Heather Stokes (she/her) is a Connecticut based writer whose experiences as a black woman and a convicted felon have fueled her passion to bring healing and health to BIPOC communities all over.

  • Smiling woman wearing a colorful paisley-patterned headscarf.

    Khadijah AbdulHaqq, Non-Fiction

    Khadijah AbdulHaqq (she/her) is the author of Nanni's Hijab. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, two daughters, and her pets. She is an MFA candidate at VCFA. Her work can be seen in Haute Hijab, Patheos, and HerStry.Com and elsewhere.

  • Woman smiling with long blonde hair wearing pink novelty glasses with a rainbow unicorn on the side, dressed in a pink shirt.

    Tamara MC, Non-Fiction

    Dr. Tamara MC (she/they), is a survivor herself, is a cult, child/forced marriage, and modern day slavery advocate. Her Ph.D. is in Applied Linguistics; she researches language, culture, and identity in the Middle East. She studied CNF at Columbia.

  • Close-up selfie of a man with gray hair, wearing a colorful comic book patterned shirt, against a bright blue sky. The photo appears to be taken from a low angle, possibly outdoors.

    Wil Laracute, Non-Fiction

    Wilfredo Laracuente (he/him) is an advocate, educator, and formerly incarcerated leader. He currently serves as the program coordinator for the Prison Education Project at the Center for Justice at Columbia University, in which he assists in teaching incarcerated students at Sing Sing prison.

  • A woman with curly hair and earrings looking at the camera in a black and white portrait.

    Amanda Villanueva, Poetry

    Amanda Ashley Villanueva (she/they) is a Bronx-born and based teaching artist. She examines themes of addiction and Black queer identity and is currently working on her first book of poetry.

  • A woman with dark skin wearing blue lipstick, yellow tank top, clear glasses, gold earrings spelling 'LOVE' in colorful letters, a yellow and red striped headwrap, a septum piercing, a necklace with a blue pendant, and bright earrings spelling 'LOVE' in multicolored letters.

    Belinda Bellinger, Poetry

    Belinda Bellinger (she/they/fam) is a queer Black parent, educator, and organizer who curates liberatory learning spaces, ancestral healing, and spoken word. They live in Cali with their clever sun and punctual canine.

  • A woman with curly black hair smiling in front of green leafy background.

    Kaylin Moss, Poetry

    Kaylin Moss (she/her) is a poet, web developer, and model from Charleston South Carolina. She studied computer science at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

  • Close-up of a smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair and earrings, wearing a patterned green and white top.

    Keana Agulia Labra, Poetry

    Keana Aguila Labra (they/them/she/her) is a Cebuana Tagalog Filipinx genre & genderfluid poet & writer in diaspora residing on stolen Ohlone Tamyen land. She works to provide a safe literary space for underserved & underrepresented communities as the co-Editor-in-Chief of literary magazine, Marías at Sampaguitas & the co-Founder of the BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ focused publishing press, Sampaguita Press.

  • A woman with curly hair, smiling and resting her face on her hand, sitting at a wooden table in a cozy restaurant or cafe with wooden beams and green plants in the background.

    Melinda Gonzalez, Poetry

    Dr. Melinda González (she/her) a native of Newark, NJ with ancestral home in Moca, PR, is an Afro-Indigenous scholar-activist-poet that advocates for social and environmental justice.

  • A woman wearing bright pink top, a light blue headscarf, and large multicolored earrings, standing outdoors in a grassy area.

    Rashida James-Saadiya, Poetry

    Rashida James-Saadiya (she/her) is a cultural organizer, scholar, and writer who uses storytelling to connect history and future-making to urgent social issues of the present. Her work is interdisciplinary, stretching across the fields of sociology, social justice, and religion to challenge gender inequality, urban displacement, carceral issues, and systemic racism.

  • A woman with short dark hair, wearing a black satin jacket and a black shirt with small floral patterns, standing against a dark background, smiling and looking to her left with her hands in her pockets.

    Violeta Orozco, Poetry

    Violeta Orozco (she/her) is an International Latino Book Award winning author for her poetry collection, The Broken Woman Diaries (Andante Books 2022). Author of Stillness in the Land of Speed and Songs Like Talismans.