Akilah S. Richards

Akilah S. Richards

Bio

Akilah S. Richards is a Jamaican mermaid who spends her land time as an independent author, intersectional feminist writer, unschooling mama, and self-expression speaker. She writes regularly at Everyday Feminism and has penned pieces for The Mid, For Harriet, Tiny Buddha, and My Brown Baby, among others. Akilah is also the founder of the only summer weekend camp for grown-ass women. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

Akilah S. Richards Articles

Black people’s hair is too tense for White America to EVER be comfortable. Image: Thinkstock.

3 Reasons I Won't Apologize For My Black-Girl Hair

Black hair, like Black identity, is diverse and nuanced, but it still stands out as different from White hair. The point is not that all Black hair needs to look the same, but that we share the experience of feeling pressure to alter our appearance, to present a version of ourselves solely to satisfy the White gaze. When we truly own our bodies —the fat, skinny, scarred, hairy, melanated, unconventional bodies we walk around in — they will no longer be things to defend or hide or alter.

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Values should carry over into one's parenting. Image: Pexels.

5 Ways I Practice Intersectional Feminist Parenting

My beliefs about people’s rights, including my own, are a significant factor in how I define myself, how I identify, and how I treat other people. And since I happen to be raising people, my approach to parenting must reflect those beliefs too.

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Grown up advice for grown up friendships.

3 Ways We Get Grown-A** Woman Friendship Wrong (& How To Fix That Sh*t)

At the end of my thirties, as far as friendships go, I’ve certainly made my rounds. On one end, I’ve had the same best friend since I was 13.

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"At the end of the day, unschooling is about confidence, compassion, and agency."

The Power Of Unschooling: Why My Daughters Don't Go To School

How does a 10-year-old Atlanta-based black girl with Jamaican parents, shoulder-length locs, and zero interest in school become deeply immersed in the studies of Finno-Ugric language groups and Eurasian migration?

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Our children are fine; it’s racism that needs to shift. Image: Getty.

Fear Of The Free Black Child: Alternatives To Fear-Based Parenting Amid Police Violence

No black man, woman, or gender non-conforming person is safe from the terrorism of police brutality and racist white people’s actions against us, let alone our most vulnerable citizens, our children.

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At 12 and 10 years old, my girls are still in the age range where society tells me that I should be presenting a polished version of myself to them. Image: Thinkstock.

3 Reasons I Refuse To Hide My Feelings From My Daughters

The reality is that any person I love, including my daughters, can deeply hurt my feelings. Does this mean that I hold my daughters to the same level of emotional accountability as my husband or my best friend? Nope, but for it damn sure doesn’t mean that I morph into some feeling-less version of myself because I’m a mother, either.

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