Simone Jacques is a scholar, curator, and homegirl from San Francisco California’s Mission District. Pursuing her bachelor in Comparative Women’s Studies and Spanish with a focus in artivism (arts as a praxis of activism) at Spelman College a Historically Black Women’s College. She is Afro-Latina, with a Mexican born mother and Haitian born father.

She is a UNCF Mellon Mays fellow doing independent research on “The Stolen Spaces of Pop Culture: How Feminist Narratives of Afro-Latinidad and the Migration of Blackness Reshape Understandings of Misogynoir in Pop. Culture”. The investigation uses Reggaeton as a case study combining her disciplines of Gender Studies and Spanish to unveil patterns of Black feminism in Latinidad through popular culture. She prioritizes women of color and Black femmes in all which she produces. Including her creative direction and editorial role in the Bay Area based grassroots non-profit magazine named “Quilt”.

In continuing my journey in becoming an educator, I see my role in both academia and artivist storytelling (art as a praxis of activism). Curating communist and resistance through literacy, arts, and creativity from a Black feminist pedagogy. She sees her commitment to her community as one of a griot, curator, and academic.

To balance out academics, Hannah enjoys singing, reading classic literature, and admiring architecture in her free time. In the future, Hannah plans to enter a career that will allow her love of society analysis, culture, and language learning to intersect. With the help of the AfroLatinidades Internship Institute, Hannah will be well-versed in the impact of Black culture within the Latinx community, exposed to multiple career opportunities, and supported in the search for potential graduate schools.