05/22/2026
“You are an archivist. And the archive is not fixed — it grows when we insist our work belongs in it.”
This week I returned to as commencement speaker for the class of 2026 — one of my greatest honors. FIT is where I found my voice and focus on Black cultural design aesthetics, and I’ve been building on three generations of creative legacy there. My grandmother took classes at FIT. My Auntie Marie graduated with a menswear degree and now runs
An excerpt from my speech:
“Everything you make is building an archive. Design it so it is accessible. Design it so it is cared for. Make it so that someone fifty years from now can look at your body of work and know exactly where you stood — what you believed, what you fought for, what you refused to let disappear.
To every student who is part of the Global majority — you are not behind. You are not less. You are not here by accident. You are here because you belong here. We need your eye, your hand, your story. Do not shrink it to fit spaces that were not built for you. Expand the space, by building your own.”
A big thank you to President for the invitation to speak, and many thanks to and Leydi Zapata for coordinating my appearance. And to everyone who came and watched from afar .wilde and my honorary Auntie Carolyn Thank You. 🙏🏾 📷
Full speech at the link in my bio.
