BY: MACKENZIE GALLOWAY // PHOTOGRAPHY: ROMAN HABIBZAI
About
Name: Angelica Everson
Hometown: "I was born in California, but spent majority of my life in Alabama."
Background: "I am a Black woman. I'm an African-American that has no idea where my family comes from outside of the United States."
Major: Spanish and Communication Media Major with a specialization in Public Relations with a Business and Entertainment minor.
Hobby: Working out at the gym
Black Identity
I am a Black woman. I'm an African-American that has no idea where my family comes from outside of the United States.
Being Black means everything to me. I truly love being a Black woman. Being Black and a woman are the two identities I cherish the most. Being Black means having a community that is cheering you on and wishing you the best.
Black Struggles
Another big challenge that I have faced because I am Black is attempting to prove to some people that I am their equal. Throughout my life, specifically in middle school and high school, I have been surrounded by white peers that I have had to prove through my work ethic that I am their equal. Sometimes I felt because I was one of the very few Black people in my Pre-AP and AP classes, that I had to show my white classmates that Black people can be just as smart or smarter than they are. And in my case, I did exactly that with none of the resources that my white peers had access to. Furthermore, I have done the same here at American University by being an EIP Scholar.
Black Women
Being Black means everything to me. I truly love being a Black woman. Being a Black woman means having a repertoire of never ending hairstyles and colors.
One big challenges that I have faced because I am Black is the oversexualizing of my body. A challenge that I have faced since the age of 12 and still deal with on a daily basis. I thank God all the time for the body I was born with because I truly couldn't have worked out for all of this, but what I get tired of is always having men feel bold enough to touch and harass me. I hate having to be extremely cautious of what I wear because my butt jiggles too much in that or I can't wear this because I'll get unwanted attention. The gag is, I get unwanted attention in just about anything I wear and it is tiring. Sometimes I just want to exist without men staring at my body.
Black Pride
First and foremost, I showcase my Black pride by stepping into this world everyday being proud of the skin I'm in. I also showcase my Black pride by uplifting and supporting other Black people around me. I am one of those people that will gas a stranger if I think they look bomb. Being Black means having a community there cheering you on and wishing you the best. Having people there to gas you up for the most random things.
Being Black has empowered me because I constantly have a sense of feeling unstoppable. My family and ancestors have been through too much for me to just slide through life doing the bare minimum, so because of this and the personal struggles I have gone through, I try to do everything to the best of my ability to be the best I can be.
