From Our Corner of the Diaspora
It’s been such a beautiful few months for We The Diaspora. This year alone, we’ve brought four storytelling projects to life in collaboration with incredible partners like Good Mirrors, All Black Creatives, and more. Each one has reminded us just how powerful our stories are when we share them.
Next month, we’re hosting our very first in-person event — a milestone that feels both surreal and deeply right. And beyond that, there’s so much more quietly brewing to close out this year and carry us into 2026.
Thank you for being part of this journey. We can’t wait to share what’s next.
— Jiya Pinder
Founder, We The Diaspora
Featured Submission: A.S.K Hair Studio Club
This month’s featured submission is from Kered Celement (UK & Greneda) a storyteller with a creative lingeage. As part of Creative Legacy Project, we invited Black creatives to share a photo from their past, a snapshot of childhood, a treasured family moment, or a place of deep meaning, alongside a reflection on how that image continues to shape their creative work today. Here’s what Kered shared about her parent’s salon and it’s impact on her creative legacy:
“My parents Derek and Avice—two young Grenadians who migrated to Britain—became pioneers in the Black British hair industry. In the 1980s, when few spaces catered to Afro-Caribbean hair, they opened one of the first Black salons in West London. Their salon was more than a place of class and professionalism; they were sanctuaries where stories were shared, identities affirmed, and community thrived. Clients would offload heartaches, joys, and dreams while their hair—and spirits—were tended to.
As the resident hair sweeper, I absorbed those stories. I watched my parents use creativity as a form of empowerment—whether through innovative hair techniques, dazzling fashion shows that blended British style with Caribbean flair, or mentorship of young hairdressers.
When they returned to Grenada, their mission continued—building the local hair and beauty industry and training a new generation of creatives.” Read the full submission.
Join us for a free story circle in Chicago!
We The Diaspora has always been about connection, and now, we’re bringing that spirit to real life. We’re excited to share Stories in the Wind, our first Chicago storytelling open mic, on November 14, 6–8 PM at The Silver Room. Come share, listen, and connect through the stories that tie us across the diaspora.
Leontyne Price: A Voice That Rewrote History
Born in 1927 in Laurel, Mississippi, Leontyne Price rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most celebrated sopranos in the world and the first African American to achieve international fame in opera. The daughter of a carpenter and a midwife with a beautiful soprano voice, Price’s gift was nurtured early in the pews of St. Paul Methodist Church, where she first fell in love with music.
After studying at Wilberforce and earning a scholarship to Juilliard, Price’s voice quickly captured the attention of composers and audiences alike. Her early role as Bess in Porgy and Bess took her around the world and established her as a rising star. But it was her 1961 debut at the Metropolitan Opera met with a 42-minute standing ovation, one of the longest in the Met’s history, that cemented her place as an icon. From there, she shattered barriers on the world’s most revered stages: Vienna, Covent Garden, and La Scala, where she became the first Black singer to perform a leading role.
Across decades, Price’s work earned her 15 Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a legacy that transformed the face of classical music. Her voice described as “dusky and rich, flawlessly pure and velvety at the top” carried not only sound but story: the story of Black resilience and beauty that could no longer be confined to the margins.
Fun Fact: Price is part of an musical lineage: she is a cousin icon Whitney Houston (through Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston).
In celebrating Leontyne Price, we honor a woman whose art expanded what was possible and whose story reminds us that every voice across the diaspora has the power to shape history.
Share with Us!
Got a memory that makes you smile? A photo that’s too good to keep in the group chat? Add it to our gallery! We The Diaspora is collecting stories, recipes, and snapshots from across the Black diaspora, the little moments that remind us who we are. Add yours to our platform and help us keep Black stories alive at wethediaspora.org
