In Summary
Spectra is an MIT-educated, novel-writing, video-game-playing, community organizing, cartoon-watching, business book-devouring immigrant queer masculine of center woman of Color currently living in Boston.
She founded the first multicultural LGBT group for women in New England (QWOC+ Boston), and is known within the LGBT people of color community and across mainstream LGBT, feminist, and other progressive circles, for the fun and boundary-pushing strategies she’s concept-ed to increase consciousness of diversity, unity, and pride within and across New England’s mainstream queer community.
In her own words: “During the course of my work (and via my personal journey as an “iqwoc”), I have felt both overwhelmed and discouraged by the “progressive” media’s narrow (and mainly white) perspectives on an array of social issues. Africans and Africa are routinely and frequently infantilized under the guise of selflessness and new age philanthropy; the LGBT movement often sounds like the white gay male marriage fight; feminist perspectives often carelessly leave out women of color; women of color narratives ignore the complexities of the immigrant subset (Latinas, Africans, Asians etc), and the list goes on and on. My blog is the natural response to this nonsense.”
In 2010, Spectra was honored by Fenway Health and the History Project for her work with women and the LGBT community. She was also accepted into EMERGE, a distinguished women’s training program for aspiring political leaders. Spectra is a frequent speaker at conferences, universities, and social change forums across the east coast, and is an avid blogger about all things women, diversity, movement building, and leadership as it pertains to the African Diaspora. Read her blog or follow her daily musings on Twitter @spectraspeaks.
Random Facts About Spectra
S/he is an avid student of John Maxwell’s leadership principles.
The purple silhouette in QWOC+ Boston’s logo is named after her.
S/he is a Myers-Briggs INFJ, an Enneagram 4 (with a 3 wing), a Choleric-Melancholy personality, and an astrological Saggitarius Ascendant, Saggitarius Moon, and Virgo sun (in house 10!)
S/he is most usually heard saying, “I have no time for this.”
S/he have three cats — Duchess, Pharaoh, and Isis.
Spectra’s Nigerian name means “Daughter of the People”
Support Spectra’s Work — Blogs, Podcasts, Events, and More
This blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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About Me

Meet Spectra: Nigerian Writer & Media Activist, Queer Afrofeminist Social Commentator, Human Rights Advocate, Social Entrepreneur, Africa's Cheetah Generation, Idealist Warrior Woman.Testimonials
By sharing your story, you allow people like me to relate, to experience, to learn and to share with others as well. thank you, thank you, thank you.
— JTSpectra is a talented speaker and facilitator and is especially adept at working with groups of students in ways that both challenge and support individual viewpoints.
... [an] articulate weaving of personal experience and analysis.
— Becky... a flexible and effective communicator with youth across various social, class and cultural strata.
— Ayari, Girl Scouts Program CoordinatorThank you so much for sharing your story and for being an inspiration to so many people.
— WayoftheLiz... a force to be reckoned with--in a very positive way. Spectra has the "gift" of envisioning the greatness we can achieve and uniting the folks who will make that happen. I adore her.
— Tim, Fenway HealthSpectra has allowed myself, and many I know, access safer spaces to have much needed, challenging and powerful conversations that would otherwise not occur in our communities.
— Shakira, The Network/La Red... a genius when it comes to creating space that feels safe and centering for a variety of marginalized groups (and subgroups) but still warmly invites allies at all levels of previous engagement.
— Jaclyn Friedman, Author of Yes Means YesI can always count on Spectra to challenge an audience, to nudge us in new directions and connect us with new ideas.
— Andrew Elder, The History ProjectWe love it when Spectra Speaks!
— The Theater OffensiveSpectra, you are a role model; people who have no one at home find you on the internet and draw hope from your work and your words.
— KE, Facebook FanUpcoming Events
- Organising Online: African Feminists and Cyber Activism
Date Thu, 24 May 2012 Time 09:00 AM
Location - Uniting Women’s and LGBT Rights: Exploring Gender Roles as the Root Cause of Violence Against Women
Date Thu, 24 May 2012 Time 11:00 AM
Location - LGBTQ Writer's of Color Forum at DC Black Pride Co-Presented by Fire and Ink
Date Fri, 25 May 2012 Time 10:00 AM
Location
- Organising Online: African Feminists and Cyber Activism
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EDWARD ZWICK (Director): I don't care what the race intellegentsia says, he's my favorite white American filmmaker because he consistently produces films that illuminate the role of the US around the globe, and on its marginalized citizens. His films are "human" -- less preachy then Spielberg, more realistic than Cameron. I'll always respect his commentary on cultural appropriation (and his...





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