Nneka M. Okona 🇳🇬

a woman sitting on a couch with the words great gowns beautiful gowns ALT: a woman sitting on a couch with the words great gowns beautiful gowns

Never on here but I happened to see this on a scroll and I'd like to validate this with the fact that I went to Oregon last year and it was the most racist place I've been in a very long time lol. I was treated with a degree of disinterest that I'm still processing. Don't know if I'd go back tbh.

Thank you so much, Tara! :)

I’m so happy to see this article finally published! Thank you @afrosypaella.bsky.social for including me in this piece. It’s beautifully written and captures the the irony of being from Ohio where the history is rich and fraught. Thank you for being a witness ❤️

Who preserves the homes of Black literary giants | Nneka M Okona Langston Hughes and Toni Morrison’s childhood homes remain unmarked – raising urgent questions about legacy and preservation

Who preserves the homes of Black literary giants | Nneka M Okona

I wrote this and put my soul into it bc it felt so deeply urgent. Thanks to @taralconley.com for speaking to me + adding her voice among many, many others as you can read. Will properly say more about this tmrw but am about to enjoy the rest of my holiday weekend & a glass of cava to celebrate! :)

The first time we talked offline I remember telling you you sounded like a Southern woman. 😭💖

Sense has chased you all your life but you’re faster. 😭

I'm going on a cruise next week that retails for $14K so I guess that? I'm not paying for this by the way. Travel journalist perks. :)

A lot of y'all are hellbent on being boring as fuck. Barely 30 and talking about your 7 p.m. bedtimes and not leaving the house after 1 p.m. I'll be 40 next year and am confused at this because I go to bed late and stay out late, too. Aging does not mean rotting at home.

LOL basically chile.

LMFAO top tier insult omg!

I will hate him forever and he's a coward for simply hiding on Facebook rather than standing in his misogyny.

Sending all my love to you, Olivia. You should not have had to endure any of this at all and I'm so angry that you have.

Journalists Attest to Experiences of Sexual Misconduct with Wesley Lowery Lowery rose to prominence as a reporter and media thinker. Women in the industry say he engaged in sexual harassment and assault.

Some of y’all noticed I’ve been uncharacteristically offline. This is why, and I remain on leave for a few weeks to handle a PTSD relapse. CJR was dogged in its pursuit of my story. Because of what I do and who I am, I felt that I had to answer their questions honestly.

www.cjr.org/feature-2/we...

Sounds amazing! And thanks, Jim! :)

Some news: this piece was selected as one of the 20 *best* pieces of food and travel writing for 2024! So honored and excited. My first anthology! 🥹

We’re thrilled to announce that Magical/Realism by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal has been nominated for the 35th Annual Reading the West Book Awards in the Memoir/Biography category!

Now it’s your turn to vote by May 31st. Winners announced June 12, 2025.

Your Favorite Porn Stars Are Sick of Being Censored. But They’re Not Going Away We spent the Pornhub Awards with some of the site’s biggest stars to talk censorship, making money, and the popularity of trans porn—all while the site is blocked in more than a third of US states.

We spent the Pornhub Awards with some of the site’s biggest stars to talk censorship, making money, and the popularity of trans porn—all while the site is blocked in more than a third of US states. www.wired.com/story/pornhu...

As you should be. Grief makes so much sense. Thinking of you.

I really hate to hear this omg! The piece I wrote for y’all on Black grief remains foundational for me and all these years later I still get emails from readers about it. The lack of support for indie publications time and time again is so unsettling.

That’s how I make mine! Took about an hour for the roux to get to the color I wanted.

a close up of a woman 's face with her eyes closed and her hair in a ponytail . ALT: a close up of a woman 's face with her eyes closed and her hair in a ponytail .

Was gonna go out tonight but decided to stay home to make gumbo and drink wine.

No shade but he sounds like he needs to go to an endocrinologist and then follow that up with weekly therapy sessions. 🫤

Thank you! 💖

I’m delighted to share that I was selected as one of @ijnr.bsky.social’s Environmental Justice grantees to write about ecological grief (e.g. climate grief) of Black communities in the South for @prismreports.org. Honored to do this work & filled with gratitude for being supported. Let’s get it! ⚡️💥

It’s harder than it used to be but not hopeless. I think writers—especially those who work in media—are being called to do something different + not rely on traditional structures in the same way we used to as they’re *all* crumbling now. It’ll take creativity, innovation & grit to carry us forth.

The NYT isn't up for this moment because if you look at their history they've always missed the moment. As "the publication of record" it shouldn't exist. The American public deserves better.

Racism and misogynoir.

Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Even if it’s not a monetary contribution helping to plan or things like that are still a part of making it possible. The requirement thing obviously varies but really if it is a direct ask like that it means folk needing help in various forms to pull off events.

And it’s not a badge of honor to talk about if you hosted you would just pay for everything. Trust me: those in your families and wider community who did that I guarantee have some resentment because that became the expectation and they got no help whatsoever.