Maya Mansour was born to African-American and Iranian-Palestinian parents, and grew up in the Baha'i community. She received her BA from Evergreen State College, where she studied the intersection of the art world and the prison system. Her creative work has been published on platforms including Ebony, SoulPancake, and the Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs.
1.Nashville via Iran, Palestine and Black Wall Street
They built a highway straight through my mom’s thriving black neighbourhood in the Midwest.
2.There is something exceptional about black people
The Baha'i writings compare black people to the “pupil of the eye”.
3.Identifying with the black and immigrant experiences in America
People get thrown when I say I am Persian because they don’t expect Persian people to be black.
4.Learning from incarcerated African-Americans
There's not a lot to do in prison. You're left with a lot of time for reflection.
5.African-Americans and Iranian Baha'is are both treated unjustly
Tahirih was the first woman to be incarcerated in Persia.
6.Pulling away the veil of ignorance
Pulling away the veil of ignorance