Statement of Research
Site Specific Performance at Nelson-Atkins Museum, “In the Wake of Survival”
Immersive Performance at Lawrence Arts Center, “Blood of a Poet”
Rooted in the frameworks of Black Autonomy, Black Geography, and embodied resistance, my research explores how the Black body functions as both an archive and an agent of transformation. Through a self-cultivated, cathartic movement practice, I examine how individuals can access their embodied archives to trace ancestral inheritance and surface suppressed somatic trauma. Central to this exploration are the elements of water and blood—powerful carriers of memory in Black life and lineage. From the forced crossings of the transatlantic slave trade to intimate, generational ties encoded in the body, these elements serve as symbolic and material conduits to ancestral memory and collective healing.
This research contributes to a broader conversation around Black Studies, somatics, and decolonial praxis by developing methodologies that merge theory and movement. These curated practices will be applied across classroom settings, community workshops, and academic platforms, engaging participants in a process that integrates improvisational movement, writing, discussion, and collaborative inquiry. These embodied approaches are designed not only to interrogate the impact of historical violence but also to generate pathways toward agency, reclamation, and self-affirmation.
Ultimately, my work seeks to offer a model for how the Black body can rewrite itself—layered like a palimpsest—through intentional engagement with the land, memory, and movement.