FIRST PERSON

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FIRST PERSON FRANCE

Body Shame: A Personal History

My long-standing relationship with shame began when my body began to speak. Read More

FIRST PERSON HEALTH LIFE POLITICS USA

Unspoken Agreements: I’m Helping My Black Immigrant Mother Navigate Unemployment During the COVID-19 Crisis

How does one grapple with losing their job during a public health emergency? Nana Brantuo shares her story as she helps her mother push through this challenge. Read More

FIRST PERSON LIFE

A Mother’s Letter: Musings on a New Revolution

With her homeland in upheaval, a Nigerian mother living in Belgium pens a letter of hope to her infant son Read More

BRAZIL FIRST PERSON News POLITICS

Seven Months Later, A Reflection On The Killing Of Marielle Franco

Seven months after the assassination of Rio politician and activist Marielle Franco, writer Thais Nepomuceno shares her reflections on the fallen activist's legacy, race, and police brutality in Brazil. Read More

FIRST PERSON LIFE

First-Person: I Lost Myself and My Desire to Write Went Out The Window, Too

After a series of setbacks and serious life events, a writer develops a desire to write again. Read More

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FIRST PERSON LIFE

AYO First Person: A Life Redesigned

New York-based designer Arion Jamerson shares how the end of her marriage brought a new professional beginning--and an Oprah endorsement! Read More

Welcome to AYO, an international meeting place for black women.

Here at AYO, we share honest, relevant stories for smart, creative, engaged, black women. From Brooklyn to Bordeaux, Lagos to Laos, we aim to meet black women wherever they are in the world. Literally.

AYO was launched in 2016 by founder and editor-in-chief Adenike Olanrewaju.

AYO is a labor of love that we hope will be a wellspring of cultural examinations and celebration; a place where various kinds of the black woman can exist. In this space, there is joy.

So here’s to finding your joy. Wherever you are.