Media (Interviews, Features, Profiles, Quotes, etc.)

For all media inquiries, please contact me for proper attribution and compensation for any quotes in any work, thesis or published materials collections, or ideas, etc. aaminahshakur@gmail.com 

There is a non-negotiable fee of $100 for reprints of articles. You must contact me for written permission, provide link to both my website and the original publisher by name, and pay the fee by Paypal to aaminahshakur@gmail.com. Permission will not be granted until payment is made.

Jan 2021 – Balm Tattooing by Sarah Sun used a quote by me (full disclosure, I am a frequent client and also quoted anonymously elsewhere in testimonial on the site) to explain concepts of how she supports “survivors” as this is a complex, and at times fraught, term that we may not all or always identify with, through her tattooing practice. The quote from me is, “Surviving is a process, it’s a messy process, and it doesn’t mean you always have your shit together. It’s the process of continuing to exist, broken, maybe unbeautiful, maybe sometimes destroyed, but continuing to exist.”

Dec 2019 – Is Grand Rapids an LGBTQ-friendly City? – by Jeff Smith (Grand Rapids Institute of Information Democracy, GRIID) – I, along with several others, was asked to provide a statement responding to a survey and media story claiming that my city was very LGBTQ-friendly.

Dec 2019 – City of GR Will Pilot Side Snow Removal Service – by Michelle Jokisch Polo (WGVU Public Media) – I was interviewed about the impact and importance of a pilot program in my city to provide snow removal services in neighborhoods with higher rates of disabled and elderly population.

Aug 2019 – Why Should Muslims Help Reunite Migrant Families? – by Brooke Benoit and the Family & Life Team (AboutIslam) – I provided some context for the work I am doing locally to support the Kent County I-BOND Fund, why this work is crucial, and why it is important for Muslims to be a part of it.

Mar 2019 – Grand Rapids Proud to Be (Grand Rapids Pride Center) – I participated in a video/photo shoot intended to showcase the diversity and complex identities of local LGBTQ+ folks.

Dec 2017 – Fragility of Safety: Beyond the Promise of #MeToo by Lisa Factora-Borchers (Bitch Media)

Nov 2017 – “We Are the Table”: Trans Editors are Here to Create Justice in Publishing by Dom Chatterjee (Rest for Resistance) – I am quoted twice in discussions with other trans writers and editors about why trans editors matter, from my perspective both as a writer and an editor who is non-binary.

Sept 2017 – Black Artist Censored at KCAD Exhibition by Erica Monroe (Cultured.GR) – Links out to my own Medium piece in which I publicized my letter to the KCAD President about this censorship issue.

Aug 2017 – $7000 in Scholarships for Trans Students (The Rapidian)

May 2017 – Artist & Poet Aaminah Shakur: “You are worthy of the attention and love you shower on everyone else.” (Wear Your Voice Magazine) – Part of Lara Witt’s series on what self-care means to women of color.

Mar 2017 – Alternative Sociologies of Religion: Through Non-Western Eyes, Chapter “Are We Stealing the Elgin Marbles” (page 229) – Discusses my stance on cultural appropriation in the birthing community, particularly but not exclusively around the practice of baby wearing, and quotes from my November 2014 article Not Your Idea: Cultural Appropriation in the Birthing Community. (Please note that I was not contacted regarding this and am misgendered and half-racialized by the author due to their failure to contact me or verify how they were identifying me.)

Mar 2017 – Roundtable-Post 45 Reactions (Poems & Numbers) – Just after the U.S. 2016 election results, I participated in an online roundtable discussion with some amazing people. This is our raw discussion.

Jan 2017 – Gallery Sneak Peek for US IS THEM at UICA with Exhibitions Curator Heather Duffy (Cultured.GR) – Link is to video on Facebook, shout-out given by Duffy for research done for the artist statements and extended statements discussing the work in text throughout the exhibition.

Jan 2017 – On Our Radar – Feminist News Roundup 1/20/17: Loretta Ross, Washington March, Enough Said (Bitch Media) – Includes link to article on Campus Sexual Violence at OTV Magazine

Jan 2017 – Dear Sister Contributor Aaminah Shakur Publishes New Article! (The Dear Sister Anthology site) – Provides link to article on Campus Sexual Violence at OTV Magazine

Nov 2016 – Some Thoughts on Giving Tuesday by Shannon Barber (Medium)

Aug 2016 – Grand Rapids Trans Foundation Awards First Scholarship (The Rapidian)

Jul 2016 – Melania Trump, Pt. 2 by Elle, PhD (southern (b)elle) – After reading Elle’s post, you can read my full statement on the issue on my blog here.

Jun 2016 – The Affordable Housing Narrative in Grand Rapids: Which Voices Do We Hear? – by Jeff Smith (Grand Rapids Institute of Information Democracy, GRIID) – While listed as anonymous at the time due to being in a delicate situation with a pending new landlord, I contributed a lengthy statement about the myth of affordable housing in our city and some of the issues I was experiencing/witnessing due to the effects of gentrification.

Apr 2016 – It’s Over, by Aaminah Shakur read by Sumayyah Talibah (Soundcloud) Audio Post

Jan 2016 – I Spent Five Days Looking Up Ways to Kill Myself by Shareen Mansfield (OTV Magazine) – Artwork “We Daily Make Our Path Forward” featured

Nov 2015 – Stand United or Fall Divided by Shareen Mansfield (OTV Magazine) – Artwork “Hope” featured

Aug 2015 – Call and Response: The Gifts of Women Poets (Part 2) curated by Amy King (Poetry Foundation)

Jul 2015 – Here Are 8 People’s Stories About Coming Out To Their Grandparents by Andrea Garcia-Vargas (Slant)

May 2015 – KCAD Daily shares my Hyperallergic article “Who Are the Rightful Owners of Artifacts of Oppression” with its readership of all Kendall College of Art & Design students and faculty

Mar 2015 – I Wore Jennifer Baumgardner’s ‘I Was Raped’ Shirt In Public by Allison McCarthy (xoJane)

Feb 2015 – Culture & Community: Do Pagan Bloggers Help to Shape Pagan Culture? by Crystal Blanton (The Wild Hunt)

Dec 2014 – Treasures Found in Shopping Small by Brooke Benoit

Nov 2014 – The Other Side of Ebola: Ooga Booga Journalism by Mai’a Williams (TeleSur English)

Aug 2014 – Women on Their Favorite Tools by Brooke Benoit (The Toast)

Aug 2014 – OITNB star visits Kara Walker’s exhibit, misses point: some notes for our fellow white queers by Cordelia Nailong & Emma Shakarshy (Disrupting Dinner Parties: Feminism for Everyone)

Aug 2014 – 20 Steps: A Few Facts About Disability, Access, and Discrimination – And How People Are Still Somehow Getting it Wrong by Clarissa Chloe Viening. (Buzzfeed) – Photos and quotes of things that have been said to me as a disabled person to discriminate against me or minimize my need for access/accommodations, along with several other disabled people sharing similar quotes.

Apr 2014 – Art.Downtown & Avenue for the Arts (WGVU Morning Show with Shelley Irwin) Audio Post

Nov 2012 – Aaminah Shakur on Electric Poetry with Olive (WYCE Radio) Audio Post