Attiya White

Sacred Flight

When asked, “What does it mean to be a Black woman?” a flood of images came to mind. I thought first of my mother, my sister, my grandmother, and my nieces all before I even thought of myself. In imagining them, I began to trace the threads of what binds us together and what sets us apart. What parts of our identities connect us beyond blood? That inquiry left me with more questions than answers. But in all that uncertainty, I noticed a quiet, unspoken thread… a shared experience that’s hard to name.

This piece represents the idea of resilience that many Black women have to embody and that so many Black women in my life have learned to build. A shield, crafted out of necessity, to survive in a world that too often sees us as expendable. The exterior is intentionally harsh, a reflection of the barriers that many of us have to consistently overcome. The main characters, delicate and rich creature that seem out of place in such a harsh environment. Soft, lush, and radiant because beneath the surface of survival, there is a richness of existence that persists. Delicate. Beautiful. Unyielding.