AphroChic Magazine: Issue No. 4
In this issue, we sit down with artist, Malik Roberts, who relates the experience of creating one of the few African American artworks to sit permanently in the Vatican collection. Fashion designer, Prajjé Oscar John-Baptiste introduces his latest collection — an ode to Haiti, and its goddesses. We head to South Carolina to experience the Gullah-inspired music of Ranky Tanky. And in New York, we watch a new world being born with photographer and journalist, Naeem Douglass, who takes us inside the city’s Black Lives Matter protests, and economist Janelle Jones, who reminds us in these times that we are the economy. We are thrilled to share our cover with chef and musician, Lazarus Lynch. Inside, we talk with him about his cookbook, Son of a Southern Chef and his new album, I’m Gay. From a house tour in Brooklyn to a travel piece in Tobago, this issue takes you all over the Diaspora. And we see how of the concept of Diaspora was first introduced in a look back at how Pan-Africanism led the way to how we think of international Blackness today. It is a showcase of our culture, our creativity, our resilience, and our diversity, our demands for the present and our hopes for the future. Welcome to our summer issue.
In this issue, we sit down with artist, Malik Roberts, who relates the experience of creating one of the few African American artworks to sit permanently in the Vatican collection. Fashion designer, Prajjé Oscar John-Baptiste introduces his latest collection — an ode to Haiti, and its goddesses. We head to South Carolina to experience the Gullah-inspired music of Ranky Tanky. And in New York, we watch a new world being born with photographer and journalist, Naeem Douglass, who takes us inside the city’s Black Lives Matter protests, and economist Janelle Jones, who reminds us in these times that we are the economy.
We are thrilled to share our cover with chef and musician, Lazarus Lynch. Inside, we talk with him about his cookbook, Son of a Southern Chef and his new album, I’m Gay.
From a house tour in Brooklyn to a travel piece in Tobago, this issue takes you all over the Diaspora. And we see how of the concept of Diaspora was first introduced in a look back at how Pan-Africanism led the way to how we think of international Blackness today. It is a showcase of our culture, our creativity, our resilience, and our diversity, our demands for the present and our hopes for the future. Welcome to our summer issue.
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IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR<br />
however, and by the time we were there the<br />
wallpaper was peeling, tiles were cracking,<br />
and pieces of the popcorn ceiling were frequently<br />
on the floor.<br />
It’s not that the bathroom made life<br />
there unbearable. I loved living with my<br />
brother, and 22-year-old men are rarely<br />
bothered by inconvenient bathroom architecture.<br />
But even then it was easy to see<br />
that there was room for improvement. So<br />
when the opportunity came, years later,<br />
to renovate certain parts of the home’s<br />
interior, there was one space that was definitely<br />
at the top of my mind.<br />
Smart renovation is about picking<br />
your battles, and even then there are some<br />
you win and some you lose. For us, that<br />
meant accepting that there was a lot about<br />
the bathroom’s structure that we couldn’t<br />
change. There wasn’t time or money, for<br />
example, to bring the bathtub and shower<br />
together. In fact, just changing the bathtub<br />
would prove a nearly impossible task. After<br />
starting the project we quickly learned<br />
that not only was the cast iron tub original<br />
to the house, but it had actually been built<br />
into the structure of the home in a way that<br />
made it impossible to remove in one piece.<br />
The solution was a sledge hammer and a lot<br />
of work for my brother-in-law Will.<br />
For this iteration of the bathroom,<br />
we wanted to create something with a<br />
more timeless feel. We simplified the<br />
color palette to a classic black and white,<br />
expressed together in the large, dazzling<br />
patterned tiles that replaced the earlier<br />
speckled pink versions. As the centerpiece<br />
of the room, we placed a larger vanity with<br />
a marble top and black base that worked<br />
with the lines of the new bathtub and toilet<br />
to give the room a more modern feel.<br />
Though Mom-Mom never got to see<br />
the bathroom’s redesign, we thought a<br />
lot about her when bringing it to life. The<br />
house was not just a refuge for those on<br />
their way to something new. Mom-Mom<br />
was young when the family first moved<br />
into the house. She raised her daughter<br />
and her grandchildren there. It was open<br />
to everyone who needed it and when the<br />
time came, she passed it on. It was her<br />
house. We wanted to honor that by creating<br />
a calm and relaxing space she would have<br />
enjoyed. Hopefully it will last for as many<br />
years, and offer as much comfort to the<br />
family members who are there now and<br />
those who will be there next. AC<br />
20 aphrochic issue four 21
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