The worst.
A year in review
2016 was a massive, frustrating, heart-breaking, bizarre year. From Zayn’s release from the clutches of cult-stardom to the election of the country’s first Yam-in-Chief, what a long, strange trip it’s been…
We’ve been tested by global tragedies and a national fall into fascism. Most of us have come out on the other side of this year exhausted and a little broken. But as we’ve said before, this is the time to work harder and speak louder.
As we hurtle into next year, let’s pause to look back at 2016 (if not fondly then sorta like a hero does when he cooly looks over his shoulder at the bomb he just detonated). Here are some of our favorite pieces from this last year:
On Being Both
Huda shares what it’s like to navigate Muslim and Queer spaces without an intersectional safety net.
Culture Vultures and Uncomfortable Bedmates
Fatima delivers a treatment on how Bollywood has used and misused tropes of “Arab-ness” in music and film.
This Land
We launched our new docu-series Browntown which shares stores of the South Asian diaspora with a special focus on the neighborhoods we live in.
Saying a Prayer for You
Poet Aziz Adib talks about what it’s like to walk into a train and be branded a threat. His poem is conversational, simple, and heart-rending.
Ready or Not
Nooreen talked with the director of Pakitani LGBT documentary Chuppan Chupapi about community and home.
Taking Over
Staff writer Fatima reflects on what it means to be Afro-Indian and to inherit a history of African colonization when your own family comes from a colonized country.
We Hate Women Like Her
Not everyone hated Qandeel Baloch, the outspoken and controversial Pakistani social media star, but her death was on everyone’s hands, Mehreen writes.
Sound for a New Generation
Nadya’s feature on performer and artist Kohinoorgasm spans the burgeoning PoC art world of the Silicon Valley.
This Land II
Episode 2 of our new docu-series Browntown featured community activist Shahana Hanif, who walked us around her Bangla Brooklyn neighborhood.
Confronting the Conflict
Nooreen spoke to artist Moshtari Hilal about her illustrations and work to normalize the refugee experience in Germany.
2017 will bring a lot of the same things 2016 subjected us to, but we’re ready for it. We plan on publishing even more amazing essays, videos, poems, and media. We are here, and just like we finished two amazing years, we’re going to make it to the end of at least a dozen more.
