THE 411 | THE INFORMATION | THE LOWDOWN

Kayla Aliese Carter 

< she/her >

Baltimore, MD

1994

My family was conceived below the Mason Dixon, birthed on the border of Alabama, and settled along the Chattahoochee River.Judith “JUDY” Clanahan Shipp, was a negro slave in Chambers County, Alabama, who belonged to William Henry Clanahan. Upon his untimely death, William wrote a will, naming his possessions. He left a pregnant Judy, to his wife, Rozilla Ann "Isabella" Shipp, and Judy’s unborn child to his youngest son, William H E Clanahan. Judy’s daughter, Rebecca, is my 4th Great Grandmother, and the first woman on my maternal grandfather’s side to be born into slavery and die a free woman. My Great-Grandmother, Leila, was the granddaughter of Rebecca B. Griffin. Leila fell in love with Grant Whitlow and gave birth to the generation that would become evidence of my wildest dreams, all in a town with 1 streetlight and an estimated population of 4,000 people.

I am a thoughtful, critical, and committed social impact leader who has advocated to develop, implement, and advance more accessible, equitable, and inclusive spaces in social, academic, and professional settings. I had the privilege of being trained to think, synthesize, and critically examine issues from multiple lenses while committing myself to doing anti-racist  and social justice work to create more equitable outcomes for people who looked like me. 

I believe that unpacking and exploring the axis on which our identities intersect and interact is the first step at being able to understand the importance of different and diverse life experiences at micro, mezzo, and macro levels  to ensure authentically anti oppressive spaces.

My experiences have taught me to honor the  intersectional and anti racist framework, which is critical in our efforts to decentralize our identity value systems, and bring the marginalized away from the margins, and toward the center.