Aya de Leon

Profile Photo

Aya de Leon teaches creative writing in the African American Studies Department at UC Berkeley. Kensington Books publishes her feminist heist series, Justice Hustlers: UPTOWN THIEF in 2016 (winner of first place Independent Publisher and International Latino Book Awards), THE BOSS in 2017, and THE ACCIDENTAL MISTRESS in 2018. Her work has also appeared in Ebony, Guernica, Writers Digest, Huffington Post, The Toast, Quartz, Essence, Bitch Magazine and on Def Poetry. She blogs and tweets about race, gender, and culture at @AyadeLeon and ayadeleon.com.

Stories

Cover Photo: Tallulah Pomeroy
The Perils of Raising a Black Feminist Girl

I promised myself I would not threaten, shame, or scare my daughter into compliance. I kept that promise.

Jan 18, 2018