The Feministing Five: Synead Nichols and Umaara Iynaas Elliot

Last weekend, two young black women activists and artists, Synead Nichols, 23, and Umaara Iynaas Elliot, 19, co-organized New York’s massive Millions March, which was held in response to the recent incidents of racist police violence in both Ferguson and New York.

 Their efforts brought together upwards of 60,000 people in the streets of New York and have inspired similar protests across the country. We were thrilled to speak with them about their activism, their vision for the movement, and beyond.

And now, without further ado, the Feministing Five with Synead Nichols and Umaara Iynaas Elliot!

Suzanna Bobadilla: Can you tell us more about the story behind the Millions March? What has been your reaction to its response? 

Synead Nichols: We created the March event the morning after the non-indictment verdict was given on Darren Wilson. I had been protesting all night,  I went all the way to the Triborough Bridge in Harlem. When I got back home, I didn’t know what to do. I just decided, “You know what. I’m going to go on a whim, I know how I feel, I know that something has to be done.”

I created the Facebook event page maybe around 1:30 AM. I texted Umaara to ask her if she would want to help me out on this, she didn’t respond because she was also out protesting. I made her a host of the event before she even said yeah, but she agreed the next day so it all worked out.

Umaara Iynaas Elliott: We were very shocked at how many people came out. We weren’t expecting a turn out like that. The last time we checked the Facebook event, we only had 49,000 RSVP. Prior to the march planning, we were like, “You know, hopefully 10,000 people come out.” When we found that 60,000+ people were at there, we were extremely shocked.

We wanted for families to be able to come out, for children, for elderly people because the way the media has portrayed a lot of the protesters is that we are violent, we are agitators, we’re looters, and that’s not the case. We really wanted something where people could come out who were otherwise afraid to protest because of how the police had been responding. We wanted people to know that we wanted to be peaceful. We’re all peaceful by the way — all the protests have been peaceful. We’re acting on our rights, and we really wanted a massive movement.

SB: You both are artists and activists. Do this fields overlap in your daily practice? If yes, how so? 

SN: As an artist, I feel things emotionally first no matter what. I channel that aspect of myself through my music as a songwriter. Sometimes I’m affected by what’s happening around me, whether it’s relationships or family matters or right now, the lack of respect of the black body. Right now, that’s what is really affecting me and my music reflects that. My art talks about my plight as a young black woman.

I’m broke all the time because I don’t have access to things that people who are more privileged have. I may have experience in the world and I experience doing things other than what privilege people have, but I’m not getting the job because I don’t look a certain way. I’ve had people even tell me when I go into interviews, “Oh your name is Cid? You’re Cid?” And I’m like, “Yeah!” But they are expecting a young white man, but that’s not me.

Artistry and activism are lanes that intersect. You should always keep in mind that art imitates life and life imitates art sometimes. Art can reach so many people, and I don’t ever want to separate the two because they go hand in hand. Because even though I’m thinking about racial profiling, more people will also hear these stories because they gravitate to music as an art form. Look at Jimi Hendrix, he played his guitar and people were mesmerized. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people were mesmerized, people of all colors. When you talk about a universal thing, about love, people listen.

You don’t have to be an activist to do that. You can be a human being, you can be a gardner, you can be a babysitter, anything!

UIE: I definitely think that artistry and activism work together. If you look at hip-hop music, a lot of the artists as you know are speaking about injustices, racial profiling. If you listen to Tupac Shakur’s music, J. Cole’s music, D’Angelo’s new album — it’s really speaking about the black experience and the struggles that we have to go through. This music really reaches out to people who aren’t as aware in politics. They understand the message and they understand what’s going on through music, through books, through film.

SN: If you look at Langston Hughes too. You have all these people who are active in bringing about social awareness to their audience. Again as Umaara said, artists like Tupac and A Tribe Called Quest. Even Nas were at the protest, we didn’t even know! People want to see change and artists do as well.

We want to see that difference because we have a hope for this world. I don’t know if it’s just artists or everyone, but there is this utopia for things that we are striving for. Who knows if it can be had, but I think we can get there. It’s not an unattainable thing.

SB: Do you have suggestions for other young women who are looking to lead their communities as you have? 

UIE: I would just say that we acted off of emotion. If you are feeling angry or sad, however, just act on it. Don’t be scared of the “leadership role” you’re going to take. Just do it. We are regular girls, we aren’t “Activists.” We didn’t go to school for law or anything of that sort. We just acted off of emotion. That’s the important thing about this movement — that everyone involved, no matter what walk of life, we acted on an emotion.

You have to remember: yes, we are artists, but this is our everyday life. As black women, we are thinking about our sons and our daughters who we don’t want to fall victim to racial profiling. It comes back to that. As black women, we want a safer world for our children. So why not fight for your future offspring?

SN: Agree, agree, agree. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. It’s not a real word, “can’t.” I don’t believe in it.

SB: What are some things that you wish more people know about you and the March? 

UIE: We already have people reaching out from other cities who want to or have planned a Millions March. We have people in Oakland, Denver, Texas, LA, and Boston. That’s the great thing about this movement — getting people from across the nation who are in solidarity with Ferguson and New York and Ohio, where Tamir Rice and John Crawford were gunned down. That was really something that we wanted, to have people be aware of what’s going on.

SB: You’re stranded on a dessert island. You get to take with you a food, a drink, and a feminist. What do you pick? 

SN: The feminist I would take would be Assata Shakur. The food — anything Caribbean, Trinidadian specifically because that is where my family is from. For a drink, anything lemonade mixed like a strawberry lemonade.

UIE: For a feminist, I would take Assata Shakur. I would take curry goat. For a drink, I’d keep it simple with water.