Sailor Melanin was actually born from an Instagram post on my personal account. I decided to wear two puffs in my hair to work, some glittery makeup and wood moon earrings. I took a picture and captioned it “Sailor Melanin”. My friend was like, “ooh. That would be a cute cosplay!” I agreed, but didn’t think about it until I was in Joanns and walked past some kente fabric.
I bought a body suit from capezios and made the skirt and collar from fabric I bought from Joanns. I actually struggled a bit because I tried to use a pattern I bought…and it was waaaaaay undersized. Numbers lie.
I was super surprised by the response at the con. It went over way better than I thought. I had never been stopped for so many pictures! People told me they were inspired by me, and I was shocked. I inspire people? That was a crazy thought to me. I just thought it would be great to present the idea that there are black girls who grow up with magical girl dreams too.
I met my best friends through cosplay. I am relaxed and most at peace when sewing a cosplay. Cosplay brings my family together. I found confidence I didn’t know I had, pride that was dormant and a way to physically advocate the things that matter to me.
I don’t care who you are, cosplay is for everybody and EVERY BODY. Never do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable just to meet a standard. Cosplay the characters you love because you love them:)
“I really loved the idea of playing a superhero whose only real superpower is using his brain and his instincts. It’s very inspiring in the world of superheroes and capes and flying and shooting things out of your hands. It’s nice to focus on real people and real heroes.”
Nanny of the Maroons, as the show goes on to say, was a leader of a city of formerly-enslaved Africans in Jamaica. They regularly raided plantations to liberate others. Rumors swirled that she was royalty, but her origins are a bit unclear – the show says she was Asante, but I think that’s still uncertain?
She beat the hell out of the British for years, and was reputed to have magic powers. She fed her people with quick-growing pumpkins, made the British ill with her herbalism, and camouflaged warriors so well, British soldiers would hang their coats on them, thinking them trees. Said soldiers would then decapitate the British and vanish into the forest. She could supposedly catch bullets with her bare hands.
To this day, the site of old Nanny Town is a place where unwelcome visitors reputedly go missing.
And yes, I cover her in my first book.
(she’s so cool! so glad her story is suffusing its way into pop culture! she fits in perfectly with the storyline they have going in Luke Cage.)
“I’m playing a director — Beyoncé’s character has basically become such a big star in the music world that she’s now branching out into acting, and I’m the young writer/director who’s considering her for a part in my movie.”
— John Krasinski about his character in Dreamgirls.
JackburtonSays 