WE RE-MEMBER
Our Story
Cairo and Natasha met when they were in high school. They quickly bonded over their concerns and passions regarding their community. This bond continued to grow as they studied African American studies at San Jose State University together. Over the years Cairo became intrigued by Natasha’s journey as a Black fair-skinned woman. Cairo as a journalist, wanted to explore Natasha’s story. While they both identified as “Black” their experiences based on that same identity greatly diverged at times and Cairo wanted to explore this dichotomy. With the idea of telling Natasha’s story to the masses, Cairo and Natasha began crafting themes they wanted to explore from colorism, African spirituality, preservation of culture, the prison industrial complex, just to name a few. As the themes began to develop they quickly realized this project was larger than just Natasha’s story. The story they were seeking to tell was the story of descendants from the Middle Passage. The story they wanted to tell was one that captured all the ways their ancestors were dismembered and also discussed the multitude of ways people from sub-populations of their community have re-membered themselves. Further, to create a comprehensive picture of this story, they realized they would have to travel the African Diaspora and research how the methods of dismemberment and rememberment varied based on location and period in history. Out of this calling We Re-Member was born.
Cairo
Social justice was always a focal point during Cairo’s formative years. After taking part in a program in high school that allowed students to research the Civil Rights Movement and travel to the American South, this transformative experience ignited Cairo’s passion to become a journalist and work in the community. Cairo went on to study Broadcast Journalism at San Jose State University and earned a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism and African American Studies. Cairo participated in a PBS documentary series that interviewed influential people and social activists including Fred Hampton Jr. ( Activist), John Podesta (Former White House Chief of Staff), and Jeff Johnson (Journalist). From there, Cairo interned at CNN and assisted with covering the 2007 Presidential Debates. Cairo worked as a reporter and associate producer covering African American/ African news and worked on an investigative piece on Obama’s Road to the White House at KMTP-TV. To continue to expand her knowledge base in the media industry, Cairo earned a Social Media Marketing Certificate from San Francisco State University. Cairo was a member of the community organization The Last 3 % of Black San Francisco. Professionally, Cairo runs her own Voice Over business, and is the co-founder of We Re-Member. We Re-Member is a comprehensive project that highlights the dismemberment and re-memberment of slaves in America and their descendants.
Natasha
Throughout her life Natasha has been an advocate for equity, social justice, and restorative justice. To equip her for these lifelong pursuits she obtained a Bachelors in Social Work from San Jose State University, a Juris Doctorate from Loyola College of Law New Orleans, a Masters in Social Work from Southern University of New Orleans, and a LL.M. in Taxation from the University of San Francisco. Over her career she has worked as a community organizer, a juvenile justice attorney, a social worker, and facilitator for various entities including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, Year Up, and the Anti-Defamation League. Natasha also has a gift for making tax law accessible and entertaining, and with that gift she operates a community-centered tax practice for low and middle income people in the Bay Area. Most important, Natasha is co-founder of We ReMember; We Re-Member is a comprehensive project that highlights the dismemberment and rememberment of slaves in America and their descendants.
