MIZIZiD

"My roots inspire me because I know I come from a culture that may be small in size but has impacted the world massively. My work ethic and creativity are directly from my Jamaican roots. I wouldn’t be an Emmy award winning producer without my culture behind me. "Wi likkle but wi tallawah."

Twitter: @AssortedCashew

📷: @Truetashan & @Truelenses

Instagram: @jreymerkz

“I am a proud Afro-Latina. My roots inspire me everyday to be the best person I can be and focus on upward mobility for my family seeing as I only have three family members in America. Immigrating to a new country poses it's own sets of challenges, and I refuse to waste the opportunity and privilege I have, and one thing is for certain; we might not end up where we want to go, but we always end up where we need to be. My roots are my driving force, what keeps me grounded, and what remind me everyday that where I go is a product of where I've been.”

Danea Lewis | Trinidad & Tobago | 🇹🇹 “I am of Trinidadian descent, and my grandparents have always instilled in me even as a young child to embrace my roots and never forget where I came from. So when I saw this page and all the different jerseys you all had, I couldn’t think of a better way to represent my heritage! Being stylish as well as bringing attention and showing off one of the best countries in the Caribbean!”

“As an artist myself knowing my history allows me to channel my creativity in the best manner possible.  I am empowered and inspired by my lineage to create works that uphold and further the standard set by those who came before me.  My ancestry is important because it shows me everything that I was and everything I can become if I learn it in its entirety. I love my legacy because without it my existence has no validity or meaning.”

“My roots inspire me everyday. The first thing people see about me is my skin and I’m so proud of how beautiful it is. I’m not as blessed as other African Americans who know which parts of Africa they’re from, but I’m 100% proud to be Black and proud that my DNA has some sort of African in it. Happy Black History Month family ️🖤🏾”

Julia Carter | My father is African American and my mother is Caucasian | “I identify as black. My roots have inspired me to learn more about my family, its history and that of my ancestors, and how I can use my background and culture to make change. It has also inspired me to be an advocate for social justice and encourage those who struggle with finding their identity.”

“Being raised in the U.S. for most of my life sometimes it can be difficult to know who you truly are sometimes. Most of my life I’ve always challenged cultural norms, but I did what made me happy. I may identify as African-American, but African has and will always come first. Hardly home but always repping.”

As Nick Cannon infamously said ”Hold up, let me put it in ‘Amareenya’ ”(his words not mine lol) ኢትዮጵያዊነቴን እወድዋለዉ 📷: @aracelitaranto

“My roots inspire me because I am mixed with black, white and Native American. I don’t know my complete heritage in any of the three avenues but being mixed has created a tolerance for all different types of people. Not knowing my roots in their entirety, drives me to want to learn as much as I can. I’ve become a sponge and I soak up as much knowledge as I can. My roots fuel my quest for knowledge.“

Gabrielle Simo | Cameroon | 🇨🇲 “My roots remind me of where I’m from. They tie and drive me towards a higher purpose, and encourage me to put my culture at the forefront of all my actions. My roots balance my life’s decisions by shaping my moral and values. They give me a rich sense of history, and allow me to embrace the fact that my “black” is unique.”

Shahid Meighan | Belizean & Ghanaian | 🇧🇿🇬🇭 “In 2016 I was lucky enough to study abroad in my mother's home country, Ghana, for 4 months. It was a cultural awakening for me, to say the least. I met several family members for the first time and even learned a decent amount of the local dialect. The experiences that I had and being reconnected with my roots is something that I carry in the forefront of my mind while navigating predominantly White spaces in the U. S. My roots remind me to stay resilient and hardworking, with a little bit of style.”

Iva Pittman | African, European, Native American “Having knowledge of what my ancestors endured and built to achieve the now opportunities we have today, My roots inspire me to be the best version of me. The melting pot of cultures allows me to experience and appreciate so much more; opening my eyes beyond my birthplace.”

Hannah Kassahun | Ethiopian | 🇪🇹 “My Habesha roots give me a sense of belonging and inspire me to embody my culture and represent what it means to be Ethiopian; selfless, generous, and a lover of people.”

Adeyemi Taylor-Lewis aka Dey | Sierra Leone | 🇸🇱 “Music is such a big part of the culture in Sierra Leone and West Africa in general. I try to take elements of my culture and infuse it in everything I do but especially in my music. Sierra Leone is known for it’s diamonds and I just want to be one diamond out of many that have come from such an amazing country.”