Peyton Wilson
The George Washington University B.A., Political Communication |
Growing up I was always drawn to writing. Even at a young age I could express myself more eloquently on paper than I could through speaking. I would constantly write short stories and poems on my mom’s computer, entering writing contests throughout middle and high school, creating worlds through my writing. One of my earliest pieces of writing was a letter to Obama's White House, protesting the deforestation happening across the street from my neighborhood.
In middle and high school, my love for writing began to become the medium for my identification of inequality and injustice. Through school publications and mediums, I fell in love with learning people's stories, underscoring the voices of the silenced, and calling our systems of inequality through my writing. My favorite part of the journalistic process was the research and reading stage, and once I got to college this love of research spread like wildfire. By diving into readings for my coursework and building relationships with professors doing research in their field, my interests evolved into pursuing research and teaching as a career. I learned that education is a form of advocacy, and in my four years of undergrad my eyes were opened to the systems of inequality woven into collegiate institutions. It was around this time that I also began doing mutual aid work in the greater DC community, where I was allowed by DC natives to be welcomed into their communities and spaces. Mutual aid fortified my desire to pursue research and community education. Sitting in classrooms at an institution where I was blessed with money to attend, I gained a better understanding of how the excess of resources available to college students alone could repair cleavages of need across the city. While students were attending their third brunch or dinner outing of the weekend, Black trans women on the street and single mothers living in their cars pleaded for mutual aid funds. My passion for and education equality combined with the mutual aid work I had engaged with moved me to found The Black Knowledge Coalition (BKC). BKC is an education mutual aid organization dedicated to increasing access to information primarily available in higher education and behind institutional paywalls. Education is a human right, not a privilege. This organization leans on the wisdom and knowledge of those in our community to share information with those who deserve it. When I'm not focused on work or The Black Knowledge Coalition I enjoy skateboarding, playing with my dog, and painting. Thanks for stopping by! |
