a nigga’s newyear

Black and white photo. Tiye Olufumilayo (CQ) (L) and Monica Gaskin (R) are having yellow rice and collard greens. Photograph by Akira Suwa, June 9, year unknown. Courtesy of Free Library of Philadelphia, Print and Picture Collection.

Janus is the Roman God / Deity of New Beginning and Transitions, thus on the Gregorian calendar, the year begins in January. For enslaved Black Americans, January 1st, New Year’s Day, was known as “Heartbreak Day” or “Hiring Day.” On

We are enough.

It was a shared passion for food, Blackness, storytelling and shit talking that brought us together. Khaliah has lived in Philadelphia all her life, while Nia was born in Philly and raised in Yazoo City in the Mississippi Delta. We