Meet Kendra N. Bryant Aya | Black Womanist Professor and Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kendra N. Bryant Aya and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kendra N., how do you think about risk?
I don’t take risks. I trust the universe. In Paulo Coehlo The Alchemist, he writes: The universe conspires in our favor. However, for the universe to do so, we have to be open and trusting–trust that whatever decisions we make on our life’s journey, having made the decision, we have surrendered fear and trepidation re: “risk.” Instead, we have said to ourselves, who are of and in the universe, that it is so. There’s nothing left to do but to witness our decisions unfold.

As a high school senior applying to attend university, I applied only to Florida A&M University. Attending FAMU was my one and only desire; no other school would do. And so, I directed my energy and desire there. Had I not been accepted into FAMU, eventually (once my ego calmed down), that would’ve been ok. For something or somewhere else would have taken its place in my universe. Nonetheless, I did not apply to only one school in the energy of “risk taking.” Nor did I leave an internship in the middle of the year, rescind a few job offers, forfeit tenure multiple times, nor leave relationships in the spirit of “risk taking.” I am where I am and who I am as a middle class, married, Black lesbian woman associate professor of English, poet, and essayist not because I took risks but because I trusted the universe to take care of me.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My bread and butter is serving college students as their associate professor of English as well as the department’s composition director. And I usually love it. I believe I was born to teach; this is my gift. But real life: I want only to be a poet, like on Maya Angelou’s level. I am still working on that. However, like Angelou, Toni Morrison, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, I teach writing as a liberatory practice, while meddling in my own writing: poetry, essays, academic papers. I don’t know what sets me apart from others–and not sure I want to be so set apart. I reckon if I were so different from my peers, however, I wouldn’t need to teach as regularly as I do. I’d be able to sustain myself with a writing career. But statistically, I am among the 2% of Black women tenured in America. That’s something, ain’t it? There’s only 2% of us. And the road to tenure, well, it ain’t been easy, but it ain’t been hard, either. It’s been laborious. It’s been a practice in resilience and commitment–sometimes fraught with insecurities and fatigue. And well, I got over by doing what my momma been telling me to do since I started this academic journey into higher ed: “keep your eyes on the prize.” (As of late, she’s been asking me when I’m gonna birth a best seller. hA!) Keeping my eyes on the prize may sound trite, but real life, it’s about staying focused on and in my heart matters–which is always about trusting the process, trusting the universe, trusting myself–and doing that which brings me joy, even if the joy requires some other work, like teaching classes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my folks came to visit me for a week, I’d insist we:

1. do some downtown and State Street thrifting;
2. tour The International Civil Rights Center and Museum;
3. hit up local bakeries, creameries, and coffee shops: Maxie B’s, Amorosa’s, A Special Blend, Common Grounds, Union Coffee, Savor the Moment, Dewey’s, and Ozzie’s;
4. visit GreenHill Center for NC Art; and
5. eat at Pho Hien Vuong, Four Thai Square, Taaza Bistro, Print Works Bistro, Chez Genese, and Embur.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
All praises go first to my mother, Choling Bryant Walker, my master teacher, and deceased father, Donald Earl Bryant, who tried me enuf so I would eventually just be; additional BIG thank you’se to: Cyndi Ixchele Friday Aya, my wife, friend, and spiritual guide; Ondahani: Black Womxnist Collective; Drs. Deborah G. Plant, Genyne Henry-Boston, and Gurleen Grewal; Mrs. Persephone Taylor, former Girl Scout Troop Leader and always surrogate mother; my sisters Kiley, who always is the first to like anything I post on social media; and Kim, who lifts me up by putting me down; aaaaaand, Alice Walker, her womanist theory and The Color Purple have been the architectures of my life.

Website: https://linktr.ee/drknbryant

Instagram: @drknbryant

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendranicolebryant/

Other: TikTok: @drknbryant

Image Credits
First Head Shot in Classroom: Kimberly Harper