by Akilah “Kiki” Monifa
I first learned about Andrew from my friend Sarah Allen’s Facebook page. Turns out that they went to high school together and were activists. The picture was captioned and he was labeled as her OG homey.
I booked him on Black Renaissance and Christin Ayers interviewed him with production assistance from Tammy Lee. Dr. Andrew Jolivette discussed the value of Ethnic Studies, “radical love”, the current battle to preserve, defend and advance the program at San Francisco State University and his latest book, Indian Blood: HIV and Colonial Trauma in San Francisco’s Two-Spirit Community.
Here’s the interview: Andrew on Black Renaissance.
He self describes as a son, grandson, brother, nephew with roots in Louisiana and Alabama; Opelousas, African, European, mixed race, French, Spanish, and Irish. He is a native San Franciscan, black, gay man who is HIV positive.
He embraces two-spirit as a concept, he is a teacher, activist, and student. He has been a professor for 16 years at the College of Ethnic Studies in the Department of American Indian Studies.
He has authored 5 books. His first love is poetry and cooking. Some of his friends suggest that he should have a poetry cookbook.
In addition to teaching he is the interim director of the American Indian Cultural Center and is working on creating a “Black Men’s space”. He is an organizer and works with communities he cares about.
In re social media, he finds it a “tricky beast”. He wants his personal posts to be useful but also accurate and researched. He tends to post about events and organizing and uses social media to connect with friends and family.
For more information about his activism and speaking engagements please click on Speak Out Now.
Peace, love, gratitude, compassion, and blessings.
KikiPosts 