Facing the throwaway comment that, “You can’t be black and queer,” Suriya Aisha, creator of social support network UNMUTED, saw nobody visibly living in the intersection that she found herself in. So she made a choice, for a while. In this talk, she examines how our culture interacts with our identity, and how we can create spaces for people to bring 100% of themselves to the table, allowing them to become whole again.

Suriya Aisha is a writer, theater maker, workshop facilitator and creative producer, who is passionate about equal opportunities and representation. Her ongoing project STAMP works with young people with additional needs in partnership with the Next Generation team at Mac Birmingham. She has also launched a peer and social support network - UNMUTED, for young people of colour who identify as LGBTQI. She has performed alongside Meera Syal at Theatre Royal Stratford East and previously featured as part of the "Late at Tate" exhibition "Visibly, Invisible", curated by Saira Awan. As a member of the REP Foundry in 2014, Suriya initiated "Dark Room," a theatrical exploration of the relationship between culture, gender and mental health, and was recently accepted onto The Royal Court Theatre’s Live Lunch writers program, where she explored themes of culture and family through her play "Nine Nights."

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx