Hello, My name is....

I am the woman with the black black skin
I am the laughing woman with the black black face
I am living in the cellars and in every crowded place
I am toiling just to eat
 In the cold and in the heat
And I laugh
I am the laughing woman who’s forgotten how to weep
I am the laughing woman who’s afraid to go to sleep
   Angelina Weld Grimké
Fragment


A born fighter, that's how I view myself. Everything I have in life today was fought for. Let me elaborate. My parents lived in the Republic of Liberia, on the Atlantic Coast of West Africa, in Monrovia. My mother was pregnant with me in the midst of the civil war that was going between 1989 to 1997. My parents had to abandon their home and their lives in order to keep their two daughters and their unborn child safe, so they traveled to Cote d'Ivoire with other fleeing Liberians. Their journey was full of close calls. They had close encounters with soldiers and were forced to eat anything they came in contact with in order not to starve. My mother almost lost me on this journey. But we survived and made it safely to Cote d’Ivoire where I was born and almost died due to severe illness, I don't recall what exactly.

In pursuit of a better life, we moved to Ghana, but Ghana didn't provide the opportunities my parents sought. The goal was to one day move to America, the land of opportunity. Now that we have arrived and I am about to complete my senior year and I have discovered my love for arts. Like many of you have. I want to pursue my dreams of getting my masters in fine arts and one day become an art director.
I would love to sit here and tell you all about myself. But the truth is I don’t know much about me. My story is not different from many refugees. My beginning seems insignificant to many others, and frankly, I don't know what the future entails. But then again who does. All I can tell you all is insignificant facts about myself, like my love for the rain or dislike for Sour Patch kids. You will learn more about who I am from the poem above way more then you will ever gather from the selective detail about my origin. I often feel like a Woman described above. I am living in the cellars and in every crowded place.
I am Kimmah Dennis, Hello.

one of my work.. oil on canvas 

other painting of mine... oil on , mirror