Hello … let me reintroduce myself…
I’m Dominique Drakeford, chief curator of the blog MelaninASS and co-founder of Sustainable Brooklyn. With the titles out of the way: I’m a Black woman raised in Oakland and now living in Brooklyn, working every day to demystify ecological stewardship, dismantle oppressive systems, and elevate the voices and work of people of color — especially Black women — in the sustainability world.
This little corner is where I’ll share the things I love — travel, youth development — alongside the harder stuff, like entrepreneurship and healing, plus whatever random thoughts come up along the way.
Each year I aim to take one or two personal trips to re-center. Last year I took a Mega Bus to Philly and it was so dope. This year, I headed upstate to Mount Kisco.
The older I get and the deeper I invest in my work, the more I value intentional solitude. Reconnecting with my inner-community — for healing, writing, self-exploration, or simply to be grounded in nature — is essential to my spirit. As much as I love New York, there are moments when I feel like I’m suffocating and need room to breathe on my own.
Creative and social entrepreneurship isn’t easy, and relationships — family, friendship, business or intimate — aren’t always easy either
Moving through spaces in my Blackness isn’t always easy
Staying present on social media isn’t always easy
Standing up for what you believe in isn’t always easy
Healing isn’t always easy
Resisting comparison to others isn’t always easy
So I make time to show up for myself, by myself … and it’s honestly one of the most beautiful choices I’ve made in my early career.
… Showing up for myself
This time around, as a nature-loving woman, I was seeking exclusion! I wanted time to connect with nature, to stay in a beautiful cozy cabin on my own, and honestly to get some much-needed writing done. Mount Kisco was perfect — only an hour and a half from Brooklyn by train!
