Maroon Princess
Nomadonna Mermaid

“Being a Black Mermaid is about open rebellion. It’s not about whether any of our specific ancestors jumped off of a slaver’s ship or followed the North Star to freedom or led a revolt…

The spirit of the Black Mermaid as it exists today in living breathing Black people is about the spirits of our ancestors when just this kind of mutiny was on their minds.”
















Whitney Sparks is my gxdx given name (+gxdx are my pronouns). I grew up not going to school/worldschooled and professionally trained in ballet. I speak 5 languages. I have lived in India, Switzerland, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Thailand. I graduated from Yale in 3.5 years with distinction in my degree in American Studies. I have been making visual art and telling stories for my entire life.

I earned my Masters in Fine Art in visual art praxis from Zurich University of the Arts. my thesis is called Exploration of Intimate Space. I made a documentary on the mythology and ancient cult of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis. I have made a couple autobiographical short films. I have been published multiple times including two illustrated books I self published, Nefertiti Escapes! and The Riddle of the Sphinx. My latest book project is Radical Care: the Nature of Sacred Solidarity.

I came out as a witch when I was 8 years old. I make gorgeous altars. I practice Hoodoo. By the time I was 16 I had moved 16 times including across multiple state lines. My Mom who is the best friend I ever had, had me as a teenager her freshman/sophomore year at Stanford (the first in her fam to attend college).

I was born on the South Side of Chicago (like my Mom Granny and Great Grandmother before me) during her Winter Break. I was w/ her in the car accident in Osun, Nigeria that killed her 15 years later, my freshman year of high school (and first year of school since kindergarten; at HSPVA, the magnet school for the arts, where as a dance major, I attended like Beyonce did but also like her didn’t graduate). I completely and totally hysterically prophesied her death the entire 24hours leading up to it. I tried to stop it but no one wanted to listen to me. I do not remember the road trip or accident. She had been to Nigeria before and was taking her four kids and mom back to show us our origins and history. It's not something I can get over in this lifetime. I'm at peace with that fact.

I am a single mother aka 100% full time solo parent. I had a homebirth in the bathtub. My child who calls themself Quickshadow can read write draw build tell amazing stories identify native plants and solve equations at almost 6 and a half years old now! I have been trained and sharing yoga, birth support (doula), and permaculture praxis for over a decade. Just before the pandemic I released an ebook called Just Boundaries that is a guide to setting them.

I identify as Black, Indigenous, Native (Nansemond, Choctaw), Queer, Bi/pan + demisexual, which is on the ace spectrum, and neurodivergent. I know my ancestors well and am in constant touch with them. I love trees and plants. I have a connection to hawks, hummingbirds, jays and cardinals. My favorite flowers are roses, peonies, cholla cactus, jasmine, lavender, cannabis and absolutely ALL of them! I’ll tell you a secret: I’m a flower fairy. I love good music and food. Down for the occasional psychedelic trip. Im a total hedonist aka pleasure activist. Devotee of the Divine Feminine in all forms.

Last year I finally learned how to surf. Now it is my new all time favorite activity and is in the process of revolutionizing my life lol. As you know by now, I’m also a mermaid which is not a secret and I feel incredibly blessed to have once surfed with humpback whales who showed up from a dream I had into the real life ocean. My goal is to be fully loved and celebrated for my whole self. And to Create Sanctuary for Black MaGes.

I am beyond grateful to finally have a home of my dreams, that I manifested in a castle in occupied Xucyun aka the Berkeley hills with an ocean view surrounded by lush verdant forest walking distance to a creek with radical activist history making neighbors for my kid and me and our juicy creative liberated future. Reach out to support connect build and/or learn from me on Patreon.




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