Still in search of typographic optimism: self-reflections on change-making, bridge-building, and embracing community

When I shared news of the formation of Alphabettes at the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI) conference in São Paulo in 2015, I had no idea that I was the first to speak publicly about the network. There had been no coordinated plan for me to do so. It was just one of those ‘being in the right place’ moments of life, but a moment perhaps worthy of reflection when it was suggested I write about it for this book.
 
What seemed like a straightforward idea became, in practice, something far more complex—a personal reflection on my own efforts, as Marisa C Sánchez puts it, “to embrace and expand my own unlearning.” Though, as Lola Olufemi encourages in the introduction to her book Feminism, interrupted: disrupting power, “We all begin somewhere”. I especially appreciate her assertion that theory is, “lived, held, shared … a breathing changeable thing that can be infused in many political and artistic forms.” That is to say, I can only be myself as I work these things out and sharing with others is a valuable part of that process.