Marissa Joseph

Marissa is a scholar, global storyteller, and published essayist whose works highlight historical constructions of race and gender across Afro-Latin America. Her research focuses on the social and cultural history of Caribbean women throughout the Black Atlantic with a special interest in migration and diaspora studies and the limits and possibilities of the archive.

In 2023, Marissa graduated from Harvard College, obtaining a degree in History and Literature with a focus field in Ethnic Studies. Professionally, Marissa specializes in enhancing corporate reputations and brands through strategic storytelling in the field of Corporate Communications and Public Relations. Her expertise encompasses Thought Leadership, Employee Brand, and Corporate Social Responsibility Communications, and she leverages her confident and adept writing skills to fortify corporate reputations.

My Latest Work

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal 2023 •

Be(Com)ing Haitiano-Cubano

Closely examining “Guanamaca,” a 1962 state-sponsored
ethnographic study of a Haitian settlement in
post-Revolution Cuba, this paper traces how state cultural institutions characterized haitianas, women of Haitian descent, as bulwarks of ethnic difference, locating their embodied diasporic memory as an obstacle that restricted the realization of cultural homogeneity. It interrogates the conditions and limitations involved in being and becoming, be(com)ing, integrated members of Cuban society. Ultimately, this paper seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural dynamics surrounding the Haitian presence in Cuba. It provides insights into the discourses of cultural assimilation, the complexities of shaping national identity, and the categories of exclusion that emerged following the Cuban Revolution.
The Harvard Crimson •

Cornel West’s Departure is By Harvard’s Design | Opinion

The production of Black-centered knowledge is not a priority for Harvard because it promises to deconstruct the very white supremacist tables at which they have denied us a seat. By centering decolonization and the deconstruction of power, West invited us to pursue a “veritas'' that transcended academia’s pervasive and intentional whiteness and neoliberalism. Offering West tenure would equate to Harvard consenting to the dismantling of its own structural racism.
The Harvard Crimson •

The Fight Against Police Brutality Is Global | Opinion

Tear gas floods from canisters propelled by officers outfitted in bulletproof vests. The target? Thousands of demonstrators marching through the streets armed only with hand-painted signs. While unique tragedies and trauma forge the fury in each voice, their message is the same: “Our lives matter.” No, we’re not describing the local Black Lives Matter protests that took place in the United States this spring. This is the reality now in Nigeria, as the #EndSARS movement reignites
Medium •

Toni Morrison’s Desdemona and #BlackGirlMagic

The defining motivations for social movements are visions of a better future. However, conceptualizing possibilities for a divergent world that is completely free of inequity can be an arduous task for the oppressed who have experienced some form of subjugation as the status quo for centuries. In other words, what does a world without racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice truly even look like? Shakespeare’s Othello reflects, maintains, and normalizes his world’s systems. But, perhaps due
Medium •

Toni Morrison’s Desdemona and #BlackGirlMagic

The defining motivations for social movements are visions of a better future. However, conceptualizing possibilities for a divergent world that is completely free of inequity can be an arduous task for the oppressed who have experienced some form of subjugation as the status quo for centuries. In other words, what does a world without racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice truly even look like? Shakespeare’s Othello reflects, maintains, and normalizes his world’s systems. But, perhaps due
The Harvard Crimson •

When Black Women Die, White America Does Not Cry at Their Funerals | Opinion

Breonna Taylor was an emergency medical technician. Every shift she leased her breath to restore life into strangers’ lungs, but no one came to her rescue for 20 minutes after three officers sent five bullets into her body and left her family with one less daughter. Black families across the country cry familiar and familial tears for another Black life lost. Cities burn in Breonna’s honor to caution racist institutions of their looming fate and Black women apply pressure to society's chest, try
Darlingtonian •

An Open Letter to the National Socialist Movement

On the day of the “Turn Your Back on Hate” silent protest, there were violent clashes between protesters, police, and neo-Nazi groups in Stone Mountain, Ga. The approach of the protesters at Stone Mountain was disorganized, and they quickly turned into a trending topic on Twitter rather than truly getting their message across. Tensions were high at the “Turn Your Back on Hate” protest in Rome after seeing what happened in Stone Mountain.