Avery Danae Williams (she/they) is a member of the Great Class of 2026, originally from North Brunswick, New Jersey but currently living in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is majoring in African American Studies, on the African American Culture & Life Track, with a minor in Creative Writing.
They originally came to Princeton as an English major hoping to obtain the African American Studies certicate. That all changed when Avery took "Race, Racism, & Racial Justice" with Professor Lidal Dror in Fall 2022. She enjoyed discussing racial justice issues -- such as armative action, racial proling, and reparations -- in depth. And they wanted to be a part of a department where they felt safe enough to continue these conversations with like-minded peers. Avery was also drawn to the African American Studies Department, because she never has to choose between pursuing academic and creative work. Through taking previous courses on cultural appropriation; arts & public policy; the sex work industry; and Black queerness, they have always found creative ways (e.g. music, poetry) to retell Black narratives.
Inspired by reading Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey, Avery is particularly interested in how radical rest could liberate Black people from racial capitalism. And as a diehard Sesame Street fan (among other children's cartoons), they love exploring how such media plays a pivotal role in shaping the youth's perception of themselves. Avery is also interested in the erasure of Black, Disabled women (and more specically Black, Autistic women) throughout history.
Avery is a former Community Action Fellow with the Pace Center for Civic Engagement. Building over twenty-ve partnerships with New Jersey and New York based nonprot organizations, she organized a rst-year Community Action program called Creative Arts: how to use the arts to advocate for disability and racial justice. Additionally, they serve as the Communications & Events Ocer for the Princeton University Neurodiversity Collective; a member of Princeton Presbyterians' Undergraduate Leadership Team; and a member of the African American Studies Department's Undergraduate Board of Advisors. Lastly, Avery is a Blogger for the Oce of Undergraduate Admissions, and has previously written personal essays and how-to guides for The Prospect (Arts & Culture) section of The Daily Princetonian. Outside of school, Avery is the Archival Producer for the upcoming documentary lm, When We Free the World, which redenes Black manhood in terms of embodying healthy masculinity, healing from past trauma, and maintaining a strong father-son relationship.
Avery is a multi-published writer, whose poems and essays appear or are forthcoming in the New Jersey Bards Poetry Review Anthology 2024; African Voices Magazine's Hip Hop at 50 Special Issue, guest edited by Kevin Powell; 2020: The Year That Changed America, edited by Kevin Powell's Writing Workshop; and The Nassau Weekly. She is also the Founder of Rest & Reclaim Writings (formerly Avery Danae Writes), where she writes about her intersectionality as a Black, Queer, Neurodivergent college student living with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), and a variety of mental health challenges. To read more of Avery's work, go to linktr.ee/restandreclaimwritings and restandreclaimwritings.substack.com.
When Avery is not writing or studying, you could nd them binge watching Shark Tank; eating in the Rocky/Mathey Dining Hall; spending time with friends; and singing "The Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog too many times in the shower.