It all started when…
Naesthetycs started off as a social justice blog under the name “Yungmalcolmx” on Tumblr. The founder, Nateya Taylor started the blog at 19 yrs old, in 2017 as a sophomore in college, to discuss topics that were not being discussed on her predominately white campus. She released her first article, “What Year Did Slavery End?” on November 27th, 2017, and continued to write about topics she was passionate about to educate others. After a few years of writing for the blog, she decided to transform the brand into the multimedia production company now known as “Naesthetycs,” which is a combination of her name “Nateya” and the word “aesthetics.” Naesthetycs now uses authentic storytelling to showcase activism not only through writing but multiple forms of artistic expression.
About the Founder
Nateya Taylor, MS is a 26-year-old Milwaukee native and the visionary behind Naesthetycs LLC. Nateya is self-proclaimed renaissance woman who is passionate about Black liberation and racial and health equity. She has an educational background in Urban Studies, Digital Cultures, and Criminal Justice. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Master of Science degree in Urban Studies and certificate in Digital Cultures in 2023. Her master’s thesis titled, “Black Autonomy as a Form of Resistance and a Symbol of Rebellion: A Comparative Study of Robbins, Illinois, and Milwaukee Bronzeville (1920-1970)” is an interdisciplinary study at the intersection of history, geography, and sociology. The paper explores how two majority Black communities in the Midwest practiced resistance through Black autonomous practices in response to racial discrimination during the Great Migration.
Similarly, in 2020, Nateya graduated from Carthage College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and completed her undergraduate senior thesis titled, “Milwaukee Black Health: How Criminal Justice and Public Policy Collude to Disadvantage Black Milwaukeeans,” which explores the negative impacts of residential segregation on Black health.
Nateya specializes in archival research and her research interests are centered around residential segregation, Black resistance, Black geographies, Black autonomy, and the Black Power Movement.
Outside of her scholarly accomplishments, Nateya is a multimedia storyteller. She is a creative writer who specializes in poetry, rap, screenwriting, and cultural commentary and critique. She is also a documentary filmmaker and photographer who focuses on documenting Black life, culture, and experiences. Nateya is very engaged in her community. She was a 2023-2024 artist in residence at Milwaukee Water Commons and is currently a part of Genre: Urban Arts’ Revolutionary Art and Culture Criticism Residency (RACR), former Leadership Development Fellow with African American Roundtable, 2024 Food Leaders Lab Ambassador with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, and Creative Director of House of History MKE.
Nateya is excited to continue building “Naesthetycs” an emerging and evolving multimedia production company that uses aesthetics to ignite the activist in viewers through authentic storytelling.
Artistic Philosophy
The synchronicity of injustice and resilience in Black geographies intrigues me. I witnessed this synchronicity growing up as a Black woman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Traveling 20 minutes east to Milwaukee’s majority white neighborhoods, from my home on Milwaukee’s majority Black Northwest side, was like night and day. It felt like I was living in two different cities, but in reality, I was in one segregated city. Through this experience I recognized how residential segregation is an injustice that negatively impacts the quality of life and well-being of Black folks. Fear mongering news media that shared stories about Milwaukee’s Black communities being poor and dangerous shaped my negative, one-sided perspective on Milwaukee. This influenced me to do more community advocacy work which introduced me to stories of resilience and positivity happening in Milwaukee’s Black communities that were not being shared in the media. I knew these stories needed to be documented and known.
My artistic practice intersects written and visual storytelling to interrogate institutionalized and internalized anti-blackness, and to reveal the multifacetedness of Blackness. My practice protects, preserves, and reclaims the stories and memories of Black Midwesterns with a focus on resilience and autonomy. I document both the injustices happening in Black Midwestern geographies and the innovation and creativity of Black community leaders living in these places who are using autonomous practices to promote wellness and healing. My art represents equitable stories that counteract anti-black media that mainly focuses on perpetuating violence, poverty, and other negative imagery of Black communities and people. My hope is that those who engage with my work experience a perspective shift that challenges individuals and institutions anti-blackness. I also hope that my work is a catalyst that ignites activism and leads to more equitable futures for Black folks and Black geographies.