Alexandra Gessesse

PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley

Alexandra Gessesse is a PhD Candidate in the Department of African Diaspora Studies at UC Berkeley. Alexandra’s dissertation examines how Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants navigate historically Black neighborhoods in the U.S., forging new forms of belonging through the lenses of place, politics, and popular culture. As a visual storyteller, Alexandra uses photography and video to capture the everyday moments where these complex negotiations of identity unfold—revealing how Blackness is performed, contested, and reimagined through their daily practices of placemaking. She is a regular contributor to the Lebawi Sonar, a local journal for Lebawi International located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.