That Moment When…

When does life change? As Akilah Monifa J.D. ’83 read at a literary event in February 2017, she had no idea her future wife listened in the audience.

That Moment When…
Image Courtesy of Akilah Monifa J.D. ’83
Jessica Hilger
20 Nov 2019

Even after dating for a couple of years, Akilah Monifa J.D. ’83 and Natalie were not sure marriage was right for them.

But Akilah’s intuition was speaking. “I decided it would be foolish to hold on to this notion that I had before that I’ll never get married again,” says Akilah.

The union is based, in part, on the thing that first brought them together—writing. That’s why, following an October 2019 ceremony at Oakland’s Bellevue Club, the pair held a reception at the African American Museum and Library in Oakland where Natalie and Akilah took turns reading their work, exploring their own intersectionalities.

Natalie’s book, Black Woman White Skin, talks about growing up with albinism as a woman of color. The couple shares a passion for telling their truths. And these stories that brought them together all have a theme of love and acceptance.

Akilah and Natalie invited close family and friends to their three-day wedding celebration, including SCU associate professor of law Margalynne J. Armstrong.

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