Akilah  Toney

Akilah Toney is a published writer, spoken word artist, dancer, teaching artist, and digital creator from New Orleans, LA. From beginning her journey in the study of writing and dancing at age ten, Akilah investigates rhythm and word as sacred forms of communication that shape our human experiences and ultimately transform us. Through this, Akilah calls upon her identity and the histories of her Southern foremothers as praxis in her search for sacred rhythm. With her background in Psychology, Akilah is invested in the intersection of wellness and the arts for inter-generational Black, Brown, and Queer communities to nourish alternative modalities for community healing and flourishing. 

Akilah has been featured in 826 NOLA publications, Medium’s Heated, Nola.com, Vogue.com, the New York Times, the I Am New Orleans Poetry Anthology, and the Jesuit Social Justice Research Institute monthly publication. 

As a founding program attendee, Akilah began her journey with 826 New Orleans when she was ten years old! As a teen, she was a teaching artist and collaborator through 826 events and publications. Akilah has officially returned to her writing home as the youth programs manager to empower young writers and uplift young peoples' creative autonomy!