Bassey Ikpi

Teaches at Caveat

Bassey Ikpi is an American-Nigerian writer and mental health advocate. Her debut essay collection, I’m Telling the Truth but I’m Lying, is forthcoming in August 2019 from Harper Perennial. An active voice in pop culture commentary and the mental health community, Bassey’s essays have been published by The Root, Ebony, Huffington Post, and Essence, as well as in the anthologies Rookie On Love and Who Will Speak for America. She was also the resident pop culture critic for Philly’s WURD FM radio station and is currently a contributing editor for Catapult. Bassey is the founder of The Siwe Project, a mental health organization that centers Black and Brown people in an effort to spread mental health awareness. Recognized by MSNBC’s The Melissa Harris-Perry Show for her advocacy work, Bassey is also the creator of #NoShameDay, an initiative that attempts to reduce stigma and create space for neuro-divergent people to be heard and seen through their own personal stories.