We were lucky to catch up with JAC M. recently and have shared our conversation below.
JAC, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?
I chose this topic because as a Black femme I am constantly being misunderstood or mischaracterized due to society’s internal and external connection with white supremacy and the patriarchy. In the last two years, I have dedicated my entire Life to the people and lives who are enslaved, to the most documented genocide of our lifetime, in Gaza, Palestine. Before Palestinians covered our black screens with their blood, I was navigating my own personal hardships after closing a successful cotton candy business, I found myself in between homes and unable to find a job that supported my new chronic pain after surviving back-to-back midterm pregnancy losses. All and all, I was drowning in america’s working class misery.
Being a Black femme who lives deeply within her values, my entire Life was radicalized and changed forever when humanity got a front row seat to a live stream genocide in Gaza. Though this genocide is not the only extermination happening in our Lifetime, it was the first live stream massacre we got to see on our phones. All day. Everyday. We are watching an entire civilization being erased and the lives that are barely surviving continuing to scream to the world for our unwavering support.
In the last two years, I have had the honor of sending thousands of dollars to our siblings in Gaza. Their suffering consumed me to the point of no return. There was no more normalcy as we were watching american bombs shred the soft bodies of children and their families.
When this level of violence is in front of you, there is nothing else to do but to scream back at those screaming for help. It is often very isolating to be in this kind of sacred work as a Black femme and not get the ongoing support because of the color of my skin.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m first generation Muslim american and also the eldest daughter of immigrants which means I was born into the role of caregiving and nurturing many people around me. Before I became a mutual aid organizer for Palestinians in Gaza, I was once a cotton candy maker in Durham, North Carolina. When I was young, I had a severe learning disability. But in american education, they don’t tell Black and Brown children this. They just continue to place a scantron in front of you and determined where you would go if you failed the state tests. As a child, I was always failing some tests. But because I was a girl, an eldest daughter, it’s safe to say that investing in my education wasn’t a priority back then. I never finished college though majority of my friends and community members finished school and secured career jobs that aligned with their skills, I was wondering how I would survive capitalism inside the belly of the beast with no degree or set skills, outside of caregiving and customer service.
That’s when Wonderpuff cotton candy was born. From desperation and depression, I learned to turn sugar into profit. For six years we spun organic sugar with all different homemade flavors in Durham, NC and beyond. We would travel to art shows in New York City and music festivals, being greeted by long lines of people who were craving a taste of our sugar. During the pandemic, we decided to do something crazy and open up a storefront where we would spin sugar for the community and create a space to host events. We were tiny but filled with sparkly vibes. Our cotton candy had no color because it was vegan, so we put all the colors of the rainbow inside our shop alongside being greeted daily endless disco balls. Thanks to life, we closed our store and the business to survive all the struggles that were being brought to us. I have not been able to find work since closing the Wonderpuff store back in July 2023. Three months after I closed our store, the genocide in Gaza happened. I was already lost and confused after closing our shop but watching people that look just like us die in front of us every day shook me to my empathetic core. I became obsessed with the existence of Gaza. I couldn’t think about anything else other than Gaza. So, I spent the rest of 2023 in shambles. Crying. Screaming. Shaking. Confused at the horrors that were being documented in real time from the Indigenous people in Gaza.
From Summer 2024 to the end of 2025, I had collected and moved over $70,000 for those in Gaza, Palestine affected by the ethnic cleansing supported and backed by our nation. I still couldn’t find a job, and I stopped caring about surviving under capitalism because all I was doing focusing on Gaza. I became consumed at watching videos on Instagram of burnt bodies and crying children. Their pain consumed me. Every day the world watched them die. And every day the people in power gaslit humanity into believing this was a righteous war. Killing people and children for any reason is not a good reason at all.
After losing my mind and losing my financial stability, I started to use my heartbreak as a tool to survive. I hit the streets and started protesting and marching with individuals who learned about Gaza. There were people out there just like me, watching with horror at what was and continues to happen to our siblings in Gaza. I became more involved with the Palestinian Liberation Movement. Still not working and rarely having money for food and gas, I started to raise money for families in Gaza and became extremely good at it. I became great at it.
Anyone who supported Gaza during the genocide were met with dozens of messages from families inside the genocide. THESE PEOPLE WERE REAL. And once you started answering their messages and asking them how we could help, there was no going back. I started messaging people in Gaza back. They were real. They were dying. And the little energy they had, they would ask for money to eat. So, I became their employee, and they were my boss. Anything they needed, I would share with the public and because the public knew me as the cotton candy lady, the public trusted me with their dollars.
And with the love and support from the community, we were able to raise thousands of dollars on a monthly basis with little to no resources.
I was always good at sharing my vulnerability and asking for community care. I used this sacred tool for our siblings in Gaza. But this cannot be sustained without long term support which was always difficult to receive as a Black femme, I was often overlooked or ignored by other people doing the same sacred work I was doing. My white colleagues continue to receive ongoing support for their initiates and fundraisers for their families in Gaza. But because I am a Black woman, I was always watched, studied and rarely able to keep my fundraisers alive.
Though my support was limited and temporary, being able to move over $70,000 as a solo organizer to Gaza has been the proudest work I have ever done in my entire Life. I not only worked for these innocent and extremely tired Palestinians, but we became family.
It’s with great pain to share that because of the lack of ongoing support and infrastructure I am unable to raise money for our families at this time. Maybe if I was a white woman, I’d be able to feed our beloved siblings in Gaza.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Being a Black woman is resilience enough. That’s why I have deep Love for Gaza and Palestine and other nations under erasure and colonial violence. Our existence is resistance.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
YES, the Freedom of all people. Especially women and girls around the world. We make half the population and yet we are in constant danger all over the world. Political education through creativity and community building empowers us as people to be less afraid to stand up for peace and justice for all.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @wonderpuff
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Wonderpuff
Image Credits
Maddie Love Önwa