Hannah Drake is a blogger, podcast host, activist, public speaker, poet, and author of 11 books. She serves as the and co-executive director of IDEAS xLab and co-founder of the (Un)Known Project, which seeks to discover the hidden names and stories of Black people enslaved in Kentucky and beyond. She writes commentary on politics, feminism, and race, and her writing has been featured online at Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, The Bitter Southerner, The Lily, and Harper’s Bazaar. In 2019 during Super Bowl Sunday,Hannah’s poem, “All You Had To Do Was Play The Game, Boy,” which addresses the protest by Colin Kaepernick, was shared by film writer, producer and director Ava DuVernay, and then shared by Kaepernick. The poem has been viewed more than two million times.
“Never forget: When excellence steps into the room mediocrity gets paranoid.” – Hannah L. Drake
Hannah Drake co-created The (Un)Known Project with Josh Miller after traveling to Dakar, Senegal, Natchez, Mississippi and Montgomery, Alabama.
“Seeing the word ‘unknown’ etched on the hanging pillars at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice struck a deep chord within me. The thought that someone could live, only to be erased from history, moved me to tears. I now realize that this is the work I was always meant to do—to unearth the names and stories of enslaved people, because they deserve to have their names and stories not just remembered but also told. If they weren’t afforded that dignity in life, we can offer it in death by acknowledging their existence. Everyone should have the right to say, ‘I was here. I lived. I cried. I laughed. I breathed. I was here.’”
Hannah was selected by Today’s Woman Magazine as the Most Admired Woman in the Arts, she is Daughter of Greatness and was honored as a Kentucky Colonel. Hannah was selected as a Soros Fellow by the Open Society Foundation, seeking to support individuals they believe will become long-term innovative leaders impacting racial justice. In 2023 Hannah was inducted into the Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit, a permanent exhibit in the State Capitol, which seeks to bring attention to outstanding women who made significant contributions to Kentucky’s history. In 2024 Hannah was the proud recipient of the Living the Vision Award which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their community in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision and legacy. One of Hannah’s proudest accomplishments is being awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities by Simmons College of Kentucky. Hannah’s message is thought-provoking and, at times, challenging; however, she believes that it is in uncomfortable spaces that change can take place. “My sole purpose in writing and speaking is not to entertain you. I am trying to shake a nation.”
Black ARTchive 
Leave a comment