Like many diseases, multiple sclerosis is an illness people should be more knowledgeable of, especially those in the African-American community. After being diagnosed with MS a few years back, Victoria Reese, ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, realized that there was an extreme lack of information available to millennial women of color about multiple sclerosis.
Inspired by Nas’ legendary debut album, Victoria decided to spearhead the #WeAreILLMatic campaign. This campaign strives to unite women of color who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and want to redefine what being sick looks like.
“We want to leave a mark on culture like Nas did with Illmatic. We want to encourage people to fight our battles with illnesses like Nas did with Ether. The idea of #WeAreILLmatic, this badassness doesn’t exist without Nas – And yes, we got his permission to borrow the name for this campaign.”
Nas has also given this campaign his stamp of approval, showing support on his Instagram account. It is amazing to see just how influential his 1994 release has become, and the effect that it continues to have on the culture.