Quote by Taiye Selasi: “Don't ask where I'm from. Ask where I'm local.”

The question 'where are you from?' forces people with complex, multicultural lives into a single-origin story that doesn't fit. 'Where are you local?' is different — it asks about where you actually live, belong, and have relationships. It opens the door to a richer, truer answer about who someone is.

Selasi delivered this in her 2014 TED Talk 'Don't Ask Where I'm From, Ask Where I'm a Local,' a period when global migration had reached historic levels and identity politics were intensifying across Europe and North America. The concept of belonging was being fiercely contested in public discourse.

British-American author and photographer of Nigerian-Ghanaian descent, known for her debut novel Ghana Must Go and her influential 2014 TED Talk on the concept of being 'multi-local.' Her work challenges fixed notions of nationality and belonging.