Voices from Home Parisa’s Rendition of Googoosh

Years ago, I sang this song while I was visiting my grandparents. I didn't think much of it at the time, it was just a song I had stuck in my head, an old familiar tune. To my surprise, it brought my grandfather to tears, although he had heard me sing hundreds of times before. He asked for this video and I kept avoiding it. I wouldn't admit it, but it felt wrong to record a song that I could never really see myself singing, in a language that wasn't really mine, from a culture I never fully belonged to and a community that reminded me I never would.

Years later, I finally found the courage to do it. My family appreciated the video, but what's important is the experience behind it and the story I'm sharing today.

Through the Collective for Black Iranians, I'm creating space for myself where I thought there was none. I'm choosing to own my identity and making sure my voice is heard.