All Aboard the AFROXpress.
Welcome to the intersection of memory and movement. The AFROXpress is the official vehicle for the work of Jae Gayle—a journey through the history of Black women’s labor, from the club women of the 1930s to the creators of tomorrow.
More Than a Newsletter. It’s a Movement.
MetaCocoMom started in 2018 as a space to explore afrofuturism in parenting. Metacognition was the new movement in education, and I was eager to apply it to parenting practice. It was intended to fill the gap in “mommy blogs” that held a generation of Black mothers wanting to parent differently but contended with a world 🌎 that only allowed us time to act, not think. I wanted to reach for ancestral wisdom while unlearning toxic mindsets of American capitalism.
The archives are full of ghosts—stories of Black women who built communities in Albany, NY, and Oakland, CA, amidst the economic shifts of the 20th century. But history shouldn’t just sit in a box.
AFROXpress is the engine that powers MetaCocoMom and Labor Pains, a multi-city oral history and performance project. This is where I document the process of excavating the past to build a new future.
We are moving full steam ahead to answer one question: How do we map the labor of Black women onto the landscape of American history?
From the Archives to the Stage
Why AFROXpress? Because the story of labor is a story of movement.
I am currently traveling between the African American Museum and Library of Oakland archives in the East Bay and the M.E. Grenander Special Collection & Archives at the University at Albany in New York. I am tracing the scars and mapping the healing.
This platform is my “open studio.” It is where I share:
- The Research: Real-time discoveries from the archives.
- The Process: How dry historical documents transform into the script for Myth & Marrow.
- The Reality: The practicalities of being an artist, a mother, and a researcher navigating the gig economy.
Your Ticket to the Engine Room
When you subscribe to the AFROXpress, you aren’t just reading a blog; you are joining the production team.
📰The Newsletter: 🗞 Weekly check-ins with email subscribers offering ICYMI moments and a peek into upcoming content.
🚂 The Blogs: Bi-weekly dispatches from the MetaCocoMom field including deep dives into the “AFROP” framework (Active Brains, Focused Arts, Real Experiences, Opportunities, Practicalities). The bi-weekly dispatches from my scholarly and creative field include updates on the Labor Pains project and its connection to current events.
🎙️ The Podcast: “AFROXpress: Dispatches from the Conductor’s Cabin” Launching November 30, 2025. An audio diary of the creative process. Hear the raw interviews, the oral histories, and the soundscapes of the places where Black history was made.
About Jae
Conductor & Creator Jae Gayle is an artist, researcher, and the founder of MetaCocoMom. Bridging the gap between Albany and Oakland, she uses performance art, oral, and archival history to explore intersections of race, gender, and economics. She is currently developing Myth & Marrow, a performance installation set for 2026.
