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Ericka Hart

Biography

Hart earned a bachelor's degree in Theater and Psychology from the University of Miami in 2008 and later earned a master's degree in Human Sexuality from Widener University. From 2008 to 2010, she served as a Peace Corps HIV/AIDS volunteer in Ethiopia, where she provided sexuality education and worked with communities affected by HIV/AIDS.


After returning to the United States, Hart developed a career in sexuality education, teaching across youth, undergraduate, and graduate settings. Her professional work has included sexuality education, public speaking, activism, and academic teaching.


Hart became widely recognized in 2016 after appearing topless at Afropunk while displaying her double-mastectomy scars. The appearance challenged conventional representations of breast-cancer survivorship, femininity, sexuality, and queer bodies. Her sexuality-education and activist work, however, predates the 2016 appearance.


Hart founded Sex Ed as Resistance, a sexuality-education program centered on pleasure, consent, racial justice, gender, disability, and liberation. Her current professional biography identifies her as adjunct faculty at Columbia University School of Social Work and the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College.


In 2026, Hart published her debut book, Nasty Work: Resist Systems, Explore Desire, and Liberate Yourself. She also co-hosts Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast with Ebony Donnley.


BQW Impact

Hart's work connects Black queer identity, sexuality education, bodily autonomy, pleasure, health, disability, and social justice. Her approach challenges conventional sex-education frameworks by placing race, gender, sexuality, consent, and lived experience at the center of conversations about bodies and relationships.


Her public work has also expanded visibility for Black queer and nonbinary people within discussions of breast cancer, sexuality, and health.


Notable Works

  • Sex Ed as Resistance

    Sexuality-education program founded and led by Hart, incorporating pleasure, consent, racial justice, gender, disability, and liberation.

  • Afropunk Appearance (2016)

    Public appearance in which Hart displayed her double-mastectomy scars, challenging conventional representations of breast-cancer survivorship, femininity, and queer bodies.

  • Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast

    Podcast co-hosted by Hart and Ebony Donnley exploring Black queer sexuality, relationships, culture, and liberation.

  • Nasty Work: Resist Systems, Explore Desire, and Liberate Yourself (2026)

    Hart's debut book examining sexuality, pleasure, consent, race, gender, and systems shaping how people understand desire and bodies.

Learn More
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