An Ongoing Series by DaraMonifah® – Amena, Nasim, Tiphanie
It was a motivational March for me. Just magical! Annually to some, it is celebrated as Women’s month and April is National Poetry month in the USA. While I appreciate the acknowledgement of both, I have a natural tendency to go against the grain. Call it rebellion, or simply being intentional about appreciating my own uniqueness and ability to decide things for myself and not following the crowd, but leading my own path. I barely celebrate holidays, unless they have some significant purpose for me that can be used for teaching or at least motivating others towards progressive cultivation of our own growth and healing. Individually and collectively, I’ve found this to be my innate passion. My mission. To inspire.
This time though, I’m focusing on women who have inspired me. Yes, on the day right after March ends. Let’s look at it as that I took the month of March to be motivated, and now I can share what I experienced.
Where it started…
While this post will focus more on summarizing a few magical experiences with the women I’ve interacted with most recently, as a starter for me back into my random blogging, the intention is to give the women each a separate post of their own. So in no particular order, I’m starting the next post with Amena Brown Owen, but I needed to pause and reverse a little to let you know how I even got to this ThrdSpace’s Soulfood SATURDAY. It was a text message from an old friend Nasim Mahboubi Fluker prompted by another female friend. See, it does happen people, all the time. Women CAN/DO share and uplift each other towards progress.
I met Nasim when she came to St. Thomas with the Bahá’í doing outreach in the community. I don’t even remember how many years ago that was, but it was during the time when I was being much more intentional about exposing my children and others to various religious and spiritual systems through our Sankofa Saturdays Youth Cultural Education Initiative, Inc.
What’s interesting though is that while Nasim and I did follow each other on social media, it was another friend from the Virgin Islands, Tiphanie Yanique, who reconnected us in Atlanta after years of not communicating. I sat in a workshop with Tiphanie recently related to my non-fiction writing interest, which I’ll focus on in another post.
As an author herself, Tiphanie is in various circles of other writers and told me one day that she wanted me to come to something she was attending, the first time I saw Nasim again after over a decade (I think), at ThrdSpace’s Soulfood Sundays, which was held in her home.
ThrdSpace’s Soulfood Saturdays (and Sundays… sometimes)
Their ThrdSpace website states that “Soulfood Sunday (or Saturday) is a monthly gathering designed to inspire, connect, and invest in Atlanta’s arts and culture ecosystem. The vibe is super casual and laid back. Littles are most welcome. It’s the charge you need to power you through the month. Each month features a conversation with a special guest doing dope work we want more people to know about.”
This month Nasim and her husband Clint partnered with the Hamilton Howell House which is located in the Sweet Auburn district and built in 1893 by Alexander Hamilton, Jr. as his family home. He is the leading African American contractor and builder in Atlanta. I learned more about the house during the gathering, which I will share in another post, but the thing I remember most is that this was the place where people would come to socialize and unwind after the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day marches.
Amena Brown Owen
This last Saturday, the special guest was Amena.
“…writer, spoken word poet, and performing artist, whose work interweaves keep-it-real storytelling, rhyme, and humor. The author of five spoken word albums and two non-fiction books, Amena’s poetry was featured in the New York Times’ bestselling book Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal.”
As seen at the beginning of this post, Amena also shared a poem that is the title of her latest book,“ NEVER TELL A BLACK GIRL HOW TO BLACK GIRL,” coming in the summer of 2026. I’ll share a recording of her reciting that poem in the next post about her.
I asked Amena, of all the things that influenced her, what comes to mind immediately that was most significant. Her response was, “the voices and examples of Black women.”
Amena Brown Owen at ThrdSpace’s Soulfood Sundays, March 2024
I connect with that response deeply. Time spent with and influenced by other women has inspired me to journal out loud about my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned or am still learning, hence this post and those that I hope will follow after. Hopefully, it can serve as a Cliff Notes for other sisters seeking solace in sisterhood.
Talk about magic? I told Nasim when I arrived that I was preparing to release my own book of poetry and photography for my birthday on May 24th and that I came hoping to get some motivation from others. So said, so done.
Next time…
My next feature posts will share more specifically about Amena and then about the lecture/workshop with Tiphanie. For more about Amena and to stay updated on when her non-fiction book is being released, visit www.amenabrown.com. I also hope to share another general post about other women who have inspired me recently, namely my daughter Majestik, my Godmothers Mwt Dr. Chenzira, Chinwe, and others including someone I don’t even know named Anyah.
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