In this episode, Priscilla and Jasmine speak with Dominick Adams, co-founder of Somewhere, a recently opened mixed-use retail space and cafe located in Southeast D.C. - minutes from where he grew up. He shares his story of making a career switch from working at the airport, to a corporate job, and later diving into the fashion industry managing Major - the first boutique streetwear store in D.C. We learn how his varied career path led to the creation of high-end retail concepts, including Somewhere, which bring international streetwear brands to the District, and connects creative communities along the way. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

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International Fashion and Streetwear Culture: Inside the mind of Dominick Adams

In this episode, Jasmine and Priscilla talk to Anika Hobbs, the founder of Nubian Hueman, a local brick & mortar and online store featuring unique clothing and art by designers representing the global Diaspora. She also founded the Black Love Experience, an annual event showcasing black-owned businesses, products, and artists. We learn more about how she left a global fast-fashion company after working there for over a decade, to open her own store and create an event that provides a space for people of color to connect and experience love on all levels: community love, friend love, and self-love. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Experiencing Love Through Commerce and Community: Inside the Mind of Anika Hobbs

Aerica Shimizu Banks started her career in Environmental Policy, eventually working with Google on Patent Policy and Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Initiatives. She's currently the Public Policy and Social Impact Manager at Pinterest, where she works to create ecosystems that benefit marginalized communities. On this episode Aerica discusses the importance of recognizing the systemic racism in our country that impacts environmental and social issues, and why she chooses to share her story and use her voice to advocate for people of color, specifically women entrepreneurs. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Addressing Racial Inequality Through Tech: Inside the mind of Aerica Shimizu Banks

Eric Moorer, Sommelier and Manager of Domestique, a local D.C. wine shop, stops by the BLCKNLIT podcast to pop open a few bottles of wine and take us on a journey into the world of vino. He shares his story of how he first became obsessed with the wine industry, as well as tips on how to enter the wine world professionally, before teaching Jasmine and Priscilla how to taste wine like a pro. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Wine 101: Inside the Mind of Eric Moorer

Jasmine and Priscilla talk with Tenaj Moody, the founder of Light to Life, a domestic violence awareness program offering workshops and events to young adults and teens on the prevention of abusive and unhealthy relationships. Tenaj survived an abusive relationship at the age of 16, which led her to start Light to Life, and provide the necessary tools to build healthy relationships. On today's episode, we not only learn how Tenaj started her organization, but we learn the early warning signs for abuse, the steps one can take to leave an abusive relationship, and trust love again. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Black Women Overcoming Dating Violence: Inside the Mind of Tenaj Moody

Jasmine and Priscilla talk with freelance writer Shayla Martin, a former hospitality publicist, and current travel and lifestyle writer who seven years ago, after a traumatic event, realized that she was struggling with alcoholism and needed to take a risk to change her life. Shayla shares how sobriety plays a role in her work life, dating life, and how she's working to create a podcast featuring people of color dealing with addictions, offering them a platform to tell their stories. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Addiction Recovery for the Black Woman: Inside the Mind of Shayla Martin

Jamea Richmond-Edwards is a D.C. based mixed media artist whose work has been featured in some of the top galleries, museums, and experiential shows across the globe. Her work uses found objects and multiple mediums to create collage-style depictions of the black experience. On this episode of BLCKNLIT, Jasmine and Priscilla uncover the inspiration behind Jamea's artwork and how she expresses black joy and black womanhood through her craft. Powered and distributed by SImplecast

The Radicalness of Black Joy Expressed Through Art: Inside the Mind of Jamea Richmond-Edwards

Jhavon Kashif is the owner of Nailbed & Bar, a luxury, eco-friendly nail spa East of the Anacostia river, a majority black and historically underserved neighborhood in Washington, D.C. As the first black-owned nail spa of its kind in the area, Jhavon strives to prove that black owned businesses can reclaim the identity of the community by servicing its people with quality standards in a postive environment. Jhavon shares how she got her business off the ground, why it was important for her to hire people of color, and tips for those hoping to open a service business of their own. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Reimagining the Black Neighborhood, starting with the Nail Salon: Inside the mind of Jhavon Kashif

James Beard Award winning chef and author, Kwame Onwuachi, is no stranger to setbacks, having overcome a difficult adolescence and later opening his first restaurant at 24, only to have it shutter in less than a year. We close out our last episode of the year, with someone who has dominated 2019, running one of the top restaurants in D.C., Kith/Kin, publishing a memoir - Notes from a Young Black Chef - and landing a movie deal on his life story. Chef Kwame tells us how he hustled relentlessly to achieve his dreams and used his failures as fuel for his wins. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Turning a setback into a bounceback: Inside the Mind of Kwame Onwuachi

When you think of a flourishing community you likely imagine a place with access to educational and creative programming, affordable healthy food, and a safe space for members to interact. Today’s guest, Mahammad Mangum, didn’t always see these components in the community he grew up in so he created it with The Village Cafe, a socially-conscious, community-minded cafe in the Union Market neighborhood of Northeast D.C. On this episode, he explains what his idea of community is and how he and his partners, three young black men from D.C., created a business for the community by the community. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Creating a community-centric business: Inside the Mind of Mahammad Mangum

So many of us have had an idea for a business, but had literally no idea where to begin or how to get it off the ground. On this episode, Nicole Pinedo, the founder of the creative agency, Made in the District and the experiential event concept, Future of Sports tells us how she turned her love for D.C. and sports into profitable creative-based companies. She shares valuable insight on pitching brands for sponsorships, starting an LLC, and when to lawyer up. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Turning an Innovative Idea Into a Scalable Business: Inside the mind of Nicole Pinedo

African Americans are notoriously underrepresented in the long distance running world. Matthew Green, the co-founder of District Running Collective (DRC) is working to change this by fostering a community of runners who go the distance and push past percieved limitiations to redefine their impossible. On this episode of BLCKNLIT, Matt discusses his entry point into distance running and how he's dedicated the last six years to creating a fitness community in D.C. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Creating a Black Running Community: Inside the Mind of Matthew Green

Blackness is so many things, and expressed in many different ways. However, it's often policed by our own when it doesn't fall within the narrow confines of how others percieve it should be expressed. On this episode, our guest Obi Okolo, Founder of the creative agency, Stag Creative, shares his journey as a Nigerian American immigrant, growing up questioning his percieved blackness, and how that shaped his adult life and career. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

What does it mean to be black?: Inside the mind of Obi Okolo

Humor throughout our culture has served as a place for grappling with difficult topics and stereotypes. Director, screenwriter, actor and comedian, Joe Marshall is doing just that, through his recently released web series, Middle Ground. On this episode, he discusses how he’s addressing taboo topics, and breaking down stereotypes through the lens of Black millennials. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Breaking down black stereotypes through film: inside the mind of Joe Marshall

In this episode, BLCKNLIT talks with TRAKGIRL, one of the top female music producers, who has worked with artists like Jhene Aiko, Andra Day, Luke James, Belly and Omarion, just to name a few. We learn about the many ways she's advocating for women in the music industry to have access to more production opportunities and fair pay within the male-dominated space, as well has how she lives with a sense of purpose and gratitude. Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Producing hits and advocating for women in the music industry: Inside the mind of TRAKGIRL

BLCKNLIT follows the stories of individuals who are pushing boundaries and inspiring their community, while exploring the varied paths that each subject has taken to reach the current point in their career. Hosted by Jasmine Pierce and Priscilla Ward, the series takes a deep look into the setbacks, wins, and the lessons that have shaped each guest's career trajectory, offering the listener valuable advice and inspiration to light their own path.

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