Help Bring Jamilia’s Joy to Life!

Hey y’all! My name is Jamilia James and I am a multi-hyphenate (hair braider, writer, poet, educator, facilitator, cultural worker, lover of Black folks, etc.) and I am raising money to attend a three-day hair braiding class here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

My goals for attending the class are:

1)To shore-up my braiding skills and enhance my knowledge about newer braid styles so as to fortify my confidence as a natural stylist

2)To build a foundation to bring my dream hair business, Jamilia’s Joy, to life.

Braiding hair has been my passion since I was 16 years old. I began braiding my own hair because my mother didn’t know how and could not afford to send me to braiding salons. So, like many of us, I found my way to YouTube University and taught myself to braid. Soon after, I began braiding not only my own hair , but also my friends’ hair while in high school.

At 18 years old, I left home to attend a women’s college in Western Massachusetts where there was a large pool of Black women looking for braiders in a town with very limited access to natural hair resources. Within my first year of college, I became the campus braider and knew that braiding was not just a hobby or a way to make money, it was a part of my life’s purpose. By braiding on campus, I built community with Black women across the region and I learned that hair stylists do more than just braid, we provide a necessary and healing service to our communities and we are at the center of cultural production. It was then that I began to dream about opening my own hair braiding salon, Jamilia’s Joy.

Now, more than a decade later, that dream still lives within me; and enhancing my braiding skills is the first step to making my dream a reality. I now live in Texas which does not require a license to braid natural hair and so, the only barrier standing between me and this class is money, which is why I am raising money for the course fee ($600), a braiding mannequin ($30), and transportation to and from class for three days since I no longer have a vehicle ($132 because Texas is big chile!).

I truly believe that attending this class will be a beautiful and fruitful first-step to making my dream a reality. Thank you for reading this far and I pray that you will consider donating to my dream and any donation is greatly appreciated!

With love & curiosity,

Jamilia James