Hi! I'm Zaakirah (zaa-key-ra) I help you Go from where you are (stuck, stagnant, scared) and where you want to go in your business and life (freedom). I provide Black and Indigenous creatives with strategies that empower them to achieve their goals through branding and storytelling, and marketing.For the last 20 years, I've been storytelling by any creative means necessary; photography, writing, film, and podcasting.I check all the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility boxes.I’m a visually impaired, hard of hearing, cancer survivor, chronically ill Muslim Woman. Knowing your history helps you propel and prepare for your future. Entrepreneurship is ownership, and flexibility is key. Sign up for my semi-weekly newsletter!
What ableism and disability pride actually costs
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Reader, I'm at Essence Festival this week — moderating a panel, doing a Soft Stories segment, and leading a workshop on inclusive entrepreneurship. Three activations in one day, which honestly is its own kind of access challenge nobody talks about: the cost of showing up fully in spaces that weren't designed for how your body or brain works. I'll have more to say about that next week. Social Media Day is June 30th — a reminder that the platforms we've built our voices, speaking opportunities, our stories, since the awareness day was established in 2010, were never designed with everyone in mind. And yet here we are, showing up, creating, pivoting, trailblazing, and building community anyway. But for now, here's what I want to leave you with going into the month of July: July is Disability Pride Month. It commemorates the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990 and works to dismantle stigma and challenge ableism. Disability Pride Month is only meaningful if it changes something. A mindset, a practice, a product you build, a story you finally decide to tell. On July 16th at 7pm EST, I'm hosting a free webinar/Ask Me Anything — See Your Content Different: Accessibility as Creative Power. I want you to have something concrete to do with this month. Not awareness. Action. We'll cover: Register here. I'd love to see you there. I wrote about Symone Griffin and George Stern in my Substack — two advocates whose work sits at the intersection of deafblindness, culture, and identity. Read it here. I was a guest on the Maverick Show Podcast. In this engaging hour long episode, I shared insights on sports, accessibility, cultural immersion, music, and entrepreneurship. Listen Here. Until Next Time,
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Your Branding and Marketing Therapist
Hi! I'm Zaakirah (zaa-key-ra) I help you Go from where you are (stuck, stagnant, scared) and where you want to go in your business and life (freedom). I provide Black and Indigenous creatives with strategies that empower them to achieve their goals through branding and storytelling, and marketing.For the last 20 years, I've been storytelling by any creative means necessary; photography, writing, film, and podcasting.I check all the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility boxes.I’m a visually impaired, hard of hearing, cancer survivor, chronically ill Muslim Woman. Knowing your history helps you propel and prepare for your future. Entrepreneurship is ownership, and flexibility is key. Sign up for my semi-weekly newsletter!
Reader, I'm thinking about the news of actress Hayden Panettiere's passing. I knew of her music from Disney Channel days, most people know her from Bring It On or Nashville. My favorite song of hers is My Hero is You. In May, she released her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning and shared her story publicly of being a child star and dealing with grief. Her passing is a reminder of something I've often spoken of: Heal, but also don't wait to tell the story. Don't wait to create the thing. Don't...
Reader, June this year, I had the opportunity to attend SXSW London 2026. SXSW (South by Southwest) brings together people from across technology, culture, media, music, film, and entrepreneurship to exchange ideas and shape what’s next. While the conference did an excellent job accommodating my hearing and vision dual sensory needs, accessibility is still treated as an add-on in most media, event, and experience design, when it should be the starting point. Being in that space reminded me...
Reader, Apparently, I have a pattern I hadn't named out loud before: I tend to move to a new place roughly every two years. I find myself packing boxes and luggages, moving to a new place, and stepping into a new season of life. I don't intentionally plan it that way, but looking back, it's a rhythm of embracing change, trusting the process, and creating space for what's next, while intentionally choosing a lesser known historically black city and neighborhood that has Black owned businesses...