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!
Winner Energy and Last Minute Goals: What the Knicks and Ivory Coast Have in Common with You
|
Reader, Sometimes you're planting seeds long before anyone notices the garden. Progress may feel slow. Success often takes longer than people expect. The Knicks won in five games. Ivory Coast won in the 90th minute. Neither of them was supposed to be the story this week. Whether it's a sports team ending a championship drought, a nation representing itself on the world soccer stage, or an advocate continuing to push for inclusion, the principle remains the same: Keep showing up. Keep building. Keep believing. As long as your mind is in the right headspace, watching other people's wins has a way of reminding you that what yours is supposed to feel like because your win is around the corner. The New York Knicks are NBA Champions. This team did not get here easily. They beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals. A city that has been waiting for this moment for more than five decades. Game after game, round after round, in arenas where people had already written them off. They played their way into a championship that nobody handed them. They stayed in rooms that weren't built to celebrate them and won anyway. New York Liberty’s WNBA team also won over the weekend. I am resurfacing this short read - A NYC Tourism article partnership I did back in November 2025 that was published in February 2026 where I went back to the neighborhood where my mom and maternal aunts and uncle grew up in New York but from a disability advocate's lens: Speaking of San Antonio Spurs, June is DeafBlind Awareness Month. There is a Grandchild of a Deaf Adult (GODA) who currently plays for the Spurs by the name of Carter D. Bryant and it shapes the way he plays by using cues. Remember his name. In other accessible technology news, are you using captions on your videos? I’ve been watching the World Cup online and Google Chrome has a feature where it can translate the captions from Spanish to English. I can only imagine being hard of hearing and in the stands and how overwhelming it can be. I am grateful I can witness history get made from the comfort of my bed. Ivory Coast secured an important World Cup victory against Ecuador, representing not only a football win but another reminder of the talent, resilience, and excellence coming from the African continent. Les Éléphants close to ended their 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 win over Ecuador — their first World Cup victory in 12 years. Showing up is a practice you do until everything is aligned. And now I'm showing up in New Orleans at Essence Festival on July 4 and bringing something different that the media is not talking about currently but will be afterwards. Here's what I'm bringing: 01 — 20 minute Speaking engagement Moderating a panel titled See Life Different with the message this community needs to hear about accessibility, identity, and travel 02 — Focus group A real conversation about what disabled Black women need from travel and media spaces — and what's still missing. 03 — Sensory storytelling 30-minute session at Refinery 29‘s Unbothered and Well activation. This is the one I'm most proud of. A curated sensory experience designed for those who are doing the work and need a break. More details coming next week. Watch this space. In the meantime, watch this 35 minute podcast interview I did with a British Lebanese Ghanaian on identity and purpose and turning pain into storytelling power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XVV4IKp8Hw As a woman who spends a lot of time thinking about accessibility and inclusion, I often wonder what kind of legacy we're leaving behind. Are we building spaces that future generations of disabled people, travelers, creators, and entrepreneurs can enter more easily than we did? As you, honor, or remember fathers and father figures this weekend, remember some of the most unexpected gifts we receive are the seeds planted by others long before we see the harvest (pun intended). Until Next Time.
|
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, At Essence Fest over the holiday weekend, I moderated a panel, had a founder feature, and hosted a Soft Stories sensory session all in one day. In between, I kept noticing people wanted to be inclusive but almost nobody had a framework for actually doing it, especially in their content. Most of the attendees I spoke with, particularly other New Voices founders, admitted they hadn't considered captions or image descriptions yet, but they were very appreciative of the insight. That's...
Reader, I just got back from Essence Festival — and I’m still processing. I spoke at two activations, both filled with people who showed up ready to listen and talk about disability, inclusion, and what it truly means to be empathetic to other communities. It was powerful. And in both rooms, I kept hearing the same thought echo in my mind: we need more of this. We need spaces to belong, to rediscover ourselves, and to feel empowered to keep going. Here is the link to watch the 3 minute recap:...
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,...