I am from... Honoring Lineage & Legacy in Black Brilliance & Entrepreneurship

Before Lineage & Legacy had "a name," before it became a recording experience, a deck, or a communal practice, there was a question that moved me deeply:

Who are you from?

I was first invited into that question years ago—around 2012 or 2013—and it planted a seed that has been growing ever since. It invited me to locate myself not just by what I do, but by the people, places, memories, and Black women whose lives made mine possible.

I want to begin by sharing my I Am From... (written through the lens of Black Maternal Lineage & Entrepreneurship)

I am from caregivers, homemakers, stewards of community.

Women who serve. Women who pray. Women from a school of lived experience.

Top of their class.

I am from Aunt Louise’s church store: frozen cups and Tootsie Rolls, church dinners and bake sales.

I am from Lucille’s creative hands: arts, crafts, jewelry.

From, “Mrs. C, can you make me one of those?”

From, “Wow… how did you make that?... I’ll buy one from you.”

I am from her home, which was home to many.

A home snatched away. 512 Rosehill.

She deserved—deserves—better.

I am from Loretta’s divine refusal.

Boundaries before we had the language.

From, “I don’t care if she is a supervisor—I’m not going to let her talk to me that way.”

From, “I need to be home to receive my kids.”

I am from her leap of faith: Kiddie Blessings Daycare.

A business that took root in a basement—the same basement I now call my office.

I am my mama’s Kiddie. What a blessing.

I am from iron-on t-shirts, business cards and flyers.

From family and church members as my first customers.

I am from feeling held. From being supported.

I am from a version of entrepreneur that is often devalued, deemed invisible, but deserves to be revered and resourced.

A version I almost forgot...

But oh—to remember.

— Brittany Janay