Impact Magazine, Winter 2020

IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 1 IMPACT LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Editor in Chief Tunisha Brown Instagram: @impactmagazine Twitter: @impact_magazine Email: [e-mail] Web: www.theimpactmagazine.com Layout and design by Final Draft Design www.finaldraftdesign.com Twitter/Instagram: @finaldraft Email: [e-mail] Are You Ready To Make An IMPACT? W e have made it to a new year and walked right into 2020, a new decade! It has been said to be the year of a focused vision. To be able to see with clarity how to live your best life. In living our best lives, we must comprehend the major factor giving has in our everyday lives. The old saying goes, “It is better to give than to receive.” I’d like to add on to that saying, “In giving, you will receive greater.” Take for instance our cover feature story on T’Juanna Winters who saw her grandmother endlessly give to her family and her neighborhood. In return, T’Juanna not only became a thriving entrepreneur with her Lizzie Lu Luxury Treats, she became a major philanthropist in the city of Dallas. T’Juanna utilizes her gifts as an entrepreneur to be able to give not only with her money, but also with her time through her Lil Lizzie Foundation. With it being a new decade, with a focused vision, the narrative for television is evolving for black love on the screen; case in point, Ava DuVernay’s, Cherish the Day premiering on OWN Network in February! Cherish the Day is an anthology series that will chronicle the stirring romance of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The season-long narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday. In this issue, we speak with the star of Season 1, Xosha Roquemore (The Mindy Project) on the importance of giving and showing black love on the screen. Journey through these pages to be inspired by the art of giving through philanthropy and talent! Get to view some amazing fashion from Keresse (pronounced Caress) Dorcely of Six20Style who wants you to know you can have luxury when you wear her sportswear line! Be encouraged in all you do and remember to always be an IMPACT. TUNISHA C. BROWN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @momentswithtunisha @impactmagazine 2 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE CONTENT WHAT’S HOT IN THIS ISSUE 14 COVER STORY T’JUANNA WINTERS \\ 14 Put anything before T’Juanna, she will be sure to handle it in a mighty way! Get to know this amazing woman who is a jack of all trades and a master at giving. IMPACT EXCLUSIVE \\ Cherish the Day is an anthology series that will chronicle the stirring romance of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. In this exclusive interview, we speak with the star of Season 1, Xosha Roquemore (The Mindy Project) on the importance of giving and showing black love on the screen KERESSE DORCELY \\ 06 Who says athleticwear can’t be luxe? Don’t say that to the winner of our 2019 competition during The I-CON Experience, Keresse Dorcely of Six20 Style. Keresse (pronounced Caress), is taking over with her luxe sportwear line, see how! KAMARIA WARREN \\ 20 06 If you don’t see it, you must create it! This is exactly what 10-year-old Kamaria Warren did when she saw a need to see herself represented in the stationery space. 20 IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 3 4 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 5 Keresse Dorcley/ A SEWING MACHINE SAVED HER LIFE A SEWING MACHINE SAVED HER LIFE, NOW KERESSE DORCLEY DESIGNS FASHIONS FOR MODERN DAY SUPERHEROES Keresse Dorcley is a dynamic woman who grew up with a gift for music and lives with a powerful testimony. When she graduated from Virginia State University with her degree in Music Education she relocated to New Jersey and pursued her Masters Degree in Music Business. As a singer, songwriter, and pianist she’s worked in music publishing with the Harry Fox Agency and taught music in the Newark public school system. Keresse knew that she was a creative person but there was no way she could have known the unexpected detours that her life would take. iting the ultimate expression of grace under fire, Keresse kept her composure through the graduation and the family celebration that followed, all the while knowing what had to be done. On June 20th (6/20) her son was delivered. Keresse had saved a substantial sum of money to decorate a new nursery in preparation for the arrival of her son, but when that dream unraveled, so did she. Since there was no longer a need for a nursery, Keresse started blowing money fast. She was shopping like crazy…bags…shoes…anything to take her mind off of the loss. In 2014 Keresse’s life was forever changed and the number 620 took on a life of its own. In January of that year Keresse learned that she would be welcoming a new baby. In June she received the crushing news that the child she had carried to term would be still born. Though faced with this devastating news Karesse could not begin to grieve. Her daughter’s Kindergarten graduation was scheduled on the same day that her doctors wanted to surgically remove her unborn child. What would have been an agonizing choice for most was simply a matter of fact for Keresse. She could not miss her daughter’s graduation. Then one day she started to feel the urge to purchase something that she had no use for…a sewing machine. Keresse didn’t know how to sew and had never used a sewing machine, but something inside her that she now considers to be divine inspiration was crying out for a sewing machine. With the encouragement of family, Keresse went for it. She purchased a sewing machine and a friend taught her how to thread the machine. The rest, as they say, is history. With no training, formal or otherwise, Keresse began to sew. Like a musician who learns to play by ear, Keresse began to sew by sight. She could look at an item of clothing and see the pattern in her head. She could deconstruct it and put it back together in her mind. And just like that Six Twenty Style was born. Keresse subdued her sorrow, put on a dress and beamed with pride as her daughter walked across the stage to get her kindergarten diploma. Exhib- 6 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE Keresse creates fashion that are focused on style and comfort. In speaking about her design aesthetic Keresse says, “I have outfits that I can only stand up in and I feel like there’s a place for it, but the women that I design for are everyday women who want to look good without being in pain. I design for women who want to look good but also feel good.” Keresse’s designs are informed by the increased confidence and power that women are wielding in the world. Six Twenty is a luxury sportswear brand that creates pieces that are as versatile as the women who wear them. Keresse says, ”Women are superheroes! Women are so amazing we do so much. I make the track capes and transitional pants because we don’t have a phone booth to run into. Women are responding to the designs and the Six Twenty brand is growing. Previously all of her designs were handmade but Keresse recently released her first collection into production. The collection is still American made in Manhattan and be purchased from the official site www.six20style.com. When asked about the IMPACT that she hopes to make with her business Keresse says, “I hope that I make a difference in the fashion industry in terms of diverse designers, and that I can be an example for my community that bad things happen, but it’s really what you do with it, and how you get back up. I hope that my daughter is proud of me.” Follow Keresse on Instagram @six20style IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 7 8 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE www.six20style.com IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 9 10 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 11 12 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 13 COVER STORY W 14 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE Winters T’Juanna has Mastered the Art of Giving T ’Juanna Winters is a living lesson in the power of giving. T’Juanna’s spirit of giving was instilled in her by her grandmother, Elizabeth Jones. Ms. Jones raised T’Juana while her own teenage mother was finishing college. Ms. Jones taught T’Juanna and her siblings to work hard and give back. Inspired by her grandmother, T’Juanna says, “I can’t stop giving and helping. It’s just in me.” In 2016 T’Juanna officially launched The Lil Lizzie Foundation in her grandmother’s honor, to continue her legacy of giving. IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 15 T’Juanna Winters/ has Mastered the Art of Giving The foundation and its work is based in Irving Texas. Through the foundation and with out of pocket donations, T’Juanna has adopted schools, remodeled gymnasiums, and provided untold amounts of food and clothing to low income families in the Dallas area. Her reputation for generous giving precedes her. When a need arises in her community, people know that she can be counted on to step in and make the difference. “ The happiest people are those that are giving more not those that are getting more. One particular philanthropy project that T’Juanna is especially proud of is her work with the Scottish Right Hospital providing hundreds of tablets to wheelchair bound children. She recalls that, “with the smiles on their faces you would never know that they were sick and probably never going leave the hospital.” 16 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE When it comes to the art of giving, T’Juanna Winters has this to say, “Giving is a major key to success in all applications of human life. In order to get a full value of joy you must find people to divide it with. I don’t think anybody ever became poor by giving back. The happiest people are those that are giving more not those that are getting more.” T’Juanna’s gift for generous giving is undoubtedly fueled by her faith. T’Juanna grew up in church and has been instrumental in the founding of a small church in her community. She personally donated a substantial sum of money to purchase an old Home Depot and convert it into the Impact Church in Carrollton Texas, and she’s proud to know that the seed she planted will be a part of her legacy. When T’Juana thinks about the IMPACT that she hopes to have in her community, she wants to be remembered for inspiring others to be givers, always being there for people, being a great provider and a giver. I believe that the legacy of T’Juana Winters will be summed up it her own words, “Where I feel there’s a need… I do.” Learn more about T’Juanna Winters and the Lil Lizzie Foundation at lillizziefoundation.org and follow on Instagram @Lillizzie_foundation. I “Where feel there’s a need… I do.” IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 17 18 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 19 Kamaria Warren Designing School Supplies K For A World Full Of Brown Girls amaria Warren is a ten-year-old CEO who designs schools supplies for young girls of color. This mini mogul is an Atlanta native and after being nationally recognized by the renowned publication “NOW THIS HER” she has gained the attention and support of her community. Brown Girls Stationery (BGS) is a business that Kamaria and her mother started after recognizing the lack of representation within stationery product designs. Her online store offers backpacks, t-shirts, notebooks, bedspreads, blankets, shower curtains, umbrellas and party supplies for girls of color. Her inspiration behind BGS was to develop a brand that Black and Brown girls could identify with. Kamari says that when girls her age go shopping for stationery products, she wants them to see characters that are a reflection of themselves and their interests. Kamaria believes that it is important to give girls of color something that they can relate to. Several of her designs feature young girls with disabilities and common disorders like Vitiligo. Her hope is to empower anyone who connects with her brands characters so that they are no longer afraid of what makes them unique. 20 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE She describes her design process as collaborative. The first step in her design process is to examine her surroundings: friends, school and the community to think about what she may want to include in BGS product designs. The second step Kamaria tackles is creating a Pinterest board that has the colors she wants to use, and the outfit choices in order to help her mom and contracted illustrator get a better feel of what she wants. Lastly, she sends off the final design ideas to her illustrator to complete the drawings. Her favorite part of the process is watching everything come to life as she and her mother use Photoshop and Illustrator to create realistic mock-ups of the final product. The hardworking CEO recently launched her new brand to inspire all kids to become entrepreneurs. Mini CEO Academy provides new kidpreneurs with membership access to a website full of business videos and tools for kids by a kid. At the close of this year BGS will be launching their Little Genius collection to include STEM related designs for both girls and boys. In the next five years, Kamaria want to have her own store where she can print and design for other businesses. She also wants to have her products in large retail stores to expand her reach. IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 21 22 || IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE IMPACT MAGAZINE | @IMPACTMAGAZINE || 23 Prepared byMAGAZINE MagCloud for IMPACT Magazine. 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