The day before Juneteenth 2021, organization Black People Lansing Michigan (BPLM) presented their Juneteenth Mixer at Rotary Park in Lansing.
This event served as precursor to the successful Afterglow Market (July 2 – Sept. 3, 2021), a socially responsible recurring event that featured a rotating list of local artists, start-up businesses, and food vendors from Rotary’s same safe outdoor environment.
Following the Mixer THISENT.com spoke with the creator of both aforementioned events, YouShine Events & Consulting’s owner and Lead Market Curator Najeema Iman. We want to share THIS INTERVIEW with you now to give you a better understanding of the foundation Afterglow Market was built on.
This was a great event, Najeema! How are you feeling about how it turned out?
Tonight was absolutely amazing! It really made my heart smile!
When you started BPLM is this what you imaged it could lead to?
BPLM started at Tiffany Norde’s kitchen table! It was just an idea. A concept. She was like we need to connect all four corners of the Black people here so that everybody knows what’s going on and what’s popping.
And now that they know and they came together, what feeling did you get from that?
To be able to have Black people in the heart of Lansing who are creatives and fitness professionals and … all of these people who are really doing stuff in Lansing, it really made me have joy.
It was a joy for us to look around and see the incredible variety, which was great for establishing new connections. Were you connected to everyone in attendance?
Everybody that was here I feel like I have some connection to, and it makes me so happy! I had Dancing with the Nordes; they were down here dancing and showing people how to hustle, how to ballroom, how to exercise by accident. Everyone around here is being socially responsible. We had Krystle’s Kitchen holding it down with food. We had Time to Travel. We had BCFI’s president there. We had State Representative Sarah Anthony there.
This was amazing to see them all come right on the riverfront and it being such a culmination of so many ideas! It’s a culmination of so many things that people are trying to do in the city, and that makes my heart smile and it makes me happy.
You’ve received tremendous support for your efforts and achievements that have benefited the community. Does being entrusted with these connective opportunities remind you of anything else in your life?
I’m a self-professed people collector and connecter. When I see all the different collections coming together and enjoying themselves and spending time together, it reminds me of home.
Najeema, where is home?
I feel like I have three homes: I’ve got New York, I’ve got Detroit, and I’ve got Lansing. All of them are a part of what I’m becoming and what I love. It’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful. |THIS.
[By M.J. Walker | Photo by Lanartbus]
