I am honored to welcome Brenda Brunson-Bey, the founder of Tribal Truths Collections whose Afro/African infused designs celebrate the culture while embracing global influences and contemporary styles. Her clothes are rooted in a family legacy of seamstresses and tailors. She brings spiritual and creative purpose to her work.

She holds a degree in biology and chemistry from Morris Brown College in Georgia. And studied fashion, buying merchandise and communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her entrepreneurial experience includes her time at Brooklyn’s 4W Circle and her own signature store, through which she has bult a loyal following that includes individuals such as Aretha Franklin, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Maya Angelou.

Beyond fashion, she has made meaningful community contributions through her involvement with markets, fairs and many events, including Fort Greene Juneteenth and other arts festivals. She brings together in one place women and families who sell merchandise to give each an opportunity to shine and prosper.

Brenda Brunson-Bey: Happy Palm Sunday and Happy Womens HerStory Day! I always like to put an extra meaning on things. I call women’s history, Herstory.
When we have Black history month, I call it Ourstory month because we hear too much of his Story about us. So, this is about our story, about US.
My name is Brenda Brunson Bey. It is a pleasure to be here. I feel like I’m home.
I’m from Augusta, Georgia. My peopole are from Georgia and South Carolina. I grew up going to church with one of the first black women to have a church there which was not looked at as something so great at the time. I’m a Civil Rights baby, was in high school and college when Civil Rights was starting.
But my grandparents came from South Carolina and we also went back once a month to what we call our home country church, Poplar Spring Baptist Church. The singing here reminds me of my home church … because it, like my home church’s music, celebrated us as a people. And the poem says …
Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world,
There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some of us. It is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

These words were eritten by a woman back in the 70’s Maryim Williamson.
Nelson Mandela spoke them very often when he was alive; they say something about who we are as a people.
Recently I was asked to be a Guest Editor for a Woman’s Herstory piece for the local paper called Our Time Press. Do you know it? It’s been around for some 30 years, run by a husband and wife.

And they asked me would I do a story on myself and I said yes, but I don’t go anywhere by myself. I always bring along as many people as I can.

So, I asked Our Time Press, “Would you mind if I expand on the stories?” And they did not. I left the papers home, but you can go online and find them on ourtimepress.com

We have one more story to do coming up in next week’s piece, but in total I got my story plus the insights of nine other women other than just myself into a story that has become a series with a directory to follow.

Co-Founders’ Note to Readers: Visit ourtimepress.com or YouTube to hear Sis. Brunson-Bey’s moving comments about US to Historic Church’s congregation. A woman who, creatively and consistently, puts into practice what she preaches, Brenda’s work has engendered support for Our Time Press in spreading awareness of the cultural significance of all of us embracing and telling Ourstory. Thank You, “Dr.” Brunson-Bey.