Today, the fourth day of Kwanzaa is represented by the principle of Ujamaa and centers on building wealth and revenue for the family.  OTP is lighting a candle to celebrate the entrepreneurial gifts and business acumen of our youngest team member, teen Amira-Dior Traynham  Artis.  The young lady celebrates her birthday this coming weekend with a resume that reflects the skills and accomplishments of someone three times her age.

Featured with her mom, Kenesha Traynham-Cooper, 56th Assembly District Leader, in our special November 24 Reflections issue, Amira-Dior is an established entrepreneur with her own sneaker line, and a writer, photographer, fashion designer, among other interests. Last but certainly not least for us is:  she’s a founding member of our Gen-Z team and doing quite well in school, thank you very much.  On this page are images the self-starter captured for OTP’s October coverage of the Eric Edwards collection ribbon-cutting at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration.  We noticed that her subjects tended to look her way, so her portraits of such leaders as Professor Leonard Jeffries were our standouts.

“It was nice to get a different perspective of people as I looked through the lens of the camera,” she wrote in a recent email.   “It also was fun taking pictures of important representatives, leaders, and our community officials.  I love photography, so I also enjoyed experimenting with different angles and learning new techniques.  It is called work, but it was fun for me.  Thank you for the opportunity.”

Happy Birthday, Amira-Dior, and thank you for your service!  For more information on Amira’s sneaker collection, please visit: https://www.aliveshoes.com/lane2-2