Cover Feature

Dr. Tamecca Rogers Interviewed by Jennifer Diaby

Please introduce to tell the readers about yourself. I'm just a country girl, chasing my childhood dreams. As a little girl, I always had a passion for writing, acting, modeling, and speaking up for those who couldn’t speak up for themselves. But then life began to happen. I was so wrapped up in school, work, and family that I had little time to pursue my dreams.

However, when the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, it forced me to slow down and focus on my dreams. Writing became my therapy, my escape, and my joy. I started journaling and remembered how writing can bring healing. I wrote my first published article from a place of pain and disappointment for MetroFamily, titled, "I am a Black Mother of Three Boys and I Feel Helpless."

George Floyd's murder played out right in our face, forcing me to have conversations with my 10-year-old that I wasn't ready to have with him. So, I had to revert to my comfort zone and write about it. Through our conversations, my son, Keith Ross said, "Momma, we should write a book about this, so it can help other people." I thought that was a great idea that can serve several purposes. My son and I decided we were going to have characters in the books that look like him and his friends. I truly believe hat positive representation matters. It's healthy for children to see themselves in characters. Therefore, I took my love for writing and helping others and my son's love for his friends and teachers, and we started making children's books that promote a positive self-image, literacy, critical thinking, and inclusion.

Dr. Tamecca Rogers, you founded a non-profit organization called “Mominate.” What is your non-profit

organization “Mominate” mission? The name of our non-profit organization is Mominate. It is a play on words Mom + dominate = Mominate. The mission of Mominate is to build a thriving community by helping recovering and financially challenged mothers and their children through, education, health, financial literacy, and self-love. Mominate has two goals for 2022. The first is to assist recovering mothers and their children in Tulsa OK and the second goal is to help build a primary school in Mombasa Kenya.

Tell the readers about your book, “Aspire To Inspire.” What is your book about and the reason you wrote it? Aspire it Inspire encourages you to not only inspire others, but also yourself! Aspire to Inspire is the perfect starting point when it comes to improving your self-love and confidence levels. This book mainly focuses on cultivating your personal development and self-care, making sure that you are putting yourself first. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Once you have filled your cup, you can aspire to inspire those around you.

This is not a replacement for medication, therapy, or mental health treatment, and I would certainly never steer you away from these vital practices. Instead, this book is designed to support those things. It is so important that you take time out of your day to practice kindness and compassion towards yourself. Whether the reader is recovering from a warped body image, coming out of an unhealthy relationship, or has made the bold step to start putting themselves first, Aspire to Inspire has exercises and advice to help create a life full of meaning and purpose.

Inside Aspire to Inspire, the readers will discover: ●How to be authentically themselves ●The importance of self-love ●Why they should give themselves grace ●How to find their passion ●The importance of being prepared for when opportunity knocks ●Why they should never stay in their box ●Ways to embrace their feminine energy ●Ways to master their leadership journey and lead like a woman ●Why they should focus on connections not competition

I wrote the book because everyday I make it my mission to encourage people through my social media and in person. A few of my social media friends asked me to write an inspirational book, and I said, “Say less. I’m going to get it done.”

Recently, you wrote a children’s book called, “Who Said You Can Touch My Hair.” I found the book title to be interesting. I read this children’s book and it has an inspirational and powerful storyline. Tell the readers about your

children’s book and the reason you chose the title. Awwwww…thanks so much Jennifer for reading our book! That means a lot to us! Who Said You Can Touch My Hair?, is written in English, Kichwa, French, and Spanish. It’s a funny and witty story that teaches about the sensitive topic of touching a Black girl’s hair. The main character experiences the stress of having people who cannot relate try to touch her hair. However, she turns some moments into humor by teaching others the importance of why it is not okay to touch a Black girl’s hair and how compliments can be insulting. This story enlightens and educates many kids and adults on how to be respectful to Black girls and not alienate them.

I wrote the book because like many Black women, I dealt with the issue as a child and as an adult, I still deal with the same issue. Honestly, it’s exhausting to keep explaining to people why they should respect my personal space. As an educator, I have been in classrooms where I have seen teacher’s touch Black children’s hair, so this book also gives the children a voice, letting them know, that it’s ok to tell grown-ups to respect their space. The title came from my experiences and what I have been through.

You have published several books through “Inspire Publishing, LLC. Tell us about your publishing company and a few of your books published in the past few

years. Inspire Publishing LLC is a company my son and I created to publish our books through. So far, we have published nine books. Eight of our books are children’s books and the latest we recently published is an inspirational book for women. Our two popular books are, A Promise Deferred: The Massacre of Black Wall Street and Now You’re It: Journaling to Perseverance. A Promise Deferred: The Massacre of Black Wall Street is an acclaimed children's book that confronts the horrifying true events of Black Wall Street, inspiring conversation about race and entrepreneurship. A Promise Deferred: The Massacre of Black Wall Street has a curriculum for all learning styles that focuses on the history of Black Wall Street, economic development, entrepreneurship, and the importance of acceptance and having a good character.

Now You’re It: Journaling to Perseverance is an interactive journal that highlights 35 groundbreaking African Americans, while encouraging literacy, critical thinking, perseverance, diversity, and inclusion.

This year you were one of the co-authors of “Women Motivated By Purpose” anthology book. Tell readers

about your chapter in the book. It was a privilege to be a co-author of Women Motivated by Purpose. Thanks for the opportunity. My chapter is titled, Breaking Barriers: No Permission Needed. My chapter focuses on seven of my key principles I used to overcome my obstacles and to live in my purpose:

1-Accept My Dissatisfaction, 2-Acknowledge That I Didn't Have All of the Answers, 3-Recognize and Listen to My Gifts, 4-Lean Into My Blackness, 5-Embrace My Passions, 6-Overcome Tremendous Odds, 7-Realize My Purpose Isn't Just About Me

I loved writing my part, but I also enjoyed reading the other chapters written by some pretty amazing, inspiring, and intelligent women.

Dr. Rogers visits Kenya

You have been part of a lot of book fair tours and events. Tell us about “The Black Child Book Fair Tour” that you are

scheduled to attend this month. The Black Child Book Fair Tour travels across the United States looking to improve literacy in Black communities by promoting Black authors and their books. It’s also a unique chance for many Black and brown children to meet authors and to see characters in books that look like themselves. I have been on several book fairs with the tour. The first one I attended was in my hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma. Then we were in Houston, Third Ward, and most recently, we were in Harlem at the Harlem Library. Each one of them are great experiences. We enjoy meeting all of the little readers. Talking to them makes our day and my co-author loves signing his autograph. The Black Child Book Fair also gives us opportunities to network with other authors, which is absolutely priceless.

Congratulations on becoming one of the semi- finalists for Ms. Health & Wellness competition. What is

your experience to become one of the semi-finalists in the competition? I think health and wellness is very important. Sometimes that includes unlearning things that we were taught as a kid. For example, “Eat everything on your plate.” Eating everything on your plate is not necessarily a good or healthy thing. As a mom, I realize sometimes we get too busy for ourselves. I like to encourage women to take time for themselves and to make their health a priority. The Ms. Health & Wellness competition is determined by daily votes. And what that showed me was I have an amazing support system. I want to continue to show up for them by leading by example throughout my health and fitness journey.

What is one of your greatest accomplishments? Raising my children and following my passion.

How do you find balance between your personal and work life? It’s a challenge, especially since I work a full -time job as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Tulsa Tech, an author, publisher, columnist for TulsaKids, real-estate investor, and most importantly, a mother to three boys.So how do I balance it all? First, I always make family a priority. Family is irreplaceable. And at the end of the day, nobody says, “I wish I could have spent more time at work.” Secondly, I hire people for things I can source out, which gives me more time with my family.

Do you have any upcoming conferences, events, speaking engagements or workshops? Every month I do two Aspire to Inspire: Fix Her Crown brunches. The first brunch is a networking event, which allows women to learn from other women. The brunch also gives women a space to support one another. The second brunch is a brunch I do monthly with my mentees. I mentor six ladies that range from the age of middle school to college. The brunch creates a space to set goals, complete a vision board, support and inspire each other, while holding each other accountable.

Give us some words to educate, inspire, and encourage women and all of

our readers of Growth Women’s Business Networks Magazine. Go get Aspire to Inspire: Fix Her Crown. The book gives tons of words to educate, inspire, and encourage women. I will, however, leave you with a quote from the book.

“Beauty and greatness lie within you. Tune inward more often to find out.” —Dr. Tamecca Rogers

Follow Dr. Rogers:

https://www.facebook.com/motherandsonpublishing/ https://www.facebook.com/momsaspiretoinspire Instagram: @drtameccarogers