‘We Inspire the Culture’: Boutique Connects African Fashion to Birmingham

BY SIGOURNEY BELL AND ERIAL MALONE NABJ JSHOP REPORTER

On the outside, Tamica Banks’ brainchild is located off the beaten path at a nondescript business park in Mountain Brook, Ala., a small Birmingham suburb.

But tucked inside a small office lies SoulSistah3.0, an African-inspired clothing boutique full of colorful patterns, jewelry and oils seeking to become a staple on the local fashion scene.

Banks, who founded her business in 2017, told NABJ JSHOP she was inspired to create SoulSistah3.0 as a way to help her mostly female customers connect with their African roots.

She strongly believes that Black women are influential to modern fashion not only by style, but also by beauty.

“We inspire the culture,” she said.

Banks said her inspiration for SoulSistah comes from frequent visits to Ghana to collaborate with a team of women to help choose fabrics and create the vibrant hand-made designs that drape on the store’s sales racks. Banks often sells her wares at local events, by customer referrals and through social media sites like Instagram.

She sees her business as a sign of independence, not only for Black women in Birmingham embracing their African identities, but also as a way to financially help the Ghanaian women she collaborates with.

Banks hopes she can someday work on SoulSistah full-time and move from its tiny space and expand into a big storefront in downtown Birmingham. She also wants to be able to offer scholarships to young women seeking to create their own businesses.

“Your paths build a brighter future,” Banks said.

For more information, follow SoulSistah3.0 on Instagram at soulsistah3.0_.

The free exhibit, featuring 22 of McNair’s photos, is what Edward Bowser, the city’s deputy director of communications, described during an exclusive interview Monday with NABJ JSHOP students as “History coming to light.”

McNair was a milkman who opened a photography studio in 1962, right when Birmingham became a focal point during the Civil Rights movement. McNair and his camera lens were often front and center as his work includes iconic images of civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Rosa Parks and A.G. Gaston, a prominent Birmingham businessman.

The exhibit also centers around McNair’s daughter, Denise. The 11-year-old was one of four little girls tragically killed

“Most of these images have never been seen before,” Bowser said, as the exhibit’s purpose is “not to relive the past, but instead let the past inform our future.”

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin agrees.

“This exhibition not only showcases his artistic prowess but also serves as a moving tribute to leaders of the movement, foot soldiers and McNair’s daughter Denise, reminding us of the sacrifices made during those challenging times,” Woodfin said in a news release.