Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Benson.
Hi Amy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a Nigerian-American creative based in Honolulu, Hawai’i. In March 2020, I created Black Bazaar HNL, a social community connecting those of the African diaspora that are based in Hawai’i. (Whispers. Yes, there’s black folks in Hawai’i.) Many people are not aware of that for various reasons. . Here’s what led to it………
Born and raised in Alabama, I spent most of my upbringing in Birmingham. I was a social, athletic, creative, adventurous, and academic driven youth. My mother, a Nigerian immigrant, was very hardworking and did her best to navigate a new country and culture with her five children. My father, also Nigerian, was on a military assignment in the United States. They both arrived in Alabama together in 1984. After his assignment, he relocated back to Nigeria in 1987, two months before I was born. My mom ultimately made the decision to stay in America and raise us on her own.
As a youth I loved socializing, being active, and quite honestly, I just had LOTS of energy. I’m sure my teachers would say I was extremely smart yet disruptive and talkative but in hindsight, I truly just had a burning desire to be expressive, connect with others, bridge cultural gaps, & cultivate community.
Cultural expectations required me to suppress most of my creativity or not fully commit to the extracurricular activities I was stellar at such as sports, music, writing, etc. To my Nigerian mother, anything other than traditional academic paths that didn’t lead to being a lawyer, doctor, or engineer was a waste of time.
Against what was expected of me, I studied Communications, with my concentration being Public Relations and minoring in Journalism. My mother continuously asking, “You will be paid to communicate? What kind of nonsense degree is this? “ LOL.
After graduating college in Texas(2009),I relocated to Georgia and landed a marketing position in Atlanta for a global beverage company. I then went on to work for two top luxury hotel brands.
In 2013, at age 26, God placed it on my heart to relocate to Hawai’i. I resigned from my position and took a one way to Honolulu.
Chileee, Hawai’i helped me heal in ways I didn’t know that I needed. I started to do big internal healing work. For the first time in a long time, I felt that I could just Be. Although unemployed, uncertain, and unsure professionally, I felt faithful that my purpose would reveal itself.
I was committed to learning more about myself, Hawai’i, the culture, the people, and through that I was certain it would be home.
Soon after arriving, I accepted a leadership position at a boutique hotel. Over the years in Honolulu, I worked in hospitality, aviation, and business and HR consulting.
In 2019, I created my first company, a lifestyle concierge company which was focused on travelers having more personalized experiences in Hawai’i. The goal was to connect them with local companies and creatives they could support.
A year later, I created Black Bazaar HNL, which was primarily to connect black residents in Hawai’i through art, culture, wellness, adventure, entrepreneurship, and community. Hawai’i is less than 4% black. My vision for Black Bazaar HNL birthed mainly because I did not see anything like it in Hawaii after years of living here.
Outside of military installations, there was no designated areas where you could see multiple black folks. As a civilian, I knew that it was necessary and that it could be really beautiful to cultivate a cohesive black community in Hawai’i.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth where?!!!! We’d be here for fiddy-lem hours discussing the challenges. I’ll say this. The challenges have changed over the years.
In year one (2020), the biggest challenge was the bandwidth. I was working 50-60 hrs for another company while cultivating the Black Bazaar HNL community, legitimizing the back-end business aspects, focusing on the branding, coordinating events, providing resources, navigating the pandemic, my health & wellness, the unbearable injustice black folks faced, isolation, alllll the things. 2020 was absolute insanity.
Our first event was a black business pop-up in Waikiki March 14, 2020, a week later Covid hit. I felt defeated and at the same time inspired. Over 200 attendees, with a lineup of musicians, creatives and business owners. The energy was unparalleled. The rest of the year was spent cultivating the community virtually through programming that included clinical psychologists, musicians, yoga instructors, financial advisors, highlighting creatives and small business owners, and other subject matter experts within the community. It was very important that we facilitate a space where we could commune, learn, grow, socialize, heal, laugh, support one another, all of that.
In the midst of that, I was furloughed from my consulting position, which was my main source of income. 2020 took a financial, mental, and spiritual toll. Whew!
Year 2, outside in Hawai’i was more open but with lots of restrictions and limitations. Navigating that was challenging, it was changing so fast. One day it was, 20 people could gather, the next week only 10 could. And so on and so on.
With travel restrictions and no gathering restrictions, and the loss of my position, the Bazaar SUFFERED financially. Although we applied, we didn’t receive any financial relief during covid. However, I completely remained committed to our purpose the best we could. We have made quite the impact.
Year 3. Navigating the next level of our plan, which requires capital, is where we face the most challenges. Black Bazaar HNL has been and is self-funded. That has been the biggest continuous challenge. We are hopeful that in the future, we will be able to solidify come capital through investors, sponsors, etc. that will help us amplify the impact we’ve made thus far and activate future concepts, programs, initiatives, and plans that we have created and designed.
We are pioneering spaces in Hawai’i for this community, and with being the firsts, comes challenges. We are the first black membership community that is based in Honolulu. We also created the first Honolulu Black Pride this year, that featured singer Iniko and local LGBTQ creatives. It was an honor to create a space for our LGBTQ community. Our annual Juneteenth Cookout celebration continues to be a special signature community event and the first of its kind in Hawai’i. Black Bazaar HNL continues to create innovative ways to support business owners, creatives, and community members through a variety of different initiatives, events, workshops, etc. throughout the year.
We understand that everything we facilitate and cultivate comes with challenges, but I feel deeply this is my purpose. God put it on my heart for me to see this vision through and inspire people along the way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As the creator of Black Bazaar HNL, I spearhead the overall vision of the organization. I create the concepts for our events, exhibits, workshops, initiatives, & community giving. I’m most known for the work that I do with creatives and entrepreneurs to work alongside them to increase awareness of their products, services, and talents. Ultimately, I’ve taken my transferable skills that I learned working in hospitality, marketing, and consulting and have utilized them to push this community forward.
I’m most proud about the impact it has made on people. When people tell me that Black Bazaar HNL has changed their life, inspired them to be their full selves, has helped them grow personally and professionally, or has given them a sense of belonging in Hawai’i, it truly makes me ugly cry.
My cultural & professional background and upbringing set me apart. A lot of who I am, what I’ve learned, and what I believe is an intricate part of the Bazaar. I believe we are on this earth to be of service to one another in a communal way. Although trauma can shape who we are, healing allows us to be exactly who we’re supposed to become.
How do you define success?
Success to me is being present in the journey, seeing a vision through, inspiring others along the way, and leaving a mark on their lives forever. All while upholding integrity. It’s also the ability to understand nothing that’s for you will pass you up. Having full faith in what God has laid out for you. Success is also acknowledging that we need REST. Rest is not something we should have to earn or feel guilty about. It is essential to our existence, the same way breathing is.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blackbazaarhnl.com
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/blackbazaarhnl
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/blackbazaarhnl
Image Credits
April Lawrence
