We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nijiama Smalls a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nijiama thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The Black Girl Healing Project was born out of a deeply personal journey that eventually revealed a much larger collective need.

Several years ago, I began reflecting on the emotional wounds that many Black women carry—wounds created by childhood trauma, family dysfunction, generational pain, and the constant pressure to be strong in a world that often overlooks our emotional needs. In my own life and in the lives of the women around me, I kept seeing the same patterns: brilliant, accomplished Black women who were surviving but not necessarily healing. We were carrying so much, often silently.
During that period of reflection, I started writing what would become The Black Girl’s Guide to Healing Emotional Wounds. At first, the book was simply a way to organize my thoughts about healing, emotional awareness, and the importance of breaking cycles of trauma. But as I wrote, something became very clear to me: there were not many resources that spoke directly to the emotional healing journey of Black girls and women in a culturally affirming way. Many mental health resources existed, but very few acknowledged the intersection of race, gender, family dynamics, and the cultural expectations placed on Black women.

When the book was released, the response was overwhelming. Women from all over began reaching out, sharing their own stories of pain, resilience, and the desire to heal. They told me they finally felt seen. That was the moment I realized that the book was not the end of something—it was the beginning.

What became clear to me was that healing could not just live in the pages of a book. It needed to become a movement, a community, and a set of tools that could reach Black girls and women wherever they were in their journey. That realization is what led to the creation of The Black Girl Healing Project.

The logic behind building the organization was simple but powerful: if one book could spark so many conversations and moments of reflection, imagine what could happen if we created programs, guided journals, community spaces, and conversations dedicated to emotional wellness for Black girls and women. We were solving a problem that had long existed but had rarely been addressed in a culturally specific and accessible way—the stigma around therapy and emotional vulnerability in the Black community.

What excited me most was the possibility of changing how Black girls grow up understanding their emotions. Instead of waiting until adulthood to unpack years of unaddressed trauma, what if we started earlier? What if young Black girls learned that therapy is not weakness, that emotional reflection is strength, and that healing is a lifelong practice?
That vision is what continues to drive the work today. The Black Girl Healing Project exists to normalize emotional wellness, dismantle stigma surrounding therapy, and create spaces where Black girls and women can reflect, heal, and grow—together.
What started as a book became a mission: to make healing accessible, culturally relevant, and visible for Black girls and women everywhere.

Nijiama , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have worked in people-oriented spaces for many years, from talent acquisition to overseeing social service programs. I believe that serving people from various backgrounds and in various stages of life coupled with my keen interest in human behavior, pointed me to this place. I’ve seen what emotional wholeness looks like and believe it’s accessible for us all.

The Black Girl Healing Project provides culturally relevant emotional wellness resources, programs, and community spaces designed specifically for Black girls and women. Our work centers on helping individuals recognize, process, and heal emotional wounds that often stem from childhood trauma, family dynamics, societal pressures, and generational patterns that have gone unaddressed for far too long.

Our offerings include guided healing journals, workshops, virtual and in-person conversations, school-based programming, and community healing spaces that encourage reflection, emotional awareness, and personal growth. One of our signature initiatives, Therapy is a Flex, works directly with young Black girls to dismantle the stigma surrounding therapy and normalize emotional wellness conversations at an early age. Through guided journaling, table talks, and interactive discussions, we create safe spaces for girls to express themselves and begin understanding their emotional experiences in a healthy and empowering way.

The core problem we address is the long-standing stigma around therapy and emotional vulnerability in the Black community. For generations, many Black women have been taught to be strong, resilient, and self-reliant—often at the expense of their emotional well-being. As a result, many people carry unresolved emotional wounds without the language, tools, or safe environments needed to process them. The Black Girl Healing Project works to change that narrative by creating culturally affirming pathways to healing that feel accessible, relatable, and empowering.

What sets our work apart is that it is rooted in cultural understanding, storytelling, and lived experience. Our approach acknowledges the unique social, cultural, and historical realities that shape the emotional lives of Black girls and women. We are not simply encouraging people to seek therapy—we are helping normalize emotional reflection, teaching practical tools for healing, and creating community-centered spaces where women and girls can see that they are not alone in their experiences.

One of the things I am most proud of is the way the work has resonated with so many people. What began as a book—The Black Girl’s Guide to Healing Emotional Wounds—has grown into a broader movement focused on emotional wellness, reflection, and breaking generational cycles. Seeing women and girls begin to openly talk about their healing journeys, share their stories, and embrace emotional growth is incredibly powerful.

I want people who encounter this work to know that The Black Girl Healing Project is about more than conversations—it is about transformation. It is about giving Black girls and women the language, the tools, and the community support needed to prioritize their emotional health without shame. Our mission is to make healing visible, normalized, and accessible, while empowering the next generation to approach their emotional well-being with intention and self-awareness.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My brand is built on honesty, transparency, and total vulnerability. I use my books and weekly electronic newsletter to share anecdotes and raw, unfiltered parts of my life– the good, bad, and indifferent. With each word, I give women a glimpse into the sacred parts of my life, which many find comfort in knowing we deal with very similar issues and all have made similar mistakes. This has allowed me to build trust, and with that, I feel a deep sense of responsibility, as trust is sacred and not given lightly. I owe it to every woman who hears or reads my stories to honor her trust at all times.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

In 2014, I sold an event planning business. The biggest lesson I learned in that situation was that you can’t grow your business on money you do not have. I moved the business from a home office to a commercial studio, believing it would bring more business. The overhead costs increased, but the customer base only increased by 10%. I was using my personal funds to make the rent until I finally had to let it go. I was crushed, but I learned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theblackgirlsguidetohealingemotionalwounds.com/the-black-girl-healing-project-inc-black-mental-health/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nijiamasmallsinreallife/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581505570311
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nijiamasmalls/
• Youtube: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581505570311
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/onwurd/nijiama-smalls-talks-about-the-black-girls-healing-project-midday-breakroom-w-tiffany-bacon-2326