We recently connected with Ashley Jefferson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I think our Nguzo Babies Kwanzaa episode of 2021 was such a big deal for me. Almost five years ago I wrote a curriculum about the principles of Kwanzaa to encourage families to use the framework for building communities and loving the skin you’re in. I had pushed that curriculum for so long because I wanted to reach more families of African descent so that African Americans especially could be connected to their roots. I wanted our children to be proud of where they come from and take pride in the neighborhoods they live in by taking care of them. I realized, though, that there was another way to deliver the message.

Out of that came the Nguzo Babies brand where we mix some of those lessons in the curriculum with fantasy and play through puppets and music. We did a few episodes, but the backstory of the characters wasn’t quite there yet. We needed more and I could see the possibilities of where this show could go. So I wrote a new script for the holiday season that told how they all got together and created another “world” called Magic Land that made room for more adventure.

I wrote the entire thing including the lyrics to all but one of the songs. We used modest equipment and just worked with what we had to tell a story. But it was such a learning process for me as I was completely hands on in the process. Casting, directing, editing, all of it. It made me understand how much work goes into it as well as how important it is to build a team. At the time, I used what I had but since then we’ve grown so much and I’m excited about what we have coming for our audience. But TRULY, I love that story we told. It was just magic with how it came together.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I tend to be very driven with my work and I like things done my own way. While I’m still learning to purposefully apply it when appropriate, I think the biggest lesson for me has been to learn to trust others to help you to get the goal completed. You can’t spread yourself thin and sometimes you have to accept that it will not always be done exactly as you would have done it. That said, that doesn’t mean the way it’s done was wrong or bad, it could be spectacular, but the letting go of the need to control every aspect of your business or project (especially when you certainly NEED the help), has to be done. You can’t grow if you’re all over the place and exhausting your energy without help.

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is a great question! I am STILL building my audience but this dance with social media has been really…intense, I’d have to say. I think I started on social media to personally share about myself and interact with new people. Most of it ended up being work focused because it’s so embedded into my life, though. I just kept sharing what I was doing and showing children out in nature and enjoying life and I guess people became interested in it all. They especially appreciated the fact that I was showing Black children outdoors in nature. Ultimately, I just shared more of my passion and people appreciated my transparency in my captions and tips I would share. I really do feel like I’ve built relationships with my followers and that’s how they’ve turned into supporters and/or clients. Riding the waves of social media and its evolution has been challenging at times, but at the end of the day communicating with authenticity has been what’s helped me get through it all.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nguzobabies.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/nguzo_babies
• Facebook: facebook.com/nguzobabies
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/playpanafrikan/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/playpanafrikan
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkWdTgW00lXcGdvFE9j72HQ
• Other: Instagram.com/earlychildhoodenthusiast