We recently connected with Nakesa Barnhill and have shared our conversation below.
Nakesa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Amari was my eldest born son, he was murdered November of 2015. In the aftermath of his homicide I channeled the pain into purpose with my words and actions; forming a non profit organization and crafting two publications in his honor sharing my experience of Filicide and a bereaved mothers grief.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Nakesa Barnhill is a resilient individual that has overcame everything thrown at her. Nakesa holds the title of wife, mother, published author, activist, entrepreneur, and inspirational speaker. At nineteen her life drastically changed due to the death of her son; Amari, it was ruled an homicide on November 12th, 2015. The charge of second-degree murder was added to the other charges levied against Amari’ biological father. In her quest for understanding in what couldn’t be understood she stubbled upon a community at large and through countless sleepless nights of research she learned she was now a member of parents mourning the loss of their child’s life due to an Act of Filicide.
Filicide; a person who kills one’s child
(maternal filicide, paternal filicide, step-parental filicide, etc.)
The pain from her grueling loss had sparked an unquenchable fiery passion, what she viewed as the birth of her purpose leading her to gain many accolades and grow the awareness of Filicide to the community and world at large.
She became a self-published author with the release of her first book which offers insight into Amari, his case, other breaking news Filicide cases, and common excuses/defenses provided in legal cases. At 23 years old her second publication released, honoring 200 other angel children and their families within ‘The Memoriam’, showcasing there is a multitude of grieving hearts yet so few voices that truly speak of the pain parents endure with losing their child(ren). She took a note from Patti Smith and extended her hand to others who’ve suffered as she understands suffering. Despite facing challenges like a stillbirth, miscarriages, a divorce, single parenthood, etc. she hasn’t lost sight of writing or working within the community for change while advocating for other victims. With the limited visibility and understanding of Filicide, she decided to create a holiday in April as it is Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month she founded a holiday that for the last 4 years has ran the 2nd week of April entitled Filicide Awareness Week in honor of Amari’s legacy with her nonprofit organization; Amari’s Earthly Angels, Inc. She also launched an online women’s clothing & accessories boutique for her passion for fashion and seeing the excitement of women wearing her pieces to bring out their beauty in every aspect. Coupled with her secondary business of being a travel advisor, helping plan trips for others and herself. She recently relocated to Virginia; however, her work within the community hasn’t dwindled as she even has been advocating and lobbying for legally. Within the past few years she has virtually and physically made trips to the Florida state capitol lobbying for bills that are to advance victims rights and voices. She has announced two upcoming publications entitled ‘Naked & Bare’ and ‘Baker Acted While Black,’ which with praise her first thought provoking publications receive we anxiously await the release. While it is unknown to the update of her desire to also premiere a docu-series about Filicide to bring greater awareness to the cause and preventative measures to further protect children, she states that her desire still remains to “save as many children as I can, since I couldn’t save mine.”
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Originally I gained many eyes due to Amari becoming breaking news. A post on my Facebook brought thousands of eyes to my personal page in a time of deep and dark grief, as a news station took it as a direct quote and many members from Amari’s paternal side began to comment in defense of his now since convicted killer and attempt to assassinate my character. Many sought out my social media from the drama and to be spectators; however, I learned to take back the narrative and drown out the noise of negativity. I continued to make genuine authentic content of updates about Amari’s case, my personal life, my businesses, my activism, etc and kept the spotlight on myself, my experiences and I gained authentic followers and engagement.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
That my story isn’t to be spectated nor is it required for me to share my side of the story to everyone. I felt I owed it to my audience being a transparent content creator that I had to leave my comments open, have no one blocked and allow anyone the opportunity to state their viewpoint on my platform. Through growing pains I learned that my platform that I and my experiences built are not required to be tainted for giving anyone access to it. Many of those connected to Amari’s paternal side are blocked on my social media and any others who attempted to bring negative, hostile, or disrespectful responses into my healing and peaceful environment I curated.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/Nakesa-Barnhill/e/B077RPDMJ6
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amari_ella_chroniclesofamother/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nakesabarnhillofficial/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nakesa-barnhill-475875153/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NakesaBarnhill
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCxSZrJOhw4lvXgAI6R-Sy7Q