She Community Club Works to Empower RI Women of Color

A social club for women of color creatives and entrepreneurs uplifts through workshops, wellness, and camaraderie

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On a brisk October evening, a small group of women gathered around a bonfire under the full moon to hear their tarot cards read or have henna tattoos done, to laugh and indulge in baked treats together, enjoying the fruits of their creative peers’ labors. This first Community Moon Ritual hosted by She Community Club was also the first time many members had come together in a space like this, designed specifically for women of color to connect and share their talents.

“Ever since I was young, I always imagined a space where someone who looked like me could have the access to express all aspects of themselves while also having community, safety, and people who looked out for each other,” says Manal Jakhar, a first generation Pakistani-American who founded She Community Club in 2020 as a network of women of color in Rhode Island.

Seeing a trend in the surge of women of color, especially Black women, starting their own businesses before the pandemic and that these businesses were often the hardest hit in COVID’s aftermath, Jakhar wanted to forge a community around empowerment and holistic modes of healing.

“I am one of the first females in my family to get a higher education, to live alone, be independent and make money as a creative,” Jakhar shares. “Honestly, it gets incredibly lonely, and I didn’t see a lot of spaces that gave women like us the tools and support to thrive in these environments while also addressing a lot of the mental health and other barriers we face as women of color.”

Despite these barriers, Jakhar notes, she still sees her peers thriving in their creative and entrepreneurial pursuits. “Imagine what could happen if we started learning from each other?”

This takes shape in a variety of in-person events like the Community Moon Ritual, a summer fundraiser at Revival Brewing Company in Providence featuring multicultural women vendors and performers, journaling sessions, and other unique programming. Digital platforms have allowed members to continue to share ideas amid the Omicron wave of the pandemic via Zoom workshops and even a Digital Community App that lets members connect based on occupations and interests.

At the core of She Community Club are three principles Jakhar prioritizes: community, health and wellness, and development. In upholding the first, she emphasizes the importance of representation over inclusion in the multicultural events they host. “Being included is basically being invited to the party, but representation is when you come to the party and hear your songs and taste your favorite foods and that’s when you know you’re home,” she says. For instance, a Diwali event they held invited South Asian women to share what the holiday meant to them.

Second, health and wellness embodies everything from culturally sensitive therapy to Mindful Movement Mondays on Instagram to “hosting yoga and meditation sessions guided by women of color who are ancestrally connected to the knowledge,” says Jakhar. And the development tenet spans a range of topics, including financial wellness, personal equity, starting and marketing a new business, and multicultural cooking and beauty workshops.

Jakhar looks forward to more opportunities to gather in person in the future, though in the meantime, every online workshop, uplifting IG post, and donation is a step toward breaking down the generational patterns she and many others have faced and begin the work of creating a new narrative for women of color – one that doesn’t have to begin with loneliness.  @shecommunityclub

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