Rooted in Purpose

Jamila White is a visionary leader, community advocate, and cancer survivor whose work transforms how Black communities experience healing, empowerment, and liberation. As founder of blakQuity, she builds spaces where Black people, especially women, can live fully, freely, and with dignity. Her journey—from international work in solidarity-based communities to surviving stage 4 thyroid cancer—shaped her belief that the fight for justice must also honor individual healing.

A Global Awakening

At 19, Jamila White experienced Africa for the first time. The duality of beauty and poverty struck her, resonating deeply with her identity. Immersing herself in pre-colonial history and culture, Jamila felt a profound connection to the land and its people. After university, she spent nearly a decade learning from and with solidarity-based communities and African women cooperatives. These experiences revealed how anti-Black racism shapes systems of power and development, sparking her advocacy work and eventual return to Washington, D.C.

A Radical Turn in Healing

In her early 30s, Jamila faced a life-altering challenge: a diagnosis of stage 4 thyroid cancer. “Honestly, I was in complete shock. I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to do anything but let the cancer take over,” she recalls. Known for standing up for others, she suddenly found herself unable to fight for herself. What pulled her back was her mother’s unwavering love and conviction. “You will fight,” her mother told her. That love, combined with Jamila’s determination to be there for her daughter, became her lifeline.

Facing cancer at a young age transformed Jamila’s understanding of care, community, and systemic inequities in health. “It pushed me to go deeper, to be bolder — to be radical. And when I say radical, I mean radical in love, radical in liberation, radical in living the way I believe God put us here to live,” she reflects. Connecting with other young Black women navigating similar journeys gave her perspective and strength. “With them, I could talk honestly about death, about grief.. That community gave me both perspective and power to keep moving forward,” she says.

Her experience at Sibley Memorial Hospital became a defining moment in her understanding of healing. The surgeon who performed her thyroid surgery had already retired but chose to take her case as his last patient, a gesture she describes as profoundly meaningful. It was her gynecologist who first delivered the diagnosis and connected her to Sibley. From the initial consultation to surgery and post-operative care, she encountered a level of compassion and commitment that restored her faith in healthcare. “I had lost a lot of trust in the medical system. But at Sibley, I experienced doctors and staff who were fully invested in my life, in my healing—not just the mechanics of medicine or the pull of profit. That changed everything for me,” she says.

From Survival to Solidarity

These experiences directly informed the founding of blakQuity in 2020. Jamila realized that the fight for justice must also honor individual healing. Surviving cancer forced her to slow down, confront her vulnerability, and learn how to fight differently — through rest, community care, and trust. “blakQuity is rooted in that same truth: that our collective fight for justice has to also honor our individual healing,” she explains. It also inspired her to build spaces where Black people, especially women, can live fully, freely, and with dignity.

blakQuity’s mission aligns with these lessons. The cooperative’s Liberation and Solidarity Fund draws inspiration from ancestral practices of mutual support, modernized for today’s needs. It provides tangible resources to communities, helping dismantle barriers to economic mobility while fostering a culture of care and collective empowerment. “Surviving cancer taught me that health is political, and that our bodies carry the weight of systems,” she says, emphasizing how these lessons guide blakQuity’s work to address disparities impacting Black women and communities.

Her vision for blakQuity extends beyond immediate assistance. It emphasizes self-determination, resilience, and long-term empowerment. Jamila has cultivated spaces that uplift Black voices, particularly those of women who, like her, have faced adversity and systemic barriers. The cooperative champions solidarity economics, cultural competence, and community-driven solutions, ensuring its work addresses immediate needs while building sustainable pathways for collective growth. “This work is sacred, rooted in our survival and in our thriving,” Jamila reflects.

Building Legacy Through Leadership

Beyond blakQuity, Jamila’s commitment to leadership and service is extensive. She co-founded the Geraldine N. Coleman Scholarship Fund to support first-generation college-bound seniors in Washington, D.C. She mentors students through College Bound, advocates for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and volunteers with local Mutual Aid networks and community organizations. Elected to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission for Ward 8A in Washington, D.C., she has also served in leadership and advisory roles in national networks, including Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security (WCAPS), the Council on Foreign Affairs, and Hampton University’s Forty Under 40.

Her academic path — a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Hampton University and a Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in Economic Development and International Affairs from Indiana University — further underscores her commitment to building equitable systems. Raised between Fredericksburg, VA, and Washington, D.C., alongside her sister Aisha, Jamila credits her upbringing and community as central to the leader she is today.

A Legacy of Strength

Generations of trailblazing women strongly shaped Jamila’s journey. Her Great Grandma Lou, an entrepreneur and landowner in the Jim Crow South, and her Aunt Lula, a Freedom Rider detained at Mississippi’s Parchman Prison for integrating public transportation, instilled in her integrity, resilience, and a deep sense of solidarity. “Without those lessons of resilience and solidarity, I wouldn’t approach life or community the way I do today,” she says.

Through her heritage, lived experiences, academic and professional path, and personal health journey, Jamila demonstrates how resilience, values, and vision intersect to create lasting legacies of empowerment. Her work embodies solidarity, resilience, and community-centered leadership, proving that personal challenges can inspire broader social impact. Jamila White is a visionary leader, a community advocate, a cancer survivor, and a constant source of inspiration for Black women and communities navigating adversity.