HERstory: Ssanyu Lukoma

Welcome back to the She Shall Speak Series! We are excited to kick off the third episode of our HERstory series, a collection of stories of young Black women and girls who are leading the way for positive social change in their communities. Today, we will be talking with Ssanyu Lukoma! Ssanyu Lukoma is a teenage entrepreneur, author, and public speaker.  In 2018, at 13 years old, she founded Brown Kids Read, a non-profit organization dedicated to motivating all children, but especially children of color, to read more diverse literature. Since then, she has created an online and pop-up bookstore called The Brown Reads Bookshelf and hosts a podcast called The Book Junkie. Most recently, she wrote a children’s picture book entitled Suubi's Sunny Smile through a publishing company she founded, Share a Smile Books.  Suubi's Sunny Smile comprises prominent heritage and dental hygiene themes, but most importantly, has a vital anti-bullying message. She was compelled to write a story featuring Suubi, a main character of color, whose inspiring journey will show young readers that what makes us unique, can be our greatest strength.   Additionally, She is a junior broadcaster and Junior Advisory Board Member for KiDz HuB Media Network, a member of the Homeschool National Honor Society, and she has been playing basketball for seven years.    She has also presented to corporations including Flywire and JPMorgan Chase about Teenage entrepreneurship, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.  Additionally, she presents goal-setting workshops for public high school students along with other workshops to help them stay motivated.   Her ultimate goal is to inspire and motivate others to leave a positive impact on the world! Tune in to hear us discuss teenage entrepreneurship, the process of writing and publishing a novel, the importance of representation in literature, youth leadership, and more!