Community Highlights: Meet Burgundi Allison

Today we’d like to introduce you to Burgundi Allison. 

Burgundi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came to Baltimore as a student attending Morgan State University and never looked back. I became a Woman, and a mother here so Baltimore is home. 

When I had my First Daughter, I came undone. To be Her Mother required becoming the Woman God intended. That meant examining the experiences that made me as I existed and getting intimate enough with God to understand what He had in mind. 

I studied the bible from beginning to end and wrote. I have notebooks and binders full of my studies- Jesus became the homie. That relationship would become the basis for all others and the lens through which I would see myself. I started writing a blog, detailing my experiences with men and God at the time. Between the blog and FB posts, folk seemed to believe there was a book in me. “About what?” I’d ask. “Who’d read it?” I’d say. Still too timid to reveal myself further. 

It’d be 10 years before I published ‘Fish Bones and Bread Crumbs’. I repurposed the blog into a guided journal that takes women on a spiritual journey to self-insight and knowing God more intimately. The catalyst for the book was a women’s group that I co-facilitated at the church I joined while pregnant with my Second Daughter. We journeyed together to grow spiritually and they became midwives for the book and my rebirth. During our work together spirit made clear that there was in fact a book in me, that it was already written, and these women and others in search of themselves, would read and use it. 

A professional colleague of mine, he bought the first physical copy of Fish Bones actually, encouraged me to catalyze the courage it took to publish. He mapped out all of the avenues the book could take, including a podcast. Golds Girls & God explores whatever topic comes to mind through the lenses of hip-hop, femininity, and faith- all foundational to the experiences of being Black and Girl for my co-host and I. It’s transparent and deep. It’s as if listeners are ear hustling as homegirls shoot the shit. It’s explicit- I love God and I cuss ALOT. 

Episodes 2 and 3 “Consider Your Divinity When Magic Ain’t Enuff” unpack the myth of the Strong Black Woman. We get into the ideal of Us as magical and how elusive magic is and the toxicity of maintaining the illusion, During the conversation we come to the realization that the source of our power is real and our divinity is key to transition Us from surviving to thriving. “Black Girl Divinity” was coined and our producer told me that I should put in on a shirt. I did! I have DiviniTees, sweatshirts, and totes. 

I commissioned Youth in Business (YiB) a program at Jubilee Arts that cultivates the entrepreneurial leadership skills of high school-aged youth by providing hands-on experience operating an art-based business to design the Black Girl Divinity logo. The brand serves to remind Us that We too are created in the image of God, so Our femininity is sanctified, and our Blackness uncompromised. 

My aversion to vulnerability kept me from being this version of myself sooner. There is much to say about how the opening of the womb can summon a Woman’s highest self. God pursued me through my daughters when I was most open to receive- guidance, correction, instruction. And every step led to an open door, and now I feel as if I am just approaching the Woman God created me to be. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Structuring my business has been fairly smooth, The technical pieces, anyway. (In my JayZ voice) I’m a business, man! Integrating Burgundi Allison LLC into my real and professional lives has been more difficult. 

The book, the podcast, the brand are me stripped down. My professional work has its own level of visibility that I’ve been careful to keep separate. Although I am always 100% me, I can keep it 100 without giving any one person or thing all 100. The idea of colleagues reading Fish Bones or listening to Golds Girls & God is unnerving, it leaves me feeling exposed. 

I’m also at a decision point- is there a follow-up to the book? Should we structure the podcast differently and add video? How far do I take Black Girl Divinity? All great problems to have, but, quandaries nonetheless and the answers to the questions are legitimate business decisions. 

I have a steep learning curve. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Burgundi Allison is a graduate of both Morgan State University, and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. 

She has made her home in Baltimore where she’s created and led programs for the city’s most marginalized youth. Currently, she works in philanthropy while mothering her two daughters, Cannyn and Darynn. 

On March 26, 2020 Burgundi released her first book, Fish Bones and Bread Crumbs: A Guided Journal. This literary offering takes women on a spiritual journey to self-insight and knowing God more intimately. The focus is on the “divinity of femininity“, and the power of healing. 

In her podcast Golds, Girls & God, she examines various topics and current events through the lenses of culture, femininity, and faith. 

The pinnacle of Burgundi’s work is the Black Girl Divinity brand. Born out of the realization that magic is based in illusion, and that to appeal to the masses Black Women hide the reality of our vulnerabilities, Black Girl Divinity serves to remind us that we too are created in the image of God, making our femininity sanctified, and our Blackness uncompromised. The brand includes publishing, curated spiritual experiences, and merchandise. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
That I stay focused on the vision given. I believe that God gives the desires of our hearts- not things we want, but He actually gives us a desire for the things He has for us. So, none of this is mine. I came into agreement with God about what He desires for me, so as a good steward of my blessings, I have to stay true to the vision of blesser. 

Contact Info:

• Email: burgundijanae@hotmail.com
• Website: burgundiallison.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/burgundi_allison
• Facebook: instagram.com/blackgirldivinity

Image Credits
Candice Michelle Portraits
Denzel