There’s an amazing store in Hayes Valley called The African Outlet run by this woman, Judah, and her partner Hogan. I’ve always wanted to get to know Judah more and fortunately she agreed to let me photograph her:

“Where are you originally from?”

“I’m from Alaska, but I grew up east of the Mississippi river in the South, in the Midwest, New England. My father was in education so we moved all over. My mother always said, ‘Home was where the bed was the next night.’ I’m very much a child of the 60’s so I moved out here in ’69. Went back to commune in Souther Illinois for a bit, then to Boston, then back out here in ’71 and I’ve been out here ever since. I came out to be with a man I met in Southern Illinois. We had 4 children together. I’m not with him anymore, he’s here still in the city. The kids are all grown. They’ve got kids. Hogan and I met in a Reggae club in 1987…and the rest is an amazing history. It’s been up and down and in and out and the store is bigger than both of us. But we’re the keepers. We go back and forth from Africa. His home base is Nigeria, that’s where his family is.”

“What have you learned about African culture in your travels over there?”

“Oh my lord. Everyday something new. In the 50’s my dad opened the door to me through a professor he met who had been in Ethiopia for five years. That was strange because no one was really interested in Africa back then except erudite folks, and he had a lot of amazing things to say about it. And what he taught us was so different that what I was being taught growing up.

In history class in school Africa was on the map all blacked out. It was called "The Dark Continent”. There were 3 sentences about it and that was it. All the kingdoms, all the history, all the knowledge and wisdom wasn’t there. The professor would show us slides of all the beautiful things and that left a huge impression. It’s so important what we expose our children to.“

"What do you think the mainstream impression of Africa is now?”

“Every now and then I get encouraged but then I hear some kid in college refer to Africa as a country and I’m like, ‘Really?! It’s a continent. There are countries within the continent. There’s more countries than we have states. There are some people that are exploring the culture there with some serious depth but there’s so much there you can’t just say it’s one culture. But the people that get it, really get it. I think people mostly get turned on to the culture through dance and music. Olatunji was the big breakthrough for a lot of people. Once you open that door…it’s nice. When people come to me to buy something, I don’t let them just buy something, they’ve gotta listen to me.”

“Is there a specific piece of African wisdom you feel is especially important to the San Francisco community?”

“One thing I think is universal in Africa is a respect for history, wisdom, and ancestors. The people who go before us are still here to watch us, and be a resource. My mother always said, ‘Don’t reinvent the wheel.’ When people do ceremony in Africa the first people they acknowledge are their ancestors. They give them some kind of offering to get their attention and ask them to be present. There’s humility in that. That building of spirit.”

“So do you think that after people die their spirits still exist?”

“I believe so. There have been times when I’ve felt my mother guiding me here or there. Those things happen…and for a reason.”