Amnoni Myers is a 34-year-old author, child welfare advocate, entrepreneur, and community leader who is well known for her 2022 best seller, “You Are the Prize: Seeing Yourself Beyond the Imperfections of Your Trauma.”
Sharing the story of her difficult beginning with The Black Wall Street Times, Amnoni said, “I grew up in the foster care system, one of the systems overrepresented with Black and brown youth.”
Abandoned at the hospital after birth, Amnoni was given to the care of her grandmother when she was only six months old. Her grandmother took care of her until the age of 10, when she switched to living with her mother, who had custody of her until age 12 – when she finally landed in the foster care system.
Amnoni recounts that she often found few culturally-affirming resources. She found herself in a place where she was often told she would amount to nothing. However, her younger sister’s kind words motivated her experiences.
The 34-year-old disclosed that her sister was failed by the system, and explained how she lost her sister – who was trafficked out of the system. She added that, before her sister kicked the bucket, she encouraged Myers to recognize her great potential. Some of her last words were, “Sis, remember you are the prize.”
Amnoni stated that she wants to give young people in the system the chance to appreciate themselves in a way she was never able to imagine herself during childhood.
On her journey to success, the author managed to graduate from Gordon College in 2014 and later earned a master’s in public administration from Baruch College, according to Dorchester Reporter. She landed an internship at the White House during Obama’s tenure when she was 20, and pushed for the improvement of the American foster care system.
She told Fox 23 News “After finding my belongings waiting for me on the porch in black trash bags, I knew I had aged out of the foster care system with little direction and support.”
She later found her way to Capitol Hill in Washington, where she presented a policy report to members of Congress about the importance of training foster parents and caregivers on trauma-informed techniques. This landed her an internship opportunity of a lifetime.
Amnoni planned a fashion show, “Threads of Change,” where she hoped to raise funds for foster care, and give back to other children in the local system, in partnership with Builders+Backers. The event was sponsored by Black Queer Tulsa to bring together the event in commemoration of National Foster Care Month.
The ‘Threads of Change’ show was also where Amnoni Launched the hard cover of her book. The proceeds from the show and its related events will be donated to programs at Youth Services of Tulsa, where the largest youth shelter in Oklahoma is located.
Amnoni also plans to engage in aromatherapy from Jamar Torres’ Live Aromatherapy Workshop and expressed her excitement to take part in the event; as she was not allowed to play sports or sleepover with friends while in foster care.
Through the event, she hopes to instill a spirit of self-awareness and understanding in the lives of homeless youth. She said, “I want them to see hope, I want them to experience light. I want them to experience themselves in the show. Through all the things they’ve experienced, to know that they are the prize. Don’t get so hung up on ‘I haven’t made it yet’, but know that healing is a life-long journey. It really takes time to heal from the wounds that can easily turn into scars.”
