By: Terry Allen
Lucille “Big Mama” Allen used to say, “Baby, heaven ain’t just somewhere you go. It’s something you make.” She was clear: joy isn’t postponed, and purpose isn’t promised by position. Heaven is built in real time—by how you pivot, how you steward your gifts, and how you respond when the culture feels unsettled.
That’s why Tatyana Ali’s story belongs in this conversation.
The world first met her as Ashley Banks, an iconic role that made her a national star early on. But Tatyana never confused fame with finish. She chose depth over ease—earning a degree in African American Studies and Government from Harvard—then pivoted again, toward impact that outlives applause.
Through Baby Yams, her social-enterprise quilt company, creativity became care. Those quilts help fund Black and Indigenous midwives and doulas, addressing maternal health inequities that too often go ignored. Recently, Baby Yams reached another milestone—entering high- end retail spaces, placing purpose-driven products inside college and university stores. We’ve spent time talking about that impact: how showing up in higher ed signals that social responsibility belongs in the everyday flow of learning, leadership, and legacy—not on the margins.
Big Mama would call that making heaven where your feet are.
And this isn’t happening in isolation. With the assistance of the HDR Foundation and Earnest Lloyd, that same “make-your-own-heaven” mindset is at work closer to home. Earnest, a Mentor in my City MenTor program, didn’t just complete his assgnment—he turned around and invested in it. The HDR Foundation funding commitment for 2026 is helping us build a virtual mentoring platform designed to develop future leadership at scale. That’s the full circle Big Mama preached: learn, grow, then lift somebody else.
Meanwhile, everyday Americans are losing things fast—patience, community, health, and a sense of agency. The answer isn’t nostalgia. It’s an intentional building.
Through HazraH Entertainment, Tatyana produces, mentors, and centers voices too often overlooked. Through City MenTor, we’re doing the same—digitally, deliberately, and with legacy in mind. That’s what it looks like when gifts go to work.
Lucille “Big Mama” Allen was a faith-rooted matriarch who believed dignity was non-negotiable and service was love in motion. Her porch lessons were simple and sharp: don’t wait on heaven—build it.
So here’s the ask, in this cultural climate:
How will you make your own heaven—right now?
Terry Allen is an NABJ award-winning Journalist, DEI expert, PR professional, and founder of the charity – Vice President at Focus- PR, Founder of City Men Cook, and Dallas Chapter President of NBPRS.org
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