It is my Honor to announce that I have been appointed as a Board of Directors for the Born Rich Foundation! We have been working tirelessly over the past year to position the foundation to address socio-economic disparities in marginalized…

Anna Nyakana Honing the Generations of Tomorrow

APRIL 13, 2021 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA --- The children are the generations of tomorrow. How future adults will function and co-exist as a society will depend on how they are taught to live and how they are taught to be co-existing individuals. People are born unbiased, honest, and pure. On the other hand, adults often live with stereotypes and the tendency to discriminate because society taught them to do so. Since the mindsets of adults in the current generation will be hard to alter to avoid stereotypes, the children are the only hope in trying to form a better society. Raising them with the correct mindsets will save humanity from discrimination, biases, and racism. Anna Nyakana recognized this reality and chose to change the narrative.

 

 

What Does it Feel Like Being Recognized on NATIONAL Television for Creating a Movement to EMPOWER THE YOUTH? PURPOSE APPLIED!!!

WATCH ME ON FOX THIS SPRING! STAY TUNED!

Anna Nyakana Continues to Empower Children with Another Addition to the Niyah Zuri Series

MARCH 19, 2021 - NEW YORK, NY ---

While some cultures have been openly celebrated, others have been humbly striving to be heard while being in the shadows. Eclipsed by the popular, many individuals feel underrepresented for not fitting the mold. Award-winning and bestselling author, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur Anna Nyakana feels an immense responsibility to shed light on such cultures and uphold her mission of educating and empowering the youth to ultimately bring unification to humankind. 

Anna Nyakana is the genius behind Niyah Zuri Books, a children’s books series that seeks to break away from the traditional damsel-in-distress stories while introducing history from cultures around the world not typically discovered in the classroom. She is also the creator of Niyah Zuri Studios, her production house that is responsible for “Adventures with Niyah Zuri,” a cartoon series based on her books with the purpose of bringing representation to the pixels and inspiring excitement for literacy. To sum up her goals, the multi-talented visionary wants to instill in the youth the Niyah Zuri Way,which means “beautiful purpose.” 

Anna Nyakana: The Chieftess of the Niyah Zuri Tribe

MARCH 19, 2021 - NASHVILLE, TN ---

“Who and What is Niyah Zuri?” you may ask. “It means Beautiful Purpose in Swahili, and I chose that name on purpose and for a purpose,” states Anna Nyakana, the award-winning creator behind the movement. Anna is responsible for the Niyah Zuri children’s book series, most notably the bestselling Niyah Zuri and The Pharaoh’s Throne, which has grown to new heights in popularity as it enters countless school districts across the country. The book series follows a fearless and curly-headed heroine, Niyah Zuri, as she and her best friends the Gonzales Twins time travel to ancient lands to assist other children from history overcome obstacles. It fulfills the need for representation in kids literature while also highlighting history, youth empowerment, and STEM. 

Born in Berlin, Germany in 1986, Nyakana is of Ugandan and German-Moldavian descent. Her family immigrated to the US in the ’90s and she began her journey of self-discovery in a very Black-and-White American society, all the while never letting go of the culture she hailed from. Her passion to bring diversity to the classroom is very much rooted in her own cultural pride and is perfectly captured in her vision statement, “Children should see a reflection of themselves in the books that they read. My mission is to inspire them, one adventure at a time.” 

Building upon her book series, Anna Nyakana is giving the Niyah Zuri Tribe another source of motivation to literally tap into; the digital world. Anna has created an animated cartoon series titled, Adventures with Niyah Zuri, which she is currently pitching to networks. When asked about her reasons for creating the cartoon she shared, “I seldom identified with a character on the cover of a book and that was the same case when I turned on the TV, even if there were only a handful of channels. Our hue deserves to be represented in the pixels and with the amount of screens in our kid’s hands these days, there’s no reason why they can’t learn about their own glorious history and that of others, all while gaining a new love of literacy through exploration! I vow to do my part to make even a screen an unmistakable tool for a child to discover the worth of their own melanated element.” Nyakana is leaving no stone unturned as she leans on her #NoDaysOff mantra to bridge the gap of representation from books to animation and beyond! 

 

 

Rapper ARNSTAR and Author Anna Nyakana join comedians Godfrey and Andre Kim to discuss ARNSTAR's new album “Light Layers: Extended Spectrum,” and Anna’s children's book “Niyah Zuri and The Pharaoh's Throne.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON "IN…

 

 

I had a TREMENDOUS virtual author visit with 800+ STUDENTS two weeks ago organized by the incredible Leap for Literacy based down in Atlanta, Georgia! Thank you for asking me to share my story and contribute my writing tips for…

CONNECTICUT MAGAZINE'S "40 UNDER 40" - MEET THE CLASS OF 2021 “My purpose is to save the youth and I’m just getting started!”

 

FEBRUARY 1, 2021 - NEW HAVEN, CT --- 

Anna Nyakana 

34 / Stamford 

Children’s author and entrepreneur…

“Let’s set the Standard of Understanding”

Thank you to Nikia Webster, contributor to Black Pepper Magazine, for an incredible interview!

Grateful for my debut feature article and podcast from my birthplace of Germany! Let’s apply our unification towards progression in…

“There are levels to this and EVERYONE is DESERVING of the levels, including YOURSELF, you have to FIRST tell yourself that. We tend to hold ourselves back, especially as WOMEN like we are now the “secondary class,” the men are…

 

“It was important to bring my young readers to Africa for we have BIRTHED THE WORLD but our history does not MAGNIFY us as the MOTHER OF ALL MANKIND. So, I will take on the responsibility of teaching our HISTORY…

"Creating Hues of Representation in the Pixels" Medium By: Anna Nyakana

"AN ODE TO MY YOUNGER SELF: Lift your chin, straighten your back, walk with purpose; each step more firm than the lack. Forget their painful remarks, about your hair…