ALYSIA JOY POWELL

INTERVIEW BY CINDY GROGAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL WILLIAMS

Imagista: Hey Alysia! How’ve you been faring during this really weird time?

AJP: I keep checking in with my mental health to make sure I’m handling things well. I have been blessed during this time.

Imagista: Let’s talk about your background. Your folks met in acting class. Was entertainment “predestined” or did you want to do something else?

AJP: Although my parents met in an acting class, my dad was the working actor. My mom went into another field. I was forbidden to participate in the entertainment business. I wanted to be a Veterinarian. I took after-school classes and everything but I kept seeing dead animals everywhere and decided it wasn’t for me.

Imagista: You have such an amazing resume’. Besides acting, you sang gospel and as a backup singer for Mary J. Blige. You’ve directed, done stand-up and I’m sure we’re skipping something. What else is on your list to achieve?

AJP: I want to be a showrunner. I have a couple of episodic scripts that I wrote. I love storytelling and the intricacies of characters and their journeys. I would read my dad’s scripts when I was younger. That made me have an appreciation for the written word. Also, when conditions allow, I want to put my one-woman show on a stage.

Imagista: Let’s talk about your latest project in the buzzy new movie, “Judas and The Black Messiah.” You play the mother of Jake Winters, a member of the Black Panthers. What drew you to the role?

AJP: This story is historical and I loved the way [director] Shaka King, with his writing team of Will Berson and The Lucas Brothers, wove this story. I was familiar with the Black Panther Party and what they stood for. It saddens me what happened during the age of these freedom fighters at the time of their assassination. But like Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton said, “You can kill a revolutionary but you can’t kill a revolution.” That is still true today. This movie has allowed the history of the Black Panthers to be set straight and dispel untruths. It also allows is to have the conversation without fear.

Imagista: As if you’re not busy enough, you have your own clothing and jewelry lines. How’d those come about?

AJP: I’ve been designing since I was a teen. It got serious when I started singing Gospel. They say you’re not a Gospel Artist unless you have rhinestones or feathers on your wardrobe. There’s a certain time period that I’m heavily impressed with when it comes to fashion. I love being a woman and I want other women to feel sexy, comfortable, and secure. My jewelry I started making when I did a stage production of “Ma Rainey” and I needed to get matching jewelry. I couldn’t find any so I made my own. When that got serious, I noticed I was attracted to stones, and that’s the concentration of my jewelry line.

Imagista: What “inspires” these lines? What do you want to share with other women?

AJP: I want to make them feel beautiful and special. It’s a Plus Size line. It came out of my desire to want different fashions and not finding what I saw in my head. One day, I was sitting in church behind a woman. I was admiring her earrings and realized, they were mine! I was so giddy. I’ll never forget that feeling. Or the feeling I have when I’m wearing a well-made garment. I want women to feel desired, stop traffic, saunter when they walk into a room wearing my clothing line and adorned with my jewelry. That will give me the ultimate joy.

Imagista: So what’s something your fans won’t find about you on Google?

AJP: I was a nurse for 20 years. I still have my license. I became a Doula when I heard the story of [TV’s] Judge Hatchette’s daughter-in-law and how she died in childbirth. I wanted to do something. My specialty was in OB/GYN when I was a nurse. I am, now, a Full Spectrum Doula, a Certified Lactation Counselor, and recently, a Certified Herbalist. I help women through their experience of pregnancy before, during, and after.

Imagista: What’s next for you?

AJP: What’s next for me is looking forward to being very much in demand and being limitless!