HANNAH magazine — which is slated for a spring debut — offers layered content for Black women.

by Jade O. Earle

art by Grace Molteni

Creative director and HANNAH magazine Editor-in-Chief Qimmah Saafir asked a male peer in the magazine industry one day — before launching HANNAH, a new print magazine that aims to diversify black women’s representations in media — where the publications were for black women. Of course, Essence and Ebony magazines are a couple classics that black women eye on the newsstands, but Saafir didn’t know if any publications speaking to her, a nuanced young black woman under 40, even existed.

“He was like, ‘No one gives a fuck about that,’” Saafir said, recalling the conversation. “I basically looked at him, like, ‘Do you realize I’m a black woman? And do you realize you’re coming to me for help?’ It was at that point where I was just like, ‘Why do I keep asking people why it doesn’t exist?’ Just create it.”

Saafir created HANNAH, a general interest magazine that she hopes will present black women in all of their layers — distinct, intelligent and fly. Not surprisingly, HANNAH generated buzz after Saafir began its Kickstarter campaign last September to raise funds for production. Around the same time, HANNAH was featured in The Fader, Design Sponge, The Huffington Post and, of course, here in The Riveter. By October, Saafir and her team reached their goal and raised more than $37,000. HANNAH’s inaugural issue is slated to debut this spring.

I had a chance to speak with Saafir shortly after the success of her campaign. We talked about the need for HANNAH, and just how powerful black women are when we band together to support each other.

 

Jade Earle: I think I’m still on a high from your Kickstarter party in New York and your Facebook announcement the day after, saying you reached your goal.

Qimmah Saafir: When we made the goal, I just crumbled in a heap and cried. It was so overwhelming.

JE: Let’s start from the beginning. Who or what encouraged you to create (HANNAH) in the first place?

QS: My dad always encouraged me to work and be bold in the things I do and create. He was also a bit of a feminist, which I enjoyed. He always let me know you can do anything you want to do. The name [Hannah] is based on what my dad used to call the sun because that was our thing. But, the motivation was more so about creating something I wanted to exist and thinking that it’s absolutely foolish that it doesn’t already exist.

JE: What was the process of building the team after finally deciding to create HANNAH?

QS: It was very organic. It started off with people I knew. I had to do it in a circle of people I trusted to speak the idea. There are people who’re passionate with you and for you, but there’s time, dedication and a lot of sacrifice. I couldn’t expect anyone else to equal in [my passion] and I didn’t have a budget to pay people. It just really went from people who were genuinely happy for me to people that were happy and had a little time and finally the people who were just ready to be dedicated to it the way I was.

JE: Once you built the team, then, did you initially know you were going to start the Kickstarter?

QS: Initially before I did the content preview, I was like, ‘I’m not gonna do a Kickstarter’ and my friend was like, ‘You should probably raise some money.’ So, I had to be real. [Laughs] The Kickstarter built up a community of people who believed in the product and pulled together to make it happen. I think people enjoy being able to support something they believe in and now I’m going to do my best to deliver the best product. I feel like it’s time we get things we deserve, like quality. We’ve just settled for tacky stuff for so long. That was our norm.

JE: I agree. I think in our community, it’s either aesthetically pleasing or substantive. A product is rarely packaged as both.

QS: It’s like, we’re so fly as a people, why can’t we represent that in our design and the things that we create?

JE: Do you want to apply that to the content as well? Balancing fashion with politics or culture with tech?

QS: Yeah. The content of HANNAH is just as diverse as the audience. There will be fashion, but it’s one element out of ten. You know what I mean? The New Yorker can have content that’s intellectually sound and provocative without a million ways to curl your lashes.

JE: And, Ebony and Essence shouldn’t just be the only choices we have for publications that speak to us.

QS: Exactly. That doesn’t mean [that] HANNAH is anti everything else. I’ve worked at both Ebony and Essence. Essence was one of my first jobs. I ran the idea of HANNAH passed Kierna Mayo [the editor-in-chief of Ebony]. I was like, ‘Kierna, what you think about this? Am I crazy?’ And she was like, ‘Do that.’ There was no shade. The black women who’ve supported me are all love. There’s space for so many voices to exist. It doesn’t need to be about pitting black women against each other.

JE: So, I have to mention the #BlackLivesMatter movement and what’s going on with our community. Do you think HANNAH plays a role in addressing social justice?

QS: One of my favorite quotes from my favorite women, outside of my mom, is Nina Simone. She said, ‘An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.’ I want HANNAH to create capsules of truth, and that’s why I leaned toward print; people can have it and pass it on. It’s necessary. I think part of the problem, though, is that black people never have any room or freedom to just create. We’re almost forced to create for all of our people. I know I’ll be addressing how we’re being treated and the massacre of our spirit, but HANNAH is an offering of love. You see someone celebrating beauty rather than tearing you down. It’s like saying, ‘Hey, I know this isn’t everything, but maybe this’ll help your spirits.’ It’s just about giving people the chance to show their better selves and that’s what we don’t see enough of.

 

Jade O. Earle is a freelance writer living in New York who depends on coffee, museums and brunch for a mental break–not always in that order. She has written for Refinery29, Yahoo Beauty, StyleBlazer and more. To keep up with Jade and her other writing projects, follow her on Instagram or visit her website at jadeolivia.com. 

 

Grace Molteni is a Midwest born and raised designer, illustrator, and self-proclaimed bibliophile, currently calling Chicago home. She believes strongly in a “beer first, always, and only” rule, and is forever seeking the perfect dumpling. For more musings, work, or just to say hey check her out on Instagram or at her personal website.