We’re looking forward to introducing you to D’jatarya Powell. Check out our conversation below.
D’jatarya, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Well I can lose track of time in with many mediums, but acting and writing (especially screenwriting) is where the reintroduction of myself, to myself, intersects.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m D’jatarya Powell, a 25-year-old filmmaker, actress, and entrepreneur from San Diego. I’m also the owner and and co-founder of Black Biz Flea Market, a community commerce hub I established in 2022. Since its start, it has evolved into a vibrant space where culture, creativity, and community come together.
For me, Black Biz Flea Market has always been more than just a flea market— it’s a movement rooted in celebrating Black entrepreneurship, culture, our dollar, and our joy. It’s about having a platform where Black-owned businesses can truly thrive and get the visibility and support they deserve. My mission has always been to build a space where authentic connections flourish, entrepreneurship grows, and our community feels seen, supported, and inspired.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I believe my first real experience of power came when I understood what a reaction was—and how it’s made. As a child, most of my earliest moments of feeling powerful were on stage, realizing that my performance was deeply connected to the audience’s response. Growing up in performing and visual arts, I knew to expect it, but that reality never stopped my anticipation for its’ counterpart, the unexpected —the unplanned reactions that revealed just how alive that exchange really was.
When you perform, or as I often say, ‘become the vessel of a story,’ you begin to understand the responsibility it carries: giving a reality the chance to be seen and, hopefully, understood. And there’s something almost sacred about knowing that every person in the audience showed up with the quiet hope of feeling something real — of witnessing someone else’s truth.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Keep going and keep trusting your light.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Self-determination. It feels paradoxical, but I think that’s what makes it so powerful. Despite every attempt to undermine, control, or even erase the paths and progress of Black communities, our spirit has never been broken. If anything, those attempts have only proven just how unshakable our fire is—an ancestral flame that keeps brewing, carrying forward, and passing through us.
I believe the very reason there are constant efforts to control our destinies is because our innate value of self-determination threatens systems built to contain us. There is power in crafting our own realities—on our own terms—and that’s a value I protect at all costs.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
An infinite mindset. There is no need for competition, because there isn’t a scarcity of opportunities. Whatever you believe, is. SO you might as well believe “IT” is already yours.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/blackbizfleamarket
- Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/blackbizfleamarket?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=60e9ac29-d82d-4281-a8a4-68e4f07e797d
Image Credits
Adrian Gutierrez (@fides_rex), Mack Pane (@mackpane), and Victoria Taylor (@vtcproductions)
