Positively Africana By Aimee was built for community. You don’t have to be Black to shop here. You don’t have to be African to dance here. You simply need to come with respect and alignment with our mission.
And if you’ve ever wondered where your advocacy belongs, I’ll say this gently but directly: one of the most powerful places to practice your values is in your everyday choices—where you spend your money, who you learn from, and which communities you choose to support.
Follow our community: Instagram & Facebook for new arrivals, Community Night reminders, and maker stories
Positively Africana By Aimee exists because of a real person, a real journey, and a real purpose.
I’m Aimee Salmon—Congolese-born, Mount Holyoke College alumna, certified fitness instructor, and personal trainer. I built this brand as a cultural bridge: a place where African creativity is honored, where community is protected, and where people can shop and move their bodies with intention.
What started as a vision in Pioneer Valley has grown into something bigger. Positively Africana By Aimee now serves customers across the United States—from New England to the West Coast, from urban centers to rural communities. We ship nationwide. We teach fitness classes virtually. We’ve built a real community of people who believe in authentic African culture, fair exchange, and intentional living.
But this brand is not only about me.
Every product you see here carries the work of original creators—the artisans, makers, and women entrepreneurs across Africa who design, imagine, and craft with skill and pride. Their creativity is not a trend. It’s innovation. It’s heritage. It’s livelihood.
Cultural appreciation means we do not erase creators.
It means we tell the truth about origin. We keep the story connected to the hands that made the piece.
Positively Africana By Aimee is rooted in Africa and built to serve customers across the United States. We are not simply a store. We are an economic engine.
We create jobs and economic opportunities—not only through our direct partnerships with artisans and women entrepreneurs in the Congo, but here in the USA through our retail location, our team, our contractors, and our nationwide network.
Our strength is built on unity and togetherness. Our mission is rooted in Ubuntu: “I am because we are.”
Positively Africana By Aimee is for everyone who aligns with our mission and values, regardless of race. If you believe in fair exchange, cultural authenticity, community, and impact—you belong here.
People often think the difference is about permission—“Am I allowed to wear this?” But the deeper difference is about relationship.
Cultural appropriation is taking without relationship, cowntext, or respect. It’s when culture becomes a trend, a costume, or a product category—while the people who live that culture are erased, underpaid, or excluded.
Cultural appreciation is learning, honoring, and supporting. It’s when you engage with culture as something living and meaningful, and you choose to support the people and communities who create it.
If you want a simple test, ask yourself:
Am I taking from this culture, or am I building relationship with it?
Here’s what I’ve learned building Positively Africana By Aimee: culture is powerful. When it moves through the world with intention, it creates connection, jobs, and meaning. When it moves without intention, something gets lost.
In retail, there are many ways culture can be shared. Some approaches prioritize speed and profit over relationship. When that happens, designs get copied without permission, traditions get simplified into trends, and the people who created the work don’t benefit. The cultural meaning gets stripped away, and what’s left is decoration instead of story.
But here’s the beautiful part: we get to choose differently.
When you buy from a source that knows the maker, that can tell you the story, that ensures fair exchange—you’re choosing to keep culture connected to the people who created it. You’re choosing to support livelihoods. You’re choosing to say: this matters, and so do the people behind it.
That choice ripples outward. It tells makers their work is valued. It tells other businesses that authenticity and relationship matter. It tells your community that you care about where things come from.
This is not about blame. It’s about awareness. And awareness gives you power.
Artisan making jewelry for Positively Africana By Aimee, showing authentic craft and direct impact
Cultural appreciation is not about being perfect. It’s about being intentional.
It looks like choosing to buy directly from makers or from businesses with real relationships to creators—so you know your money reaches the people who did the work.
It looks like learning the story: Where does this come from? Who made it? What does it mean? When you know the answer, you’re not just buying a product—you’re carrying a story.
It looks like giving credit. When someone asks where your earrings came from, you don’t just say “Africa”—you say Kenya or Congo or Ghana. Specificity honors the work.
And it looks like supporting businesses that are committed to fair exchange, so makers are not erased, undercut, or replaced by cheaper versions that don’t honor the original work.
If you want to start with customer favorites, explore our full collection at https://positivelyafricana.com/ where you’ll find handmade jewelry, African print fashion, and more—all with maker stories and origin details.
Shop now with nationwide shipping. Every purchase supports makers and women entrepreneurs in the Congo.
If you’re wondering what it actually feels like to walk into Positively Africana By Aimee—or to step into one of our classes—here’s the truth.
You’ll be greeted with warmth, invited to explore, and supported as you learn. You’ll feel the care behind the pieces, the intention behind the experience, and the grounded energy that makes people exhale the moment they arrive.
Whether you come from an African background, you’re new to African culture, or you’re somewhere in between, the experience is the same: respect, connection, and community.
For those joining us virtually—whether you’re across the country—you’ll experience the same intentionality and care. Our online community is just as real, just as grounded, and just as powerful as our in-person space.
Here’s one customer’s experience that captures it beautifully:
“Positively Africana is, in all ways, a beautiful business. Aimee greets with a warm welcoming smile, and you can’t help but want to explore the shop. You can feel the potency and effort that went into each piece—you can feel how beautiful one would feel in the jewelry, clothing, immersed in art. The entire experience is rooted, grounded, and earthed, as is Aimee.
I have procured several pieces of jewelry and receive compliments when I wear them. The pieces are easy to wear, and in the cowrie shell choker, I felt the connection to the land, the makers, and the rich history of Africa in me as I wore it in ceremony.
I had the joyful opportunity to participate in an Afrobeats dance class for my birthday, and that experience was truly unique. The joy in the studio was palpable; we rooted in our bodies and danced for the joy of dancing while improving our fitness. Laughter, smiles, and flushed cheeks turned strangers into dancers, our feet stamping rhythms that others have danced for hundreds, if not thousands, of years—carefully combined so we might get the full body experience. I am an older woman, and Aimee very gently showed accommodations for some moves that might have otherwise proven tricky. Aimee is an uplifting, joyful teacher, and one feels well held and safe in her class. I highly recommend!”
If you’ve been curious about our dance fitness classes but you’re thinking, “Is this for me?”—yes. You can join us.
Our fitness programs are about health, wellness, joy, and community. They’re for everyone who sees value in what we are building together—no matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, or what your fitness level is.
We offer in-person classes in Northampton and virtual classes for our nationwide community. Whether you’re in Massachusetts or online, you can move with us, learn with us, and be part of our fitness family.
And if you’ve never experienced what Positively Africana By Aimee brings to the market—this is your opportunity to explore, learn, and grow with us. Movement is one of the most powerful ways to build connection across difference. When we dance together, we stop performing separation and we start practicing Ubuntu.
When you choose Positively Africana By Aimee, you are not buying a trend. You are investing in people.
You are supporting women entrepreneurs and artisans across Africa—including women in the Congo—because 25% of our profits go directly to support women’s economic power and stability.
You are supporting makers who carry tradition with skill, patience, and pride. You are supporting fair exchange, cultural truth, and real livelihoods—not mass production, not extraction, not “inspired” copies that erase the source.
And you are supporting a founder-led, immigrant-led business that creates jobs locally, builds community through wellness and cultural experiences, and keeps African culture represented with accuracy and respect—while serving customers across the United States.
If you’ve never had access to authentic African products, stories, and movement experiences before—this is your opportunity. To explore. To learn. To grow. To be part of something bigger than a purchase.
This is what it looks like to put your values into action.
Ubuntu is a value I live by. It means, “I am because we are.”
Ubuntu is not a slogan. It’s a practice.
It means we grow through relationship. We learn through connection. We build community by showing up for one another.
Ubuntu is how we’ve built Positively Africana By Aimee from a single vision into a nationwide movement. It’s how we connect customers across the United States with artisans in the Congo. It’s how we bring people together—across race, geography, and background—to celebrate culture and support one another.
So if you’re wondering, “Is it okay for me to shop here or join class?”—Ubuntu says yes. When you come with respect, you belong. Whether you’re in Northampton or across the country, you’re part of our community.
Locally in Northampton and Pioneer Valley, Positively Africana By Aimee touches the lives of everyone who is mission-aligned—regardless of race. Whether you’re taking our fitness classes or shopping in our space, our community includes Black, white, Asian, and people from many backgrounds.
And nationwide, our community spans from New England to the West Coast. We have customers in multiple regions, virtual fitness participants across time zones, and a growing network of people who believe in authentic African culture and intentional living.
And it’s not only race or geography—it’s life experience. Our community includes people from different walks of life: different ages, different bodies, different stories, different incomes, different careers, different family situations.
We come together because we share values: respect, cultural authenticity, and care for one another.
When you walk into Positively Africana By Aimee—or join our online community—you meet people who have made a choice. They chose authenticity. They chose to support makers. They chose to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Our clients are diverse—different ages, different backgrounds, different stories, different locations. But they share one thing: they understand that where you spend your money matters.
“Shopping here changed how I think about where my money goes. I feel proud wearing these pieces because I know the story behind them.”
“This store makes it easy to give gifts that actually mean something. People ask about my earrings all the time—and I love telling them where they came from.”
“I’m in California, but I feel connected to this community. The virtual classes and online shopping experience make me feel like part of something real.”
If you’ve ever said, “I’m a white lady—can I still shop here?”
Come to learn. Come to connect. Come to celebrate culture with respect.
Follow our community: Instagram & Facebook for new arrivals, Community Night reminders, and maker stories
And if you have questions—we’re here. That’s what community is.
