Tears rolled down Jamilla Harper’s face as she peered outside the plane’s window.
Her two-week trip to Nairobi, Kenya was ending. Even today years later, she remembers how she was left to grapple with the feeling of leaving part of herself behind. She took four study abroad trips before she was a senior at the College of Charleston. But this one was by far the best.
“It is one of those moments that stands out in my mind in terms of my life,” said Harper, who now lives in an increasingly hip area of North Charleston. “It was life-changing, and it shaped me, and I just knew I wanted to go back.”
She said she knew from her first morning in Kenya in 2007 the place would come to mean a lot to her. She peeled back the curtains of the window in her apartment in Nairobi to see a bustling city of Black businesses and people thriving in their day-to-day lives.
“In the U.S., they say Black people can’t even run a community,” she said. “Yet, this is a continent of folks who look like me, who are brilliant and powerful.”
Five years after her first visit, she won a Rotary Ambassadorial Fellowship in 2012. She moved to Kenya for two years to pursue her master’s degree at University of Nairobi.
“[Rotary International’s] motto is service above self,” she said. “It gave me the foundation to be pushed on an international and graduate level.”
For the first time, she felt seen, Harper, now 37 years old recalled. She was always one of a few Black students in classes in Summerville growing up. Sometimes, she felt invisible. But the people she met in Kenya were hospitable and always remembered her name.
“There was such a connection,” said Harper, who is chief operating officer at the North Charleston nonprofit Metanoia. “I felt held and loved and supported and seen as different. I really appreciate learning that and also carrying that with me.”
Nairobi reminded her of her closest loved ones who helped raise her from the time she was a little girl in Summerville — she calls them her fictional family.
“My mom was very intentional about who she had around me,” she said. “I spent a lot of time becoming more familiar with Black culture and lifestyle through that extended family.”
Surrounded by mementos
In her Charleston home, she sits surrounded by African knick-knacks, many of which are souvenirs from the places she visited while attaining her master’s degree in development studies in 2014.
“Almost everything in here has a story,” she said.
During one of her day visits to Zanzibar, she picked up a carved wooden piece. Traditionally used on door frames in Africa, Harper said the piece reminds her of the mixture of cultures she experienced while abroad.
She also has bold art pieces sprinkled throughout her home in North Charleston. A photo of one of her favorite musicians, Andre 3000. Her home decor is bohemian style with touches of Black culture and hip hop.
Sticky notes with weekly reminders and empowering messages adorn the wall in her back room and her collection of books pervades a bookshelf in the room’s corner. Her rich arsenal of treasures also include books on philosophy and Black history. Some of her favorites include Belonging by bell hooks and Ella Baker & The Black Freedom Movement by Barbara Ransby.
“The books represent delving deeper into someone else’s world,” she said.
Community invigorates her
Like many people, Harper had a pivotal moment during her college career when she did not know what to pursue. She majored in communication and Spanish, but none of the career tracks associated with either degree appealed to her.
“I asked myself the question, ‘What would you be doing even if you were not paid to do it’,” she said. “That centered me in the fact that I was already showing up for the community every single day.”
She said she went to conferences, hosted talks on campus and went to town meetings. She credits her college mentors who supported her and her peers at the time.
“They were supportive in shaping the experiences we wanted to have at the college,” she said. “And also in being changemakers in Charleston, although we were so young.”
Reflecting on this made her sure that she wanted a job that was centered on community, she said.
Harper now works as the first Black female chief operating officer at Metanoia, a nonprofit based in Charleston. In her role she oversees the organization’s policies and procedures in order for the organization to sustain itself economically and grow in the future.
“It’s so boring-sounding,” she said with a giggle. But she said this work is paramount to supporting the community.
“It was a humbling experience to go through and help develop and think through each and every policy and how we can be at the forefront of supporting people.”
Now, six years into the role, she is clear that she is right where she needs to be.
“My desire to do this work has just created a very clear trajectory,” she said. “While [my role] may shift a little bit, I know this is still what I’d be doing.”
Her love of philosophy
Despite being a quiet keen observer, Harper said she loves to have meaningful conversations with people.
“I can be an introvert. I can also quickly delve into a very deep conversation,” she said. “I have a curiosity within me. I always say, ‘Let’s go deeper, tell me more.’”
She said she finds joy in asking questions and facilitating reflective discussions among her peers.
“The people who do know me openly tell me how much I make them think,” she said.
She was recently named one of the 12 Black leaders to know by The Post and Courier, an honoree of Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class of 2023, and a member of the Liberty Fellowship class of 2025.
When asked how these accomplishments made her feel she said, “Success is no proof of virtue.”
“I definitely live with the understanding that having those accolades does not mean I will always be successful,” she said. “I am going to make mistakes. I made mistakes to get here.”
She prefers to be in the background but hopes her life inspires others.
“There’s certain aspects and elements of my story which can be reflective or helpful,” she said.
The Lowdown
Current profession: COO, Metanoia.
Something people would be surprised to learn about you: I’m an introvert, a keen observer who loves to be in the background making connections between people and supporting them for the investment in the communities and places they call home.
Favorite things to do outside of work: Enjoying ‘the cookout,’ firepit, walks, working out, yoga, sunrise beach time.
Books on bedside table: All the Black Girls are Activists, by ebonyjanice;
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement, by Barbara Ransby; Emergent Strategy, by adrienne marie brown; Belonging, by bell hooks.
Favorite novel: “Parables of the Sower,” by Octavia Butler.
Favorite food to eat: Lima beans, delicious gluten-free foods.
Favorite food to cook: Greens — a vegan preparation with a mix of collards and spinach OR kale and spinach, prepared in the Kenyan style.
Five foods you always need in your refrigerator: Frozen gluten-free bread, leftovers from takeout.
Three people (alive or dead) you’d like to dine with: Ella Baker, Burna Boy/Fella Kuti, Octavia Butler.
What meal would you want served to you for your last supper: Lima beans, rice, fried chicken, Kenyan greens, Kenyan Pilau or biryani (Kenyan spiced rice), Kenyan chapati (Kenyan flatbread).
Philosophy: Raise your consciousness to a level where you must fear to do the right thing… because it is the ONLY right thing to do.
Your advice for better living: When you know better, do better.
Your advice for someone new to Charleston: Find your people. Find your place. Find your why.
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