Who is K. Amazu?

Hey y’all! My name is Kimberly Amazu and my prefered pronouns are she/her/hers.

I was born and raised in California. I spent my early childhood growing up in Compton, California and spent my adolescence in Southern California’s Inland Empire. I am the daughter of Tommie & Holly Stephens, who were both born and raised in the south (Arkansas & Tennessee respectively) so although I am a Cali Girl, I’m also a Southern Belle at heart. My father is a hard worker and entrepreneur, which is where I get my work ethic and hustle from. My mother, who joined the ancestors in 2004, was my emotional support, my rock, and one of the wisest and most dynamic women I have ever known. I get my quick wit and strong intuition from her. She always had a parable, quote, Bible verse, or country saying ready for any given occasion. She used to always say, “Character is what you do when you think nobody is looking.”  I can still hear her voice guiding me to be a better person to this day. Although both of my parents have European and Indigenous blood in addition to their African ancestry, I have always considered myself Black, Blackity Black in fact! I am okay with being referred to as African American as well.  

I went into counseling for two reasons. The first reason was to get a better understanding of myself and my family’s generational trauma. The second reason was because I sought grief counseling after my mother passed away and I had a horrible experience with the White male counselor. Although I’m sure he had good clinical knowledge, I still felt judged and I felt that the counselor just didn’t get me or my culture. The clinic that I went to, and several others I tried to receive services from, did not have any Black therapists. I decided that I wanted to join the field and help “add some color” to the otherwise White male field. I believe that representation in the mental health field is key because there is so much stigma around seeking treatment in the Black community, so having therapists that share the same ethnic background can make a person more likely to seek treatment.

I attended California State University of San Bernardino, and although I dropped out at the end of my sophomore year to work full time, I returned to school in 2005 and received my Bachelors of Arts in Psychology with an emphasis on Early Childhood Development. I moved to NYC in 2008 and attended Long Island University at the Brooklyn Campus to study Mental Health Counseling. I received my Masters of Science in Mental Health Counseling in 2011.