The Brilliance of Tash Haynes: Her Legacy, Juneteenth, and the Music that Inspires Her

A glimpse into the extraordinary story behind the award-winning Seattle photographer, blogger, creator and influencer, how she and her family celebrate Juneteenth, and the empowering music that defines her.

Tash Haynes is in the business of inspiring people.

Like a radiant light -

She is brilliant.

From the outside, it may appear that her gorgeous work as a groundbreaking photographer, creator and influencer is in travel, clothing and lifestyle - which is true…

But it’s so much more than that.

For Tash, her platform is about roadmaps.

Illuminating a path.

Giving people a vision for a life that they might not be able to imagine or see for themselves. 

From a remarkably young age, she began developing a vision for herself, deciding on the kind of life she intended to have, and became the hero of her own story - overcoming the most overwhelming odds and working incredibly hard every step of the way to get where she is today.

Recently awarded “Best of 2024” as a Lifestyle Influencer by South Sound Magazine, the amazing Tash shares her story on her platforms to elevate and uplift her people.

Her hope is for others to see themselves in a part of her.

Whether it’s her gorgeous family, the story of her upbringing, the stunning photography that she and her husband Ike create together, how she stands in her ardent faith or in the boldness of her womanhood as a proud Black, Haitian-American professional, Tash does what she does and shares what she shares of herself in hopes that others might grab hold of their own story and make it whatever they want it to be.

Our recent interview with her on the Ascent Radio Podcast was utterly transformative, as she gave us a glimpse into her heart and her story, what Juneteenth means to her and her family (and how they celebrate), as well as all of the beautifully inspiring music that has shaped her on her journey!

Telling Her Own Story: Her First Camera

Like any other millennial with a pulse, the timeless vibes of Toto’s “Africa” take Tash back to the warm days of childhood. ​

She recalls fondly Saturday mornings cleaning to the gospel stylings of the great Mahalia Jackson, and still to this day gets instant chills whenever she hears, “Optimistic,” by Sounds of Blackness. In soul-stirring fashion, it reminds her of who she is, the people who came before her, and the path she gets to lay ahead of herself. 

But childhood was complex for Tash.

While she has known her mother all of her life, Tash was raised and aged out of foster care. And as a result, she grew up with the mindset of an orphan, struggling to find any space in which she felt a sense of belonging. 

She was on her own.

From a very young age, Tash developed a deep fondness for photo albums. She was endlessly drawn to them, spending hours upon hours carefully thumbing through the family photo albums in the living room of her home.

But there were no pictures of her.

Tash realized in those formative years that there was no one responsible for capturing her story. And with dreams and imagination for herself one day being a mother, and a deep desire for her children to be able to look back over her childhood and see the snapshots of her life, she came to terms with the fact that if her story was going to be told, it was all up to her.

She would need to take her own pictures.

When she was twelve years old, she received the Christmas gift that would change her life: her first camera. This precious gift, which came to her from Treehouse, the beautiful Seattle nonprofit dedicated to youth in foster care, gave her wings to soar. It set a trajectory for her life that would allow for her to rise to the heights she’s ascended to today. 

But family photographs weren’t the only space in which Tash didn’t feel like she belonged growing up.

Destiny’s Child and the Music that Spoke for Her

Tash’s first concert was a banger: Janet Jackson’s, “That’s The Way Love Goes,” tour in ‘96!

All hail Queen Janet!

Or Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty…

But Tash was a young Black girl growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the 90s… and the music on the airwaves in her neighborhood just didn’t represent her. 

Like, at all.

It wasn’t by people who looked like her.

And it wasn’t by artists telling stories that she could relate to.

While she holds a fondness and a true appreciation for the music from the radio of her youth - with artists like the Cranberries, Joan Osborne, Alanis Morrissette, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and Dave Matthews - the music from the grungy Northwest of her youth just wasn’t for her. Wasn’t about her. 

It didn’t represent her.

​That is, until she would find her way to TLC… and Aaliyah… and - especially for her - Beyonce and Destiny’s Child.

It was a revelation.

For the first time, Tash was hearing songs made by young, Black women, for young, Black women, to amplify young, Black women.

For the first time, Tash was feeling empowered by music written by her peers. As if they were growing up together. And it gave her a voice. A space. A place where she belonged. A place where she could believe.

And the courage to claim for herself the life that was rightfully hers to have.

It gave her light to shine.

To this day, Beyonce remains a beacon for Tash.

Her beloved albums, from Lemonade and Homecoming, to Renaissance and Cowboy Carter, play like a soundtrack over Tash’s life. 

Like Bey made them for her. 

(Because, she did, actually.) 

Beyonce’s records are anthems for Tash - and Black women everywhere - to own and to play over and over. 

Anthems to speak over one another.

All the time.

​And, for Tash, these Queen Bey anthems have helped inform and empower the legacy that she and Ike are building - the inheritance they will pass along to their daughters.

Juneteenth and Legacy

“We’re the heroes of today. The things we’re doing now are the things people are going to talk about later… It’s super important for us to show up and do our part.” - Tash Haynes.

That legacy is everything when it comes to the way Tash and her family celebrate Juneteenth.

The holiday is sacred to them as it highlights the journey of their people.

The resilience of the Black community.

In her own words, Tash says:

“Juneteenth is about remembering, in Black communities, when there is a segment of us that are still enslaved or under duress, we come back. We come back and get you. That’s how we operate - we don’t leave people behind.”

(Damn, tho…)

Each year her family celebrates by retelling the story. Remembering the soldiers who made the effort to get to Galveston and let the remaining enslaved folks know they’re free. 

Discussing what freedom means.

Discussing liberation. 

How blessed they are to live the life that they live. ​​

And how so many of the things they get to do and experience in their lives are not just for them; they’re also for those who came before them who didn’t get to. Ike and Tash stress with the girls, “...this is why it’s so important for us to live such full and liberated, free lives - on purpose.”

They’re standing on the shoulders of heroes.

That’s their legacy.

Their heritage.

That’s their celebration…

And with the celebration comes the food!

Tash and the fam also celebrate Juneteenth eating the foods Black folks weren’t allowed to have, like trifle cake and red juices. They also enjoy collard greens, black eyed peas and the soul foods people attach with Black culture…

But even the food comes with the history: 

Black folks came up on collard greens and black eyed peas because these were “...the scraps, all the things the enslaved folks got because the good parts of food were not available to them.” (Tash)

What Tash celebrates about her ancestors is that they were able to, “take the scraps and turn them into something so wholesome, something so good and so filling.”

They turned them into soul food.

Juneteenth and Songs of Black Liberation

Soul food and Juneteenth are about liberation. 

And on her platform, Tash highlights for others the importance and significance of these sacred traditions as a part of her Juneteenth celebration. She elevates the heroes, identifies who they are and shares their stories. She gives voice as to why it’s so imperative for her and her loved ones to “show up, strong and bold.”

She casts vision, and empowers others to see that they are still participating in the story of liberation today. They’re laying a foundation for the future.

That same spirit is also found in the music Tash most closely identifies with the ongoing struggle for freedom, justice, and equality. For her, it’s about songs like “Glory” by Common and John Legend, from the motion picture, “Selma.”

Highlighting the legacy of Dr. King passed down, Common raps:

“Selma's now for every man, woman and child
Even Jesus got his crown in front of a crowd
They marched with the torch, we gon' run with it now
Never look back, we done gone hundreds of miles
From dark roads he rose, to become a hero
Facin' the league of justice, his power was the people…”

The story is ongoing.

Tash has picked up the torch for her people today, and is carrying the story forward, shining her own light, with her daughters alongside.

Another favorite rally cry for Tash that embodies the spirit is, “Turntables” by Janelle Monae. Similar to Common and John legend, in the rousing, modern-era Civil Rights protest anthem, Janelle dives into the history of the community, exploring Black power and what Black folks have overcome, while also proclaiming what they will no longer stand for.

Enough is enough, and Janelle has given everybody fair warning:

“The tables ‘bout to turn.”

Alongside these rally cries, Tash and the fam also celebrate their legacy equally with fun and joyful bops like, “Best Life,” by Cardi B and Chance the Rapper:

“You see the whip pullin' up, it's like "skrrt"
Dreams pullin' up, I'm like "skrrt"
I'm livin' my best life
It's my birthday, at least that's what I'm dressed like…”

Black joy is essential to everything Tash is and celebrates, and the spaces she is creating for her people online. And so for her, the unabashed elevation of Black success and playful spirit Chance and Cardi bring to the history here is everything, empowering in its own crucial way: showing where Black people were, where they are now, and where they can go.

And finally, on that Juneteenth, Black celebration vibe, Tash also points to the song, “Pretty Brown Skin,” by Alton Kiing:

“Pretty brown skin
Pretty light skin
Pretty dark skin
I see African written in you DNA
Hello choco melanin
From the motherland
With your black skin
Never should you want it any other way.”

In the same way Tash reflects on the impact Beyonce’s music has made on her story coming up, songs like this take her back to herself as “that little black girl who was looking on the radio for a song that was about me.”

Growing up, she just didn’t have these songs. 

She didn’t get these messages.

Her joy is inexpressible seeing her daughters “...embrace this music, and love it and scream it and shout it and find their confidence in it...”

But it’s for her, too. 

“I get to align with them. To share the moment, 
To share the music with them; embracing it and
Calling it forth for myself.” (Tash)

That is liberation.

That is the power of music.

The Civil Rights Trail: Songs and Storytelling

Because of the profound impact music has had on her life and story, it has also become an integral piece in Tash’s storytelling on her platforms. In so many of the projects she works on she has to communicate a certain message, feeling, or idea. And she may not always have the words!

But there’s so much power in a song.

Music is the one thing we can all connect on, drawing us together across political, religious and racial lines that often separate us.

It’s communal.

And, it’s educational.

Which is why music played such a pivotal role in Tash’s Civil Rights Trail project in 2022.

In collaboration with Alaska Airlines for Black History Month, Tash and family spent six days exploring historic sites and pivotal landmarks across the Civil Rights Trail. 

She took people into the various locations - such as the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma - chronicling her experience on a road trip across the American South.​

In between stops, she was teaching in her Instagram stories, drawing upon the power of music from the Civil Rights era in the 50s and 60s and across the decades, to help tell the stories and convey the emotion she was experiencing. 

The music created the perfect soundtrack.

Many of the stories were right there in the lyrics, the songs themselves functioning like paid actors accompanying her commentary, helping set the tone, the feeling, and all the emotion that was coursing through her.

On one particular drive, from Birmingham to Selma, they were driving Sundown roads. And as “Freedom Highway” by the Staple Singers played, Tash marveled at what folks did to organize back then. No social media, no cell phones, and yet, able to mobilize people by the thousands to show up in cities all across the American south.

An absolute miracle.

From Sam Cooke’s, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City,” to Biggie’s “Juicy” and even Ella Fitzgerald’s “The Muffin Man,” (her daughter Courage was determined to find him!) Tash and her family took in one life-changing moment after another, feeling so incredibly inspired and empowered by the people who had come before them and everything they accomplished.

Standing upon the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Tash had a sobering revelation: she was 39 at that moment, the same age as Dr. King when he was assassinated: 

“This man, who was 39 years old, who had four children that were very young, believed so much in this thing that he was trying to make happen that he was willing to risk his very short life for it.” (Tash)

In her mind, as it is for many of us, she’d just always thought of him as being so old.​

Yet here she was, standing in his footsteps, realizing the man had his whole life ahead. That he should even still be alive to this day.

How Will We Show Up?

Life is full of choices. 

For Tash, it all comes down to deciding how we want to show up in the world, setting our minds on that vision, and making the necessary choices on the daily - no matter how many people don’t see us, no matter who discounts us, no matter how high the cards are stacked against us - to be the person we want to be.

To fight for the kind of world we want to live in.

To gaze backwards at the shoulders upon which we stand, and sideways toward the hands we hold today, and to step boldly forward upon the path that lies ahead toward the life we will make together.

Selma is now.

Her abiding faith, hard work and dedication have instilled a conviction deep within that any and all of us can be who we are made to be. 

And she is living proof.

With a shout out to Chance and Cardi B, and to honor the sacrifices made by those who have gone before her,

She’s living her best life.

A boss.

A creator. 

Photographer. 

Influencer.

Fierce, independent, proud, professional Black woman.

And a momma raising up three beautiful young ladies who see her, on the daily - and in the pictures she has taken of herself since the day she saw and believed and claimed her future as a young girl herself - telling her story for the world:

It’s Tash Haynes.

I’m that girl.

I belong. 

I level up.

Like my people before me, I take the scraps of life and turn them into soul food for the masses. 

This is my legacy. 

And I’m here so that you may believe. So that you might hope into existence the life that you deserve. 

The best life for you and yours.

For More With Tash...

To hear our interview with Tash in its entirety on the Ascent Radio Podcast - including clips of the music and her thoughts on all the songs we’ve highlighted from her story (and more!) - click here to locate the podcast on your preferred provider, or listen directly in the Ascent Radio app - available for free(!) in both the Apple and Google Play stores.

Also make sure to tune in to Ascent Radio with us over the Juneteenth holiday as we feature parts of the podcast with Tash, all of the incredible songs she has highlighted for us, as well as hundreds of other tunes by Black artists - celebrating Black Lives, Black Excellence, Black Joy, and the ongoing struggle for freedom, justice and equality in America.

If you haven’t already, make sure to follow Tash on Facebook (Tash Haynes) and Instagram (@itstashhaynes), and check out her website itstashhaynes.com as well! Also make sure to follow the stunning photography she and her husband Ike do over at Ike & Tash on Facebook (Ike and Tash) as well as Instagram (@ikeandtash), and also check out their website, ikeandtash.com!

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