Kamea Taylor of Southern California on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Kamea Taylor shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Kamea, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
My calling has always been to create space. Space for myself, for my peers, for my friends and family—and space for my dreams and ideas to run wild. What started as educating my community about investing, real estate planning, and financial wellness has evolved into something much deeper: cultivating a community where people can exchange knowledge, learn from one another, and feel fully validated and affirmed in their personal and professional journeys.

Roots of Noir LLC is far more than I ever imagined it would be. I’m deeply proud of the courage it took to launch it in the first place, despite the insecurities, doubts, and hesitations that came with betting on myself. Before I understood my purpose—before I found my confidence and learned to walk by faith—I feared rejection. I feared the possibilities that could come from choosing my dreams, and I feared the idea that rejection meant I wasn’t ready. But confidence taught me that rejection is not a dead end; it’s redirection.

I released the fear of loss and embraced alignment and divine timing. I began facing my fears head-on, knowing that doing so would groom me for the rooms and the moments I once felt unprepared to step into.

I am no longer afraid to create the space I once needed. I am no longer afraid to speak on my lived experiences as a Black woman navigating a white male–dominated industry that has tried to undermine me and box me in. I am no longer afraid to stand unapologetically in who I am—a woman who demands more, not only for herself but for her community.

There is always a need, and I am determined to serve that need until my community feels seen, affirmed, and supported—until their journeys, dreams, goals, and aspirations have the space to flourish.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Kamea Taylor—UCLA alumna, multi-hyphenate creative, real estate planner, educator, and community builder. For a long time, I thought I knew exactly what my life would look like. But life has a way of redirecting us, reshaping our passions through every curveball it throws. My path into real estate wasn’t a lifelong dream—it was born from a research scholarship that allowed me to study a topic of my choosing.

I chose to examine the disparities facing Black renters compared to their counterparts, and that decision changed everything. What I discovered was simple yet profound: the gap wasn’t just about access—it was about education, financial literacy, and understanding our power as tenants, homeowners, landlords, and investors. For too long, my community had been left in vulnerable situations that could have been avoided with knowledge and support. That realization lit a fire in me.

Today, as a licensed real estate agent serving all of Southern California—and supporting buyers in all fifty states—I work diligently to empower anyone seeking to purchase, build, or expand their real estate portfolio. My mission is to ensure that they move forward with clarity, confidence, and protection, not confusion or vulnerability. Through monthly homebuying webinars and seminars, I strive to make real estate accessible and understandable for every person I encounter.

But my work extends beyond real estate. I am also the founder of Roots of Noir LLC, a community built from a deeply personal need. After transitioning from the vibrant and connected environment of Westwood to the Inland Empire, I was met with an unexpected wave of isolation as a visionary. I searched for community, joining spaces with the hope of finding alignment, only to be met with discomfort or a misalignment with my creative vision. After many failed attempts, I realized something had to change—and that the power to create what I needed was in my own hands.

Roots of Noir was created to bridge that gap. It’s a space for transcenders, trendsetters, multi-passionate creatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals who understand the weight and beauty of walking a journey that is uniquely their own. Here, collaboration rises above competition. It is a community where people are seen, heard, valued, and affirmed—no matter where they are in their personal or professional paths.

At the core of everything I do—whether I’m guiding someone into homeownership, teaching financial wellness, helping an investor strategize, or nurturing a growing community—is a simple truth: creating space transforms lives. My calling is to create that space, and my purpose is to ensure no one has to walk their journey without it.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that has served its purpose and must now be released is the overly humble version of myself. Not humility in the sense of gratitude or groundedness—but the version of me that shrank, softened, or played small for the comfort of others. I don’t mean this as a shift toward arrogance or self-obsession, but rather toward healthy self-obsession: the kind that allows me to honor who I am, what I’ve accomplished, and who I’m becoming.

For so much of my life, I struggled to name my wins out loud. I rarely spoke about graduating from the number one public university in the nation, becoming a licensed real estate agent at 23, launching and building a community from the ground up, officially turning it into an LLC, or growing my real estate business with nothing but faith, consistency, and grit. I muted my accomplishments, my fears, my struggles, and the very experiences that shaped me into the woman I am today—experiences that continue to inform my reality and fuel my dreams.

I carried this misconception that being too confident, too bold, too outspoken would make others uncomfortable or shift how they viewed me. But what value do the opinions of others hold if they require me to dim my light? Why should external perspectives have the power to shrink the truth of who I am?

I refuse to keep diminishing myself to create comfort for people who were never meant to dictate the terms of my journey. I’ve learned to be audacious, to step into the woman of my wildest dreams with clarity and conviction. Being “humble” in the way I once practiced it only dimmed the version of me who deserves to be seen, celebrated, and valued—just as I work so hard to ensure my community feels seen, celebrated, and valued.

If I can’t honor myself, how can I ask a community to do the same?

So yes—I have officially retired the humble pie girl and picked up the conceited cake, hehe. And I’m enjoying every slice of becoming who I was always meant to be.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You are not too much—you are just early.

Every dream you carry, every idea that feels “too big,” every moment you feel misunderstood or out of place… none of it is a flaw. It’s simply the evidence that you were designed for rooms and seasons that haven’t arrived yet.

Don’t shrink, don’t second-guess your brilliance, and don’t apologize for the way your mind dances ahead of the moment. Keep going. Keep imagining. Keep believing. Everything you think you lack will arrive in divine timing, and everything you think is working against you is actually preparing you.

You grow into the woman you always needed—and she is so proud of you.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
A cultural value I protect at all costs is community care—the deep belief that we are responsible for showing up for one another with intention, compassion, and reciprocity. In a world that often rewards individualism, I hold tightly to creating spaces where people feel seen, affirmed, and supported in their journeys. It’s the foundation of who I am, the reason I became an educator in real estate, and the heart behind building Roots of Noir LLC.

For me, community care isn’t just about gathering people together—it’s about honoring the collective wisdom, uplifting the voices that often go unheard, and ensuring that no one has to navigate their dreams or their challenges alone. It means choosing collaboration over competition, connection over isolation, and remembering that our strength multiplies when we move together. I refuse to compromise on that value because my success means little if my community cannot rise with me.

And naturally, the belief and project I’m committed to—no matter how long it takes—is building sustainable systems of access, education, and empowerment within my community. Whether through real estate planning, financial literacy, or the continued growth of the Roots of Noir Network, I am devoted to creating long-lasting infrastructure that outlives me.

I’m committed to the slow, intentional work of transforming narratives around real estate, financial wellness, and entrepreneurship for marginalized communities. I’m committed to carving out spaces where people can expand their possibilities, break generational patterns, and finally feel supported in their wildest dreams.

No matter how long it takes, I will keep doing the work—because the impact will echo far beyond my timeline.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
What I understand deeply—something most people don’t fully grasp—is that purpose isn’t discovered in a single moment. It’s shaped, stretched, challenged, and clarified through every experience that tries to break you.

Most people think purpose arrives as an epiphany, a sudden clarity. But I’ve learned that it’s revealed slowly, through the fears you confront, the rooms you walk into unsure, the ideas you’re brave enough to nurture, and the communities you’re called to build—even when you don’t feel ready.

I understand that alignment is louder than opportunity. That just because something is offered to you doesn’t mean it belongs to you. And that rejection is often divine redirection—an invitation to step into a version of yourself you wouldn’t have accessed if everything had worked out the first time. I also understand that healing, creativity, leadership, and ambition are deeply intertwined. You cannot build community without understanding people. You cannot educate others without acknowledging your own journey. You cannot demand more for your people if you are unwilling to demand more for yourself.

Most of all, I understand that visibility matters. That playing small doesn’t protect you—it delays you. And that every time I show up fully as myself—a Black woman in a white, male-dominated industry—I’m not just honoring my story; I’m widening the path for someone else. That is what I know deeply: you become who you are meant to be by embracing the discomfort, honoring the alignment, and refusing to shrink in rooms that were never built with you in mind.

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Emma McLeod

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