Amani Williams was born and raised in the Bay Area. He is a long time student of the heart, a practitioner of the sacred smile, and an engineer of the opening eye. As a child of an interracial marriage, two grassroots organizers, and the turmoil of Oakland’s 1980’s, Amani has been active in the community since middle school.

What started as a response to direct violence has continued as a life’s work. Over many years he has helped to develop and implement widely used and internationally shared curriculum. He has facilitated, organized, consulted and co-created with Diversity Works, The P.O.W.E.R Movement, The Mosaic Project, Generation Waking up, Challenge Day, The Mind Body Awareness project, UC Berkeley, Sarah Lawrence, Mills College and more.

In Musical Ceremony under many names; as producer, engineer, emcee, singer and songwriter and as a member of the Bay Area’s evolutionary hip-hop family ‘The Attik’, he has shared stages with Krs-One, Goapele, Brett Dennen, E-40, Dead Prez and more. Wa Ama (Amani) is also the beat behind favorites from Los Rakas, Rakaa from Dilated Peoples, Bicasso from the Living Legends, Ise Lyfe and more.

As a student of our unique gifts, our shared experiences, and the systems that separate us, the work has been with an intentionally diverse population, from grade school students and incarcerated youth, to college students, educators, service providers and professionals in the corporate sector. With innovative ensembles of social justice empowerment, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, somatic wisdom, ceremony, music, theatre, and the overall return to presence, wonder, and creativity; Amani continues to learn from our shared humanity and explorations into freedom.

Amani is excited to join the Stepping Stones crew and offer all he can to support young men coming of age in this world.

​Amani Williams / Wa Ama & the Lion Truth
Born/Raised:​ Berkeley/Oakland, Ca
Preferred gender pronoun:​ he/him/they/them/we
Race/Ethnicity:​ Black/African American/African Decent, White/US Born of
Scottish, Welsh, English, French and German descent, Tsalagi (Cherokee).
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Website:​ www.IAMMANY.us
Raise the creative, nurture the awareness, and live the practice.