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Oral History Interview with Nailah Lymus, September 12, 2018

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Nailah Lymus discusses growing up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, her family's interest in the fine arts, and her childhood experiences at Masjid At-Taqwa and Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah, both in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. She also speaks extensively about her lifelong interest in fashion that embraces religious modesty, including early experimentation with her own clothing and jewelry, involvement with her high school fashion club and internship at a nearby boutique, launching her clothing and accessory line 'Amirah Creations,' founding the Underwraps Modeling Agency, and starting MODA MANTRA Magazine. In addition, she expands on raising her son and her support for Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah, including serving on the mosque's board, teaching in their school, and participating in a youth outreach committee. Interview conducted by Liz H. Strong.

Biographical / Historical

Nailah Lymus was born in 1983 in Oneonta, New York. She was raised in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. She used her experiences with her high school fashion club at Benjamin Banneker Academy for Community Development and internship at a local boutique, both in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, to launch her clothing and accessory line 'Amirah Creations' in 2003. She founded Underwraps Modeling Agency in 2012 to represent female models who had strong religious or cultural convictions around modesty, and started the MODA MANTRA Magazine to feature modest fashion in 2017. She also served on Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah's board and taught at the mosque's Clara Muhammad School, which her son attended.

Conditions Governing Access

This interview can be accessed onsite at the Center for Brooklyn History's Othmer Library and online at the Oral History Portal.

Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201