by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
January 22, 2025
Her nonprofit, We Wield The Hammer, will begin with its newest multi-age cohort in March.
A metalsmith who trained in Senegal has decided to teach the art form to Black girls and women in Berkeley, California.
When Karen Smith decided to move to Senegal, she took a chance to leave corporate and academia to pursue her passion for creativity. After studying metal arts through an apprenticeship in the West African country, she created a nonprofit to bring this skill back to the United States.
“ I was working at a corporate job here in the Bay, and I hated it,” Smith explained about her decision to leave to Berkeleyside. “I really wanted to be doing something creative, but I had a more traditional life that I was living. And when I got divorced, I was just like, this is it, I’m just gonna do what I want to do.”
We Wield The Hammer started in 2019 at an industrial arts school in West Oakland. However, she dreamt of a bigger space so more Black girls and women could participate in the initiative. The quest to pass down this skill to other women came from her own experience learning in Senegal.
“Once you see somebody who looks like you doing a thing, then you know that you can do it,” said Smith.
Berkeley allowed her to lease a space to bring this dream to a greater fruition. Ahead of its March grand opening, Smith must overcome other obstacles prohibiting the building’s full use. From plumbing to sewage issues, Smith has worked for nearly a year to embark on her full dream with We Wield The Hammer.
The program will run for eight weeks and is fully funded through donations. Participants will engage in three hours of training and three additional hours of practice every week. During this time, they will learn about the fundamentals of the metal arts.
Twelve students, ages 14 to 24, will be selected through an application process, and there will be four cohorts annually. Smith expressed joy about this expanded version, which allows older women to participate.
Like Smith herself, these women want the opportunity to pivot into a new career or explore a potential new passion. Now, Smith can provide a place to do so.
“Because we pivot in our lives. Frankly, I pivoted in my life,” she explained. “And I always want to make sure that when people want to do that, especially women and girls, that they have a place.”
Applications for the spring session will open in February, with the first training sessions beginning in March.
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