Some conversations stay with you long after the microphones turn off.

That’s exactly what happened across both of Amber Iman’s appearances on The Salisha Show (formerly Black Hair in the Big Leagues).

Over the course of two deeply powerful interviews, Salisha Thomas and Amber explored Broadway, Black identity, natural hair, advocacy, artistry, assimilation, activism, confidence, and what it means to speak up — even when it’s uncomfortable.

The result is more than a celebrity interview.

It’s a time capsule of an important cultural moment inside Broadway and beyond.

Who Is Amber Iman?

Amber Iman is one of Broadway’s most magnetic performers.

Audiences know her from:

• Hamilton

• Shuffle Along

• Soul Doctor

• her advocacy work within the theater industry

• co-founding the Broadway Advocacy Coalition

• creating visibility and community for Black women on Broadway

In Salisha’s very first interview with Amber, she describes her as “Black Broadway Excellence.”

And honestly? That title fits.

Black Hair, Assimilation, and Learning to Love Yourself

One of the most emotional sections of the interviews centers around Amber’s relationship with her natural hair and identity.

Salisha vulnerably shares that, for years, when she thought about her natural hair being “distracting,” what she reallyfeared was that people thought she was ugly.

Amber’s response opens the door to a much larger conversation about assimilation and growing up Black in predominantly white spaces.

She explains:

• growing up surrounded by Black culture in Atlanta

• later attending a predominantly white high school

• getting her first perm during that transition

• unconsciously assimilating into whiteness

• eventually rediscovering herself through community and culture

Then came Howard University.

And everything shifted.

Amber describes Howard almost like a cultural awakening — a place where she could reconnect with herself more fully.

It’s one of the most honest and nuanced conversations about Black beauty standards and identity in the show’s archive.

Broadway Advocacy Coalition and the George Floyd Era

The second major thread woven through these interviews is activism.

Following the murder of George Floyd and the racial reckoning that followed, Amber became one of the leading voices helping organize conversations around systemic racism within Broadway.

As co-founder of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Amber explains that the work didn’t suddenly begin in 2020.

The organization had already been doing the work for years.

But during lockdown, the world finally stopped long enough to listen.

Amber recalls how quickly a simple idea evolved into a massive movement and industry-wide conversation.

Salisha reflects on how intense those conversations felt even from behind a muted Zoom screen:

“These are things I’ve always known, but we don’t say this in front of non-Black people.”

And Amber candidly admits:
she was scared too.

That vulnerability is what makes these interviews so impactful.

They aren’t polished talking points.
They’re real conversations between two Black women navigating Broadway, visibility, and truth in real time.

Confidence Isn’t Always What It Looks Like

One of the most beautiful moments in the interviews comes when Salisha tells Amber that she appears deeply confident and empowered.

Amber gently pushes back on the assumption that confidence simply “arrives.”

Instead, the conversation reveals something far more relatable:
confidence is often built slowly through experience, healing, community, and self-acceptance.

That honesty is part of what makes Amber such a compelling artist and advocate.

She’s not presenting perfection.
She’s presenting humanity.

Why These Conversations Matter

Years later, these episodes still feel incredibly important.

Because they document:

• Black artists speaking honestly

• Broadway confronting race publicly

• performers redefining beauty standards

• conversations around natural hair becoming more visible

• artists refusing silence

• women creating space for each other to tell the truth

And woven throughout it all is Salisha’s interviewing style:
warm, thoughtful, emotionally intelligent, and genuinely curious.

These interviews aren’t built around “gotcha” moments.
They’re built around connection.

And that’s why they resonate.

Listen to Both Amber Iman Episodes

Watch the episode from Pandemic Times.

Watch the episode from LIVE from BroadwayCon.

Explore more episodes from The Salisha Show featuring Broadway artists, cultural changemakers, and conversations at the intersection of identity, artistry, and entertainment.

Featuring:
Amber Iman

Topics include:

• Broadway

• Hamilton

• Broadway Advocacy Coalition

• Black hair

• natural hair journeys

• assimilation

• Howard University

• race in theater

• Black identity

• Broadway activism

• George Floyd

• representation in entertainment

• confidence and self-image

• Black women on Broadway