Salima Arrausjuae Moyo Smith was born on July 11, 1968, in Brooklyn New York to parents Gerald “Mzee Moyo” Smith and Ouida Mason Smith. She grew up surrounded by community pride and culturally grounded values. Her formative education took place at the historic Uhuru Sasa School, an institution rooted in African-centered teaching, identity, discipline, and collective uplift. The foundation she received there shaped her worldview, her cultural confidence, and her lifelong commitment to Black excellence. She later attended the High School of Graphic Communications in Manhattan, where she honed discipline, technical skill, and creativity.

Affectionately named “Sassy Salima” by her family for her wit, personality, and undeniable presence, she carried that spark into her teenage years. Salima was real in her walk and in her talk—authentic to the core. She spoke her mind with honesty, courage, and love, and people respected her because she showed up exactly as she was. As she grew into adolescence, she stepped boldly into the artistic pulse of her era and became known as “Sassy Lee,” a female MC with charisma and fire, performing at neighborhood block parties and community gatherings. Her rhythm was natural, her voice unforgettable, and her presence instantly felt. Her talent was matched by her impeccable memory—she could recall names, lyrics, stories, and family histories with remarkable clarity, a gift she carried throughout her life.

Salima co-founded Valley of Essence, an organization that showcased models and organized fashion shows with her sister-friends, elevating African fashion, beauty, and cultural pride. A true Fly Girl, she promoted African-centered clothing, uplifted local designers such as Sankofa Creations by Pahti and many others, and helped build spaces where style and culture walked hand in hand.

Her cultural path continued to blossom in Brooklyn where she became Merchant Coordinator for the International African Arts Festival, working alongside her father, Gerald Smith (Mzee Moyo), who was the festival’s CFO and co-founder. Together they nurtured a vibrant marketplace where artisans, storytellers, musicians, and families from across the diaspora gathered. Her immersion in this rich cultural landscape led her to travel to Senegal, Nigeria, and the Caribbean, deepening her artistic and spiritual understanding.

Through her union with Renard “Baba Alafia” Simmons, she relocated to Cleveland, Ohio with her three children—Love, Ifayomi, and Olori—bringing her gifts, her culture, and her unwavering devotion to family into a new community that she would impact deeply. Spiritually, she walked a profound path as a Priestess of Aganyú for thirty-three years, being initiated into the Yoruba tradition and given the name, Asarinadé.

In Cleveland, Salima’s commitment to education and community uplift continued to flourish. She earned her Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Development from Cuyahoga Community College and her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education from Cleveland State University where she was an active member of the African Student Union. Her academic achievements, combined with her artistic gifts, made her a powerful educator and advocate.

Her passion for teaching was extraordinary. Salima nurtured confidence, communication, creativity, and teamwork through cultural-based learning. Whether teaching her original songs—“Loving Yourself” and “I Will Be Successful”—leading Swahili drills, sharing African storytelling, or guiding young people through artistic creation, she shaped environments where everyone felt valued, powerful and deeply seen.

Her presence and influence touched numerous Cleveland institutions, including Roots of American Music (ROAM), It Takes a Village, Karamu House, Progressive Arts Alliance, House of Blues, and Djapo Cultural Arts Institute. She also served with deep compassion and dedication through Cleveland Peacemakers, TYWIST (Teaching Young Women in Society Truth) and Renounce Denounce (a gang intervention program), bringing love, structure, wisdom, and healing to youth and families in need. She was honored as a Cultural Ambassador in New York and in Cleveland she became affectionately known as the Kwanzaa Queen, a joyful keeper of tradition and community celebration.

At her core, Salima was devoted to family. She kept in touch with relatives everywhere, maintaining connections across distances and generations. She made her Sunday calls faithfully, reaching out to check on everyone, offering love, prayers, encouragement, and laughter. Her impeccable memory allowed her to remember birthdays, victories, struggles, and stories—she made people feel seen and cherished simply by remembering.

Salima Arrausjuae Moyo Smith transitioned on November 4, 2025, leaving an indelible imprint on all who knew her. Salima embodied the essence of creativity, culture, and community. She lived boldly, taught passionately, traveled widely, loved deeply, remembered everyone, and uplifted all who crossed her path. Her songs, her laughter, her wisdom, and her devotion to her people will echo for generations. Her spirit now joins the ancestors, but her light continues to rise in every child she nurtured, every classroom she inspired, every story she told, every rhythm she carried, and every life she blessed with peace. 

Salima was preceded in death by her father, Gerald Smith “Mzee Moyo” and her sister, Adenike. She leaves to cherish her memory: her mother, Ouida Mason Smith and her Aunt Delores Smith; her children Love, Ifayomi, Olori, and Olowu; her grandchildren Amiri, Jamaal, Nyla, Brysen, and Andrew; and her siblings Baraka (Debbie), Babu, Ogbanna (Cleo), Zamani, Yarule, Latoya (Falofin), and Asha. She is also remembered with love by a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, extended family, godchildren, sister-friends, spiritual kin, lifelong friends, and community members whose lives she touched with her spirit of peace.

 Salima Arrausjuae Moyo Smith’s journey will be embraced  by the ancestors, and  her memory will continue to guide, uplift, and inspire us all. Asé.