When JohnRae Stowers lost her mother in 2014, she was looking for a way to heal.
Photo Courtesy of JohnRae Stowers
JohnRae Stowers
Instead, she ended up creating a movement.
This year marks the 10th annual Divas Brunch, an event Stowers founded after the death of her mother, Pastor Petria A. Diggs-Scott. What started as a gathering of about 100 women has grown into an annual event that now draws roughly 600 attendees.
“The birth of the brunch was my healing,” Stowers said. “It was me bringing women together to kind of help guide me and protect me and support me and let me know that during the healing phase, like I wasn’t alone.”
Stowers said she woke up with a vision to create a space where women could rely on one another during difficult times. She wanted women to know they could find support, whether they needed advice, business connections, encouragement or friendship.
Her mother's influence was a major part of that vision.
Diggs-Scott served as pastor of Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church and was known for helping people throughout the community. Stowers said she and her mother were extremely close and spoke every day.
“It was a very, very hard time,” Stowers said.
More Than a Brunch
Photo Courtesy of Sherry Simmons
Sherry Simmons
Over the last decade, the event has become much more than a meal.
The brunch includes speakers, entertainment and the Divas Marketplace, where local entrepreneurs can showcase their businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Sherry Simmons, the event’s project manager, said the gathering serves as a place where women can connect across generations and backgrounds. “For her, this isn’t just a brunch,” Simmons said of Stowers. “It’s her opportunity to connect 500 women together. It’s her opportunity to highlight small women-owned businesses in the community.”
Simmons first met Stowers through a pre-college program at Marquette University more than 20 years ago. She attended the first Divas Brunch and has remained involved ever since.
She said many attendees arrive alone but leave with new friendships. “It’s the place where you can come by yourself, but not feel alone,” Simmons said. “It’s the place where you can be poured into and be completely filled up.”
Stowers has seen those connections form firsthand. She recalled one woman who had lost her mother meeting an older woman at the brunch. The friendship grew so close that the older woman began calling herself the younger woman’s godmother.
Giving Back Through Scholarships
Photo Courtesy of Sydney Griffin
Sydney Griffin
The impact of the Divas Brunch extends beyond the event itself. Through the JazzyRae Legacy Foundation, Stowers and her team award scholarships to students entering their first year of college.
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Stowers said each recipient receives a $500 scholarship that can be used for books, tuition or other college expenses. Applications are reviewed by a committee and focus on leadership and a student's plans to give back to their community.
Simmons said five students are being recognized this year, including four young women and one young man.
Sydney Griffin, a Milwaukee native and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater junior, received a scholarship before starting college. She learned about it through her mother and Stowers, whom she calls her aunt.
Griffin said she applied for the scholarship before entering college because she understood how quickly expenses add up. She also appreciates the foundation's larger mission. “I understand that the foundation represents something bigger than a scholarship,” Griffin said. “I appreciate it. And I hope that one day I can give back like that.”
As the Divas Brunch reaches its 10th year, Stowers hopes its impact continues to grow. She would like to expand the event beyond Milwaukee and create youth-focused programs that bring empowerment and leadership opportunities to younger generations.
Looking back on what has been built over the last decade, she believes it all started with honoring her mother’s legacy. When asked what her mother might say if she could walk into this year’s brunch, Stowers paused before answering. “I think she would say, ‘Well done.”
