Clap Back 2017: The Panelists

I am honored and pleased to have the following five women as panelists for Clap Back 2017: It's for their own good: Poet Lightning, Chinyere E. Oteh, De-Andrea Blaylock-Johnson, Raquita Henderson, and Pacia Elaine. These women have served as mentors on my journey and the journey of countless others from the St. Louis area who have branched out to multiple areas of the country and world spreading the magic of Powerful Black Womanhood. Along with mentoring, teaching, performing, and counseling, these women pay it forward by continuing to give and provide opportunities for everyone they see. To know these women is to love them.

POET LIGHTNING

Poet Lightning is a Spoken Word Artist, producer, host, and proud mother of three. A recipient of numerous awards for her spoken word performances including STL's Hottest Spoken Word Artist 2009-2012. 

A St. Louis native, she has performed in various cities throughout the US. She is also a producer and host of the open mic show Hustle & Flow....The Experience, which celebrated five years of existence in 2016, making it a staple in St. Louis.
Poet Lightning is also host of Love Jones Theory and My First Love is Poetry, which has brought out poets like Jus Will and Mreld Green. She is also a spokesperson for Girls Holla Back, an outlet for providing awareness of HIV/AIDS to young ladies between the ages of 12-17. She has been recently added to an all female collective based in Atlanta, GA knows as Adams Rib, founded by profound poet Georgia Me. No matter where she goes, she heats the air with love and expressions of confessions from her transgressions. 

Poet Lightning is instrumental in inspiring writers to get on the mic for the very first time with an entity called Poetic Cherry Pop Awards. It is introduced at all three shows she hosts here in St. Louis metro. Here is where she gives a certificate to those brave souls who embrace the mic for the very first time. 

Get a taste of the Poet Lightning to understand why "Thickness makes 'em weak." THE ATTRACTION  I WANNA B YO FREAK  WHO THE HELL IS BOO!? 

DE-ANDREA BLAYLOCK-JOHNSON

De-Andrea Blaylock-Johnson is licensed in the state of Missouri as a Clinical Social Worker and has worked in the field of mental health since 2004. She is passionate about helping others achieve their goals and live as whole persons. De-Andrea firmly believes you must be the change you wish to see in this world and endeavors to positively impact her clients through her interactions with them. As the owner of Sankofa Sex Therapy, LLC, she helps individuals and those in all types of relationships reach their goals. She conducts workshops about sexuality and intimacy building and is an Executive Committee Member of the Women of Color Sexual Health Network. In addition to being your favorite sex therapist, she's a hunter of fabulous earrings.

Read an interview with Ebony Magazine where De-Andrea discusses Tips for a happy, healthy sex life after rape.

RAQUITA HENDERSON

Raquita Henderson a relationship photographer who works best with people who value partnership in their personal and professional lives. She is the owner, lead photographer, and primary creator of awesomeness at Pinxit Photo. 

"I am a hard person to put in a category. I’ve been a “creative” all my life. And hard to categorize for just as long. Painting, poetry, cooking; anything that makes people happy I love to be involved in. My dad gave me a camera when I was 12 and started me on my own affair with photography that has spanned over 20 years. I shot my first wedding in 1990, and have been on this path ever since.
For me it’s all about story telling and having the.best.time. Whether in a portrait session or a wedding day there is a story unfolding – and I love to find it, capture it and give it back to you to enjoy and relive over again.
I’m supposed to tell you how much I love caramel macchiatos and romantic comedies, but I figure that can wait until we meet in person. I’ll forgo the traditional “I am passionate about photography” speech mmm’kay?
It would be my biggest honor to join you in your life, with your family and friends, to capture images you will cherish."

PACIA ELAINE

Pacia Elaine is a visionary in performance and word art. A St. Louis-based poet, writer, visual, and teaching artist, she uses the art of the narrative to both make sense of the world around her and to tell good stories. Her poetry is a charismatic blend of rhyme, layered imagery, and fantasy, all of which are used to explore complex subject matter through seemingly disparate concepts, the fusion of which encourages listeners and readers alike to examine the seemingly disparate parts of themselves. An unwavering affirmer of the power of spoken word as a conduit for personal transformation, Pacia's goal is to use her work to encourage others to think deeper, write imaginatively, and to express their true voice."

CHINYERE E. OTEH

Chinyere E. Oteh is an organizer, an artist, a mother and a seeker.  She is a St. Louis native who has also lived and worked in Detroit and Washington D.C.   On the creative side she has examined her own mixed-race identity through autobiographical writing and photographic self-portraiture and has taught photography to the young and old throughout St. Louis.  On the collective side she is a Community Matchmaker who founded a time bank, in 2010, called Cowry Collective - a network geared toward forging economic equity and bridging racial divides all the while reminding each of us of our past rich cooperative practices. On the personal and healing side she is a fierce and loving protector to her two children birthed at home in 2008 and 2012.  She has practiced Transcendental Meditation since 2010 and has received her first two attunements in Reiki. She is very proud to have recently completed a Doula Training with Community Birth and Wellness Center in Ferguson, MO.  As Chinyere steps more fully into healing and spiritual work she continually strives to balance the demands and joys of motherhood, career and self-care.  She also rejoices in synchronicity and serendipity!

Join us for Clap Back 2017 on Sunday, January 8th at 4pm to meet these women and many others. Click the image to the right to read more about this event!