We recently connected with Jordan Broiles and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always been creative but have yet to learn how to apply it professionally. However, I started this journey as a content creator in 2022 because I noticed a gap in the representation of the Black experience in Oklahoma’s rising content creator spaces. Just like many other things, our authentic presence, voices, and experiences get lost or stripped away from the overall narrative of Oklahoma.

I started to create content to combat the perception that Oklahoma didn’t have Black people or was a place where Black people could thrive. Through my creativity, I breathe life into Oklahoma City as I curate moments to reflect a sense of identity, culture, and liberation. This journey has been bittersweet as I have continuously doubted my creativity, but it also brought me greater joy, unique experiences, and love for my hometown.

As a creative, I notice further problems that go beyond content creation. My community needs more than social media content highlighting the city’s “beauty.” Being a Black Queer creator going into these spaces to capture my experience with the intent of encouraging other individuals to go, I often time encounter micro-aggressions, anti-black rules, or explicit racism. Additionally, Black businesses on the “Eastside” of Oklahoma City, which is predominantly Black, are lacking adequate support, resources, and visibility. Lastly, Black spaces aren’t as queer-friendly. These issues must be addressed and resolved if we want to retain young Black professionals between 25 and 35 in Oklahoma.

While maintaining my social media presence, I participate in efforts to address these systemic problems by being in partnership with the Northeast OKC Renaissance, whose mission is to advocate for ethical redevelopment considerate of housing, education, safety, wellness, economic development, and preservation of African American arts & culture. With this partnership, we will create sustainable efforts to improve the quality of life for young Black professionals in Oklahoma City.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jordan Broiles, and I go by the creative pseudonym of Blxckbird. As a scholar, creative director, and servant leader, I utilize the method of storytelling to provide intentionally curated moments that foster a sense of identity, culture, and liberation to cultivate a holistic sensorial experience that leaves an imprint on the guests’ minds.

Reflecting on the words of Nina Simone, we have continuously been told, through our various identities, “why you wanna fly Blackbird? you ain’t ever gonna fly.” Yet, we find the courage within ourselves to fly. Blxckbird is a reminder to myself and those connected to me that you can fly and create a better world for yourself and others. I intentionally stated moments, as it does not limit my creations. Moments are but are not limited to social media content, in-person events hosted by myself, and or other community efforts.

What I am most proud of and what sets me apart from other creatives is my multifaceted approach to my work, as I identify as a scholar, creative director, and servant leader. As a scholar, I ground my work in extensive research, constructing timeless projects that connect my audience to history while creating something for my peers and future generations. As a creative director, it is essential to understand how to lead a project. My understanding of leadership from a holistic global knowledge, my skills in event planning, and my abilities to place individuals in positions where they can thrive are what create memorable experiences. Lastly, growing myself as a servant leader means I understand my moral responsibility as a creative to utilize my gift to advance my community.

As these three adjectives harmonize, I create timeless moments that bring joy to myself and others.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As a creative, I intend to provide intentionally curated moments that foster a sense of identity, culture, and liberation to cultivate a holistic sensorial experience that leaves an imprint on the guests’ minds.

It is essential for me to help individuals discover the language to understand themselves and how they show up in the world by fostering a space rooted in relevant cultural sensory experiences to create a moment of joy.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As I was born and raised in Oklahoma City, I’ve always dreamed of living on the East Coast. I set off to partially fulfill that dream by attending graduate school at the Pennsylvania State University which allowed me close access to the metropolitan cities. While there, I didn’t expect an unprecedented global health outbreak to disrupt our whole world. As I finished my master’s in 2021, there weren’t many job opportunities due to the reality of where we were globally. I was offered an opportunity here in Oklahoma; the other was in Washington, D.C., one of my favorite cities. I believed I hit the jackpot with the D.C. opportunity, but when I pulled back the layers, it was not the best package deal. The pay was not livable for DC, the job was not in alignment with my passion, and ultimately, my values didn’t align with what the institution was doing at the time. I couldn’t compromise all of that to fulfill this one desire. I ultimately had to make the wise decision to pivot and head back to Oklahoma.

Moving back home to Oklahoma, I felt like I was taking a step back. It was disappointing as I told myself prior to me leaving, “I’ll never live in Oklahoma again.” I felt anger at my higher power as I was so close to where I wanted to be, literally at my fingertip, and it didn’t pan out how I envisioned it. I was determined to get back to the East Coast and was mentally locked in on the timeline I had set. The more I tried to get back out, the more the universe kept counteracting my actions. I had to unlearn the path I set for myself.

I can’t vividly remember how I came to this epiphany, but I learned it was important that I be still and pay attention to what was happening around me. Oklahoma was starting to gain some national attention with the rise of awareness around the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, the increase in development in Oklahoma City, and the city’s becoming a central location for the film industry. My awareness of the rich history of the Black Oklahoman experience increased and recognized how our stories are the backbone of Oklahoma’s history. Oklahoma is home to Black Wall Street, this state held the most Black towns in the nation’s history, and Ms. Clara Luper and her students were an integral part of the National Civil Rights Movement.

Taking all of this in, I recognized what was happening in my community. I decided to use content creation as an avenue to share our stories and cultivate a space to highlight the current Black experience, hoping to empower my peers to be more active in the current renaissance in the city.

As I put one foot in front of the other, I noticed how my work has impacted my peers. People would comment, “I have never seen Oklahoma displayed like this,” or “you make me want to get out more.” I began receiving invitations to special events in the city, received sponsorship opportunities with local organizations/businesses, and participated in conversations about the city’s future for young Black professionals.

As a content creator, I learned we do not have to be in a larger city to be a legitimate content creator. I have witnessed many of my peers leave Oklahoma to go into an oversaturated market (I.e. Texas, ATL, DC, etc.) without truly defining what set them apart from other creators. Trust me, I understand the desire to live in larger markets with a more robust progressive environment. However, there is beauty in the smaller market. Oklahoma City is such a unique space as you have the opportunity as a content creator to be a culture driver for our community. As the city continues to develop, I have discovered there is an opportunity to retrieve the similar benefits that other creators get in other markets.

Remember, never be afraid to pivot. Sometimes, our desires are right around us; however, we don’t take them seriously because they’re not “glamorous” enough. It is important to work with and appreciate the little you have so you will be prepared to handle the bigger opportunities.

As always, much love!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: beingblxckbird_

Image Credits
radlove media & grand national