We recently connected with JLove Calderon and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, JLove thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

I had been a Hip-Hop journalist and artivist for while – writing for all of the big magazines of the 90’s (The Source, Ego Trip, XXL, On The Go, Stress Magazine for all the OG’s reading this) and most of it was for the love. At the time I didn’t see writing as something that could pay the rent. My homegirl and fellow writer/ artivist Sofia Quintero actually interviewed me for a piece she did and we had such a good conversation over a delicious carne asada in Manhatten that she said ‘let me introduce you to my agent.’ Weeks later, with butterflies in my stomach, I am on the phone with her agent sharing my life story, of course talking to fast, apologizing for talking to much, and just making a mess of it. I felt that I wasn’t worthy of having a big time agent and just didn’t have the confidence at that time in my life. Well, luckily for me the agent really cared deeply about supporting young women writers without traditional education and she saw through my imposter syndrome and through an email that changed my life forever – she signed me. I spent the next year writing my first book, my coming of age story, that sold to Simon and Schuster. The next thing I know I am having lunch with my editors and agents in the city in a fancy restaurant that there was no way I could afford at that time. It was a dream. But nothing compares to the first check I got from the publisher – I held it in my hands with tears in my eyes feeling like everything was possible.

JLove, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have lived many lives. I love to gain mastery in a skillset, craft and spend some time as a practitioner in it, and then I like to move on to a new challenge. One thing has remained constant my whole life- and that is that I care deeply about people and our collective ability to reach our highest and best potential. I detest structural ‘isms’ that get in the way of that and have been working toward social, racial and economic justice since I was a teenager. My first start was as the first female graffiti artist in my hometown of Denver, Colorado. I loved the spell of spray paint and the sound of the click click click of the can and the paint hitting the wall. It was so liberating to express myself on the walls and trains. As I moved through my educational experience I moved to the West Coast became fiercely dedicated to unhoused youth and worked at shelters in downtown San Deigo. I became a counselor for homeless teen parents and was in that field for a long time before hitting the road again, this time headed to the East Coast, NYC. I was writing at the time, as well as becoming a guidance counselor in the first social justice high school in the country, El Puente. I got trained and certified as a coach, and I co-founded several non-profits focusing on girls, art and activism and then hit my stride writing books and speaking across the country. Fast forward, I am co-founder and CEO of Inspire Justice, a social impact firm, and Founding and Managing Partner of BWA Studios under the leadership of Founder Taylor K. Shaw. We are the only Black woman owned and operated animation studio in North America. I am a creator, Director and producer of tv and film, and I am blessed to be a transformational coach and trainer focusing on Influencers and studios in the entertainment industry. The two companies are a culmination of my life’s work.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My vision and mission that drives my creative journey is quite simple really – I believe that storytelling can improve the human condition. As artivists we have the opportunity to create new narratives that can help shift the minds and hearts of millions of people – and people who are moved in the heart space are more willing to make behavior changes, and to support policies that match their values. Entertainment has the biggest mega phone. Celebrities (good, bad, right or wrong) really shape peoples perspectives. I believe we can make dope sexy content that moves the needle on the most pressing issues of our time. I’m about that. I’m about change that allows every single person to have a deep sense of belonging and the ability to THRIVE.

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

I had to unlearn that I was not worthy of love and success. Although a bit personal, its important, so I will share that I experienced childhood sexual abuse. It took my years to overstand the trauma that those experiences caused in my body, mind and spirit. And unfortunately I felt so much shame and confusion that I never shared what happened until I became an adult and was continuously making decisions that were not in my best interest. Through several conversations with dear friends, I started to see that complexity of what my life had become and that I needed to get into therapy to unwind and very unhealthy past. Once I began my healing journey, I was able to release feeling worthless and unloveable; I was able to transform the feeling that my worth was tied to what I was able to produce and monetize; I was able to be at peace in my body and learned to love myself, for the very first time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jloveglobal.com www.weinspirejustice.com
• Instagram: @jlovecalderon
• Facebook: @jlovecalderon
• Linkedin: JLove Calderon
• Twitter: n/a
• Youtube: n/a
• Yelp: n/a

Image Credits
Camilo Mandela Calderon