We recently connected with Ada The Creator and have shared our conversation below.

Ada, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The seed was first planted in 2018 after the suicide of a close friend I met in college. Her passing dared myself and everyone who truly knew her to choose what sets our hearts free unapologetically. I made the first draft of my first book and it was different. I was yet to see that the draft was the beginning of setting my voice free, in such a way that I’m still not sure I can vocally. However, I was also afraid to disappoint my village, because my village like many others raised me to subjugate my being and voice. Because as a first generation daughter, granddaughter, generational cycle breaker… heavy is the head that wears the crown. Eventually I visited my village again after college, and much internal work. I was able to better understand the voice demanding to be heard and I created a platform. Every step towards where I am was a risk that came with costs but because I am finally listening to my voice, there is a boundary on that cost. Publishing the book and solidifying my voice costs communities, friends, jobs, publishers … but nothing compared to the risks that brought about my voice in the first place. I find courage in knowing that I just might convince someone else to choose their voice, to choose their freedom no matter what, and maybe stay with this thing we call life, just another day. The risks I took set the foundation for Ada The Creator.

Ada , 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?

Ada The Creator is a creative movement to push the boundaries of the norm where marginalized voices are concerned with emphasis on black femmes. I ventured this path after years of intersectional advocacy and witnessing the consequences of never unlearning subjugating ones voice especially with regards to systemic oppression. Who better to relay how to finds one’s voice if not someone who lost or never had it, being vulnerable about the process and cost to ground yourself in it. Ada The Creator aims to highlight raw marginalized creativity while teaching writing courses on how to truly set oneself free creatively. In addition we plan to start biweekly/monthly creative gigs with prices to help support new creatives and potentially help fulfill passion projects beyond personal goals. Ada The Creator started a project called “Your Story Is My Story Is Her Story” This project is focused on highlighting organizations and entities that fuel the oppression and disregard for marginalized groups and their voices. The purpose of this project is towards accountability and hope of collapsing overlapping systems of oppression.

We also have a variety of merchandise with contents ranging from protest, healing, spirituality, love… and so on. We hope to tap in to Afro inspired products soon and will share more as far as that is concerned.

There is an intentional goal here, a dream. Lots of passion projects and we are excited for how it all unfolds. Still manifesting that team that will help me get to the destination a lil bit more faster.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I was homeless, covid-19 caused my job to let go of over 200 folks, myself included, in and out of hotels with my dog and I put all my faith in publishers. How i got there? is a story for another day. I spent the previous months, finalizing my manuscript and sent it out to several publishers. They were responding with contracts, emails and there I was hoping the risk I took would pay off. Unfortunately for me none of the contracts came close to what I hoped for as far as creative rights or profit divide. Where I expected breakthrough I was met with a sort of test. I remember telling a publisher I had so much hopes for to give me time to decide yet within minutes I messaged them saying “I did not suffer the consequences of choosing my voice to be exploited by fufu white men.” Because I just knew even with my back against the wall, I would not be signing. I committed to self publishing even while clueless about the process. Within months and it wasn’t an easy months at all, I self published Sojourner A Poetry Memoir. I hope to be a better ally to creatives but this is testimony to my resilience where my creative freedom is concerned.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

For many creatives, our path is our vision alone. There are no established checkpoints like other careers. Nothing about our path is written in stone, we have to write our paths ourselves, hold faith and persevere even when the vision is invisible to others, especially then. A creative journey is lonely and could use all the community support, honesty, and upliftment available. For creatives reading this, I only have one message for you. Do not self sacrifice. Hold on to your vision, it is scared, important and necessary.

I would like to use this medium to shout out my editor in chief. Thank you for making this journey less lonely.

Covid-19 put the world in a very difficult place, myself included, in and out of hotels with my dog and I put all my faith in publishers. How I got there? is a story for another day. I spent the previous months, finalizing my manuscript and sent it out to several publishers. They were responding with contracts, emails and there I was hoping the risk I took would pay off. Unfortunately for me none of the contracts came close to what I hoped for as far as creative rights or profit divide. Where I expected breakthrough I was met with a sort of test. I remember telling a publisher I had so much hopes for to give me time to decide yet within minutes I messaged them saying “I did not suffer the consequences of choosing my voice to be exploited by fufu white men.” Because I just knew even with my back against the wall, I would not be signing. I found solace in the fact that they wanted my book at all and committed to self publishing; even while clueless about the process. Within months not-so easy months, I self published Sojourner A Poetry Memoir. I hope to be a better ally to creatives but this is testimony to my resilience where my creative freedom is concerned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.adathecreator.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/adathecreator_?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Adathecreator_?t=WYR_4IBvuj0kze_kkf82ew&s=09
• Other: SOJOURNER: A Poetry Memoir https://a.co/d/icfYC1I

Image Credits
Cover image: IG: @tm_roshii