We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caleb Dade. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caleb below.

Caleb, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is the Black America/Black History Heroes series on my Caleb with Curls YouTube channel, which I started in February 2021.

During the Pandemic, there were a lot of terrible things that occurred on the news. There was a lot of anger and misunderstanding between Blacks and white leaders. There was confusion and hurt feelings. And then there seemed to be a general misunderstanding of what being Black in the United States of America means. Why we are just as important as other citizens and residents of our country. And how many struggles of Black people started at the beginning when our country started.

So I wanted to tell the stories of Black America, the story of Black History Heroes, which is really the story of American History and the many ways that Blacks have contributed to make our country great. It’s meaningful to me because I am proud to be born in the United States, and I am proud of being an African American. But I’m also proud of what other people have done to grow our country. And hopefully this makes people want to research about all the things that all sorts of people have done to bring us where we are today.

Caleb, 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?

My name is Caleb Dade, aka Caleb with Curls. I am a 10-year-old, mega personality who is here to educate, empower and entertain. I’m a kid actor, host, spokesperson, public health champion, YouTuber, homeschooler, and all around lover of life. I love meeting new people and learning new things. And I love helping brands and content creators bring their vision to life. I’m currently represented by Clear Talent Group based out of Los Angeles and Shamon-Freitas in San Diego.

My journey began 7 years ago, when I was three years old and asked my mom if I could have my own YouTube channel. She told me I could only do it if my channel was educational, and I would help other kids and families in some way. So, my mom, who is the founder, CEO, and principal strategist for CSD Marketing and Consulting, a digital marketing firm in San Diego, California, agreed to help me. And then my great-grandmother, grandmother, uncle, and cousins began to help as well.

My first series was learning about different museums and different occupations and interviewing the experts so kids and parents could learn about interesting people and places. My second series focused on 101 ways to live well, to be healthy, safe, and thriving. It was fun to interview local leaders and find out how they helped people to live well. I received a Public Health Champion Award from the County of San Diego for my efforts–the youngest ever to earn that prestigious award,

Because I research and help write my own scripts, type them, perform them on camera. and help select the music that accompanies them, I get credit for language arts, social studies, and sometimes science, depending on the subject. But most of all I have so much fun visiting different places and sharing with others the great people and cool stuff there is to learn about in our world.

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

I started my latest project on Black History Heroes over a year ago. At the time, my goal was to produce 28 videos about 28 heroes–one for every day in the month of February, which is Black History Month. That would mean that in the month of February, people could view one short video every day and learn about another Black history figure. And even if they heard of them before, maybe they learned something new about that person. The best part is when people add stories to my comment section. Then it’s like we’re all learning together.

So, that was my big goal. I lived in a multi-generation household. That means that on the property were me, my mom, her brother and his children, my cousins, their mother, my grandmother, and her mother, my great-grandmother. Nonnie. Nonnie was 93 years old when we started filming, but she had become more and more forgetful and weak. By the time we were shooting our videos, Nonnie could no longer get out of bed and move around or eat without help. And she needed someone to watch her around the clock. She was slowly dying.

But we kept creating videos. We moved our production into the room with her. And she became part of the process. Sometimes I’d say something that came out wrong, and she would correct me off camera from her bed. Then when we’d look at the footage, we would all laugh because my mom left Nonnie’s voice on film.

Unfortunately, Nonnie passed away in March. And because my mom, uncle and grandmother were splitting up the time to watch her around the clock, we didn’t meet our goal of 28 videos. And everyone was quite sad for many months. But we didn’t give up. We just slowed down. So we will continue to work towards achieving that goal of 28 videos. We might even make more that 28. But we will do it as we can, between mom running a family business, me completing my schoolwork (I made it to fifth grade–yeah!), and everyone taking care of themselves.

I’m proud that my family rallied together to help Nonnie have her best last days and we didn’t give up on telling the stories of America’s Black history heroes. The project means a lot to me, because my Nonnie was alive when some of the important events occurred, especially the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and it keeps her memory alive as well.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is that I can express myself in many ways–in film, in writing, in artwork, in song, in dance. And I can reflect on any number of topics–on traditional school subjects presented in nontraditional ways, on messages that promote health and wellness in fun and different ways, on cool places to visit and have fun with friends and family and meeting the people who make those places possible, and on real superheroes in American history that can teach us all how to work hard and keep moving forward through our struggles.

As an artist and a creative, I can add my personality, my sense of humor, my love of life, and love of people in the mix. I’m sharing a piece of myself. And the reward is that people listen and respond. They are kind, and proud, and happy, and outraged, and doubled over with laughter, and ready to take action. And yes, some don’t agree with me. But they are all thinking, reacting, and sometimes acting because of something that I produced. Kids even younger than I am are viewing my videos, and I was able to visit a preschool in Rancho Cucamonga, California to teach a class by introducing my videos in person and participating in activities with them. We had a blast together.

And that is most rewarding because I’m just a 10-year-old kid, for heaven’s sake! And when I think of the possibilities in another 10 years, my mind goes to the words of that famous cartoon figure who says, “To infinity and beyond!” That’s where I’m heading! And I’m taking some younger ones with me!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.calebwithcurls.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/calebwithcurls
• Facebook: facebook.com/calebwithcurls
• Linkedin: linkedin-company/calebwithcurls
• Twitter: twitter.com/calebwithcurls
• Youtube: youtube.com/calebwithcurls

Image Credits
Photos by Courtney S. Dade