Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Makhia Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Makhia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with inspirations and heroes. Are there any historical figures you look up to?

Alice Walker has been a large inspiration for me. As a young girl, I was heavily intrigued by The Color Purple and its structuring. The daringness of Walker to create something so raw and real; at a time when such thoughts were frowned upon, revolutionized my understanding of what it meant to be an activist. I had never seen a book structured like The Color Purple, had always thought that narratives had to follow a long clear line of endlessly paragraphs. I didn’t know before touching The Color Purple that a story could look like mine. Walker created space for my young mind to challenge the conventional narratives surrounding me about who I was and would grow to be. Due to this challenge, I was able to grow and form opinions that I previously lacked access to.

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Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started writing during middle school as a way to cope and face the trauma I was experiencing. Before that period I was the student that teachers hadn’t believed in, that was placed in timeout and sent to the office repeatedly for my eccentric behavior. I had experienced so much hardship in such a small amount of time and because I thought my life was meaningless, I made effort to take my own life. However, this hardship was all a part of my purpose. I entered high school with a book filled with poetry and I continued to write whenever my emotions began to get the best of me. I began finding ways to serve my community and be there for other youth, as someone had been there for me. I joined the Shelby County Youth Council and served on the Mental and Physical Health Committee. I also joined Bridge Builders Change and launched a startup for-profit social venture with the help of LITE Memphis. My greatest achievement was winning first place in two creative writing competitions, as well as receiving a creative writing scholarship from my school. To go from being the child that no one believed in “who couldn’t spell” “who couldn’t read” “who came from a single mother” and “who grow up in the hood” to breaking that stereotype and receiving such honors showed me I could do the impossible. I wholeheartedly believe in my coined term “Betraying the inevitable, by doing the impossible.” The most beautiful part of this story is that this is only the beginning.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2021 I entered the Walgreens Expression Challenge with a spoken word entry and was chosen as a finalist. However, I didn’t make it to the top three winners. When the season for entering the competition came back around in 2022, I decided that I wasn’t going to enter the competition since I hadn’t won the last time. However, right before the deadline I had a mentor offer some very insightful words on not giving up because it didn’t work out the first time, “To try. Try. And Try again.” I set down and in about an hour I got my heart onto my paper, which I then typed up, edited, and submitted. Weeks later I received a call that I was chosen as one of the top finalist. I went into the award ceremony expecting to get 2nd or 3rd place. When they called my name for 1st place, I realized why people argued that “Never give up” shouldn’t be seen as a cliche statement. I considered this a pivot, because I not only learned the valuable lesson of trying again, but my mindset also shifted concerning the belief I placed in my writing abilities. In order to change your path, you have to change your mind; or your doomed to repeat the same mistakes. (I believe this can also be interpreted as resilience)

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am driven to consistently create because I use my artistic abilities to bring awareness to this issues I see plaguing my community. I believe in the power of intentional words in brining about change. Through lyrical rhetoric great wordsmith’s have been able to open their mouths and change the social climate of the world. I want to challenge the stereotypical arguments about the eccentric and unconventional. To create space for marginalized voices, who are the vocal point for social change and awareness. To challenge the political and social climate of America regarding the view of LGBTIA+ Individuals, Abortion Rights, the treatment and history of BIPOC, and various other controversial topics. By brining awareness to the history of these issues I hope to create space for more meaningful debate concerning the issues.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Statement_of_silence

Image Credits
Jacob Kim Walgreen Expression Challenge