Say It Loud: Black & Proud

The Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative and 91.3 WUKY present the third installment of the Kentucky Black Writers Series, SAY IT LOUD: BLACK & PROUD. This recurring live event and discussion is designed to showcase both prominent and emerging Black writers of the Commonwealth. Audio recordings are gathered and published by WUKY.

Enjoy readings by Eugenia Johnson-Smith, Venecia Proctor, Claudia Love Mair, and Lisa A. Brown. All readers are members of the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative and The Lexington Writer’s Room. Anonimuss Rose will perform live. The event is free and open to the public.

Eugenia Johnson-Smith is an author, coach, inspirational and motivational speaker, and the CEO of Positive Power LLC Training and Development. She empowers her clients to be a positive influence in the home, the community, and the world. She is a freelance writer who writes for Lextropolis Magazine where she received the 110% Award for stories. She hosts a monthly writing workshop, Writing from Stress to Peace, with the Woodford Co. Public Library. She enjoys encouraging writers and helping them to reach their goals as writers. Her book Positive Power 31 Devotions to help Unleash Your Positive Power is soon to be released.

Venecia Proctor enjoys reading/writing stories that analyze or reenvision society. From fall to spring, she teaches creative writing to young writers in the Fayette County School District. She is currently working on a novel that explores Black girl/ womanhood.

Claudia Love Mair is the author of 13 books, including Mourning Pages: Working Through Grief the Write Way, due to release in October of 2023. She holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University, and is the coordinator for the Carnegie Center’s Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative. Claudia Love lives with her daughter, and two cats, Batman and Gizmo, in Lexington, KY.

Lisa A. Brown is a Columnist at The Lextropolis and a Contributing Writer at Business Lexington. She is dedicated to covering issues pertinent to the Black community: systemic and institutional racism; workplace bias and trauma; racial profiling; and educational, health, and economical disparities. Brown is also a playwright that focuses on real life issues that individuals grapple with including broken relationships, terminal illnesses, and loss of hope.

Anonimuss Rose makes music, “for the people, period.” Her music is made not only to inspire people but to help channel their emotions and balance their chakras in everyday life. Anonimuss is influenced by the likes of Chaka Khan, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Roberta Flack, India Arie and others across different genres. Although Lauryn Hill is her number idol and the one she is most often compared to, she rightfully asserts her own identity.

SAY IT LOUD: BLACK & PROUD is sponsored by WUKY, Kentucky Arts Council, LexArts, SouthArts, Chethik Family Fund to Advance Black Writers, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG), Lexington Writer’s Room, Southland Printing, and Foundation 47.