Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Wade.
Hi Erika, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Where I come from, we tell stories at family functions. We talk so loud we call the neighbors over. There never needs to be an occasion for us to get together, and when we get together, you can expect to hear the most colorful stories ever: an eccentric uncle’s rendition of a ghost story he heard in Vietnam, or the “wild child” cousin proudly taking us through their first time on an airplane, and especially an elder reminding us to prepare a place at the table for the ancestors when we gather for dinner. These are the tales the history books will always omit. I come from a family of dynamic characters and storytellers. So, to say I earned it honestly is an understatement. I fell in love with writing by falling in love with characters. When I read a story, my mind first connects to the players. Who are these people we’re expected to care about? Who are these folks we’re required to be more vulnerable with than our own friends and families? Let’s face it; you will probably talk to Iyanla Vanzant through the TV before you would in real life. Writers have the beautiful ability to reach through the distance of time and space to connect with people in real ways. Our characters are our opportunities to reach and represent the people who consume our content.
Unfortunately, not everyone gets a chance to see themselves in the characters we see on TV. I grew up yearning for intersectional and authentic representation. I’m a 90’s baby, so I can’t lie and say there were no Black people on TV. However, a lot of the characters I saw weren’t created by Black folks, so sometimes their storylines felt like things Black folks were “supposed” to identify with and not ones we were compelled to fall in love with. At an early age, I decided I wanted to write, but it took me a lot longer to realize I could do more than write pages. I can create innovative platforms and open doors for a new class of creatives that make sure our stories are authentic and healing for our communities. Now my family tells new stories at functions. They might come over Zoom calls, and they might now include elaborate retellings of a niece who flew to California with two suitcases and a dream but made a television show they can all be a part of. Still, everything is the same. Representation really does matter, and I want to be a part of the class that makes sure we do something to change the way things have always been done into the way things ought to be done.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a Black woman creative comes with a set of built in challenges and struggles. For a long time, I went by a pen-name, E.E. Wade. It’s androgynous and more importantly, seemingly devoid of any racial codes. How sad is that? I felt I had to strip myself of my intersectionality just to get on shelves. My content has always been loudly and proudly Black, but hiding behind a veil made it easier for me to get into rooms. Well, until I realized I didn’t want to be in any room that I didn’t allow me to safe space to be myself. Imagining 2020 as a life-changing year sounds strange as hell considering the landfalls we’ve faced as a people, but that’s exactly what it was for me. This year made me uncomfortable. It pushed me to create changes in my personal life that then trickled into my creative world.
Despite me standing all up in my own way, I created a live web series called The Juke Joint Live that airs biweekly and is completely produced for and by BIPOC. We tell the hard stories. We kept it real and comment on the Black experience in real-time. The Juke Joint is my proudest moment. To me, it represents breaking free from the influence of others, being the master of my own fate, and finally feeling free to create content that touches people on a healing level. Apart from creating the show, writing is such a small part of my involvement in the show. I serve as the Creative Director and leader of a team that grew from 2 and some change to a versatile team of support, production, talent, and crew. Every day I feel as though I could fall on my face, but knowing there’s a tribe of people to catch me makes it worth overcoming the fear.
As you know, we’re big fans of Glenda’s Baby Productions. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Glenda’s Baby Productions was created to give emerging and talent that represent disenfranchised voices a real platform to create content that heals others. Yes; everything we do is to open doors and prioritize talent from underrepresented communities, but in our studios, you can expect to find a team that resembles the world today. The more inclusion and diversity, the realer the stories. We make it our business to lead with authenticity and joy. Right now, The Juke Joint Live, Juke Jam, and Juneteenth Juke Joint are our biggest productions to date. We’ve made digital event planning and hosting look like a breeze. The Juke Joint brand began as a Juneteenth Zoom party to raise money for BLM bail funds and blossomed into a stream of shows, spinoffs, and events that amplify Black voices.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I think we all get a little lucky. My definition of luck is the combination of hard work and some magick from the universe. With that being said, I’m a pretty lucky woman! Being in quarantine was devastating, but it opened my eyes to time and reality in ways I don’t think would be possible without a little bit of luck. It was a little lucky I made meaningful connections in college that would come back into my creative and professional life later. We all need a little luck, but hard work can never be replaced.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.eewade.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wade__show/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jukejointlive
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOO-O8tdBrpR8BUI7zRXPUw
Image Credits:
Andrés Poch (Juke Joint promotional images) Griggs Designs, LLC (Glenda’s Baby image)
