Where have I been? In 2 years?
Grief. Grief is one of the most life-altering experiences a human can endure. Since my last post, I’ve faced two devastating losses—my mentor, The Reverend Dr. Shirlene Holmes, and my sister, best friend, and confidant, T’Shauna Henry. Losing them back-to-back has reshaped my world in ways I’m still trying to understand. T’Shauna was not only family—she was a vital partner to the company and a cornerstone of my life. You’ll learn more about her soon, because her impact deserves to be known. She and Dr. Holmes remain deeply woven into everything I do. Their presence is still here, guiding me.
So, what’s new? Last year in June, I gifted myself a trip to Los Angeles, saw family, met friends, and made lifelong connections. It turned out to be everything I needed it to be. I met a guy during the Biden and Agent Orange debate. We talked for 40 minutes during Joe Mwamba‘s WGA Mixer. See Resources for the link. I just happened to be there, all the way from Atlanta, on that day. I was at my main job’s corporate office in Santa Monica. I was visiting, eating cake, and talking with co-workers about the changes in the media and entertainment space. They had just let someone who had been there a long time go. A year later, on the same day, I was let go. More on that later. But, back to the story, I’m at the office and things are winding down. I check my phone and Yelena from the WGA Mixer posted about that Thursday’s mixer. It was so insane; I was there at the right time. The only other thing I had to do that day was see my sister Jaquetta Farrar. I also needed to see A Strange Loop, a play by Michael R. Jackson. This guy I ended up talking to is a producer and line producer named Jordan Michael. Jordan is a delight and a wonderful guy. I embarrassed myself talking to him, but then I asked to be his friend. He informed me he also almost attended the event as he had other plans. However, if not for us being there, we would not be in business today. Fast forward, I’m taking Jordan’s classes on producing, reading two books, So You Want to Be a Producer by Lawrence “Larry” Turman and Scheduling and Budgeting Your Film: A Panic-Free Guide by Paula Landry. After two courses, which I recommend and can refer you to him, he’s exceptional. I gained this opportunity to work with him on a budding feature. And because of an NDA, I must stop there. Stay tuned.
My Writers Room and I are making something stir in Mississippi, and God damn it, it’s going to be good. I created a group on the Organization of Black Screenwriters (OBS) once. It was called Atlanta FX and is still present in many forms. The group was named after Donald Glover’s Atlanta on FX. Duh. So, my team consisted of about 11 to 15 people. Of that, 4 of us made our own writers’ room. We did not want to wait for Hollywood to see us; we’ll make them come get us: Jacquetta Farrar, Livingston Steele, and Jacelyn Johnson. These folks have honestly been my rocks. I’m so happy to be working with them. We met on OBS five years ago. We’re still making things happen, but on our own accord. I can’t wait to share what happens next. We are now formed as the Black Lens and Pens, as selected by Jacquetta and Jacelyn, who’ve been instrumental in getting us further along. Our goals are to collaborate and function like a writers’ room and production incubator for our work and get it funded, supported, and produced. If I go, if they go, we all go.
I’m a free agent; currently, my role is Producer, making calls, sending out emails, and getting this film I’m working on staffed, funded, etc. It’s been fulfilling. I just recently had to leave a toxic living situation with my brother and dog. It was sad but freeing, as it was the end of an abusive relationship with our other roommate, his parents, and all around something to write about. It wasn’t always bad, but some moments really put into perspective that my brother and I weren’t all liked and cared for. Thankfully, my mother saw and witnessed the fiasco and helped us out. As my mentor and other mother, Dr. Holmes, would say, “Your mother is heroic; be sure to tell her that.” On top of that, we are in the process of buying a house. I had a realtor who ruined our working relationship. We were set to put an offer on a great house in Douglasville; we were getting the financing straight, but had to put some things off. She was on vacation. After she calls me, I sit in the bathroom, where I love to think. She calls back. Unbeknownst to her, she speaks disparagingly in a conversation with her friends. She breaches confidentiality by discussing proprietary information. Only the Realtor-Client privilege protects this information per our contract. She talks about my mother, my brother, and our situation, and her friends chime in laughing, and I feel my stomach turn. I text her while on the phone, “Did you mean to call me?” She texts, “No, I did not,” and hangs up.
This set off a chain of events where life gets a bit harder, but I get more determined. I break down and I call my mentor’s sister, her niece, and talk to my mother. We dissolve the situation and move on. Then, my business partner and my roommate had a disagreement. Really, it was one-sided and poor preparation on my roomie’s part. He sent an invoice via PayPal, and the money was pulled back. It appeared that my other partner wasn’t honored for his services in drafting us a budget and schedule. He loses his shit, bangs on tables, slams doors, and screams on the phone to a customer service representative about getting his money back. This sends my mother, who’s in town, and Dog into defensive mode and locks my door as they feel unsafe. I text him and he says he’s fine. But my mom was detailing to me how my Dog posted up at the door; she was searching for a weapon. It broke my heart because she saw how my roommate responds to stress. Then it came down to after a stressful period: Work, House Hunting, Losing a Realtor, Gaining a New One, Home Stuff, Moving, Eviction, and Landlord hell. Friday, June 27th, a year from when I was living it up in LA, I was let go from my job shortly before my eviction hearing on Zoom Court. It was heated; my roommate and his mom were on, our neighbors/fellow tenants, my brother, and the opposing party. Once I dropped the lawyer card, the opposing party and I could not talk anymore. I had to call my attorney, who was on vacation. She picks up and we beam her into the court via phone, and she takes my brother, roommate, and me on to help buy us time. Note, my mother is listening too; she doesn’t wait a bit. She makes a move to have us out of the house in a few days. She expressed how my roommate was treating her, how he disrespected us with a comment made to my brother and her, and she calculated our exit. We left the house 3 days after the hearing. My brother goes his way, I go mine with my dog and my mother, and we figure it out. My brother is taking necessary space, and we’re over here picking up the pieces after my losses. I then found out from a good friend that my roommate’s family was making disparaging remarks about us, which means that’s how he felt after we left, because he felt abandoned. What about how we lost a home we thought we were safe in, but really, we were never safe? We never had support. They lost the home due to foreclosure because they were not paying the taxes, admittedly, since 2009, per my friend’s comment, as she was on the phone with my roommate. His mother said, “Good riddance,” which, a few weeks prior, we had just discussed matters about the house, and he expressed that they were about to throw us out. This means, not paying property taxes, us paying them rent, they have a lease where they are not responsible for any repairs, and an invalid lease. For 5 years, we were paying rent (their own son, too, after 3 years, started paying rent), and they essentially scammed us.
In between all of this, I work as a proxy for Dr. Shirlene Holmes’ estate, where I’m tasked with organizing and preparing her work for publishing, production, and educational use. I told her that while she was here, I would continue to tell the story of her life. She expressed to me, “the one who lives the longest tells the story,” and that is my job to honor my mother, my teacher, mentor, and one of my greatest relationships that still serves me to this day. So, I’ve been in the process of shutting down operations at her home and taking a record of all existing intellectual property. In the last 2 years after her passing, we’ve had 4 tributes and two writers’ workshops in her name.
But we press onward. It is better to bend than to break. I am thankful for my support system, the new friends, and the ones I lost. The excitement lies in what’s next. I’m with a writers’ group consisting of Mercedes Augusta, Scott Sawitz, Nancy Frazen, Vicki Vodrey, Brandon North, Autumn Adams, and Jeremy Foote. My writers’ room with Jacquetta, Livingston, and Jacelyn, with the opportunities that lie ahead. My work with Jordan Michael and our producing team for our upcoming project. I look forward to the good things.
World Rumble 