Meet the Black Lens & Pens Writers Group

An independent writer’s room where there is no waiting for someone to give us an opportunity. We, instead, make our own.

Meet Jacquetta Farrar

Jacquetta hails from Newark, New Jersey, with the intent and mission to amplify Black voices in film, theater, and TV. She holds a BBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, an MBA from Rutgers University, Certification of Acting from the Art of Acting Studio and MA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is very well-decorated, even having founded a nonprofit, Dismantling Daughters. The organization is committed to supporting women of color through transitional and pivotal moments in their lives. To learn more about how you can support or even get the help you need, check it out here.

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Her accomplishments go beyond that as well, she’s repped and managed by The Option Agency and by Simmons and Scott Management. She is a bi-coastal based talent who has impeccable comedic timing, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Angela Bassett’s dramatic presence, and a love for visual arts. In fact, she landed in the Bay Area to work out and perform with the African-American Shakespeare Company. She has come a long way and is determined to show up, show out, and act up! Her journey across the country to the west has been one of endurance, perseverance, and success. When I met Jacquetta, it was via the Organization of Black Screenwriters when she had joined my group, “ATLANTA FX.” This wonderful Black woman is adamant about her successes, and it’s only up from there.

She’s got her hands in a few different things, but the honor and credit go to her for forming this little collective, with input from the team, to form The Black Lens and Pens Writers Group. There is a group that has done something like this before, Damn Write Originals. Jacquetta is business-minded, artistically sound, and a manifest generator. She makes it happen, and it has no choice but to happen. When she walks into a room, you already know what it is. As a Scorpio Queen, being perceived is hard, but as a Leo moon and Cancer rising, she must be SEEN, HEARD, and RESPECTED. In fact, it’s wonderfully refreshing that people revere her upon meeting her. As you should! Her network and resources are a large part of her arsenal as a creative professional. She’s got the producer mindset, legal environment of business, negotiation, and leadership qualities. All of these and more, just to balance with creative expression. She’s unstoppable.

Jacquetta’s writing has a style of high art meets high drama. You’re going to get sophisticated and imperfectly perfect characters who transform through what they go through. Stories like Micah & Morgan, Skin Deep, The Poet and The Muse are among some of her extensive bodies of work detailing Black people and diverse, colorful casts, and a powerful stories. It is as if you were watching a beautiful canvas painted with words.

Meet Jacelyn P. Johnson

Jacelyn comes from the Minneapolis, MN area, with a foothold in Los Angeles and international markets. She’s a writer, director, actress, manager, singer, and businesswoman. Her work speaks for itself. She balances multiple hats and has accomplished a great deal—and she’s not done. She holds a degree in Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft from Alabama State University. She is the CEO and Executive Director of JahPenée Productions, having been formed 13 years ago, and has made so much success. She manages Afrofusion and Amapiano artists too: THATBOYBERI and ANJYBEY.

Jacelyn also serves on several boards and organization committees, such as: Minnesota’s Women and Film in Television, The Walker West Academy Board, Minnesota Film & TV Board of Directors, and a music label. She also owns and operates 42Music Label & Publishing. Her work in the Minnesota landscape has given more than 200 jobs in the business and continues to make strides in ushering a space for creatives of culture in the industry.

When I met Jacelyn, it was via the ATLANTA FX group on OBS. She was the very first member of the group I got to work with. She has written some incredible pieces, award-winning pieces that convey the magic, mysticism, and spirit of Black and Indigenous women. Her work, to name a few, is RAIN, FETISH, and Buried Rich. These are only a sample of what she has to offer; her body of work includes not only written pieces but also artwork, poetry, and music. Her work feels like poetry in motion, cascading along the page with some edginess to it.

You can stream BERI’s work and ANJYBEY’s on Spotify and all platforms associated.

Meet Livingston Steele

Livingston was born and raised in the Brick City, Newark, NJ. His degree comes straight out of the University of New Haven with a Bachelor’s in Music Business and a minor in TV & Film. Liv is a man of action, and his creative thought process is meticulous and vast. His written work, The Theory of Brick City Music is a masterpiece coming from his own heart and mind about artists in his town. An anthology about creatives struggling, succeeding, and going through the artist’s way. It was formed out of The Brick City Jam.

Livingston also runs Artillery Creative Cannon. A boutique creative production agency that serves creative professionals. It creates content, marketing materials, and brand advertising for your needs.

In addition to being a producer, writer, and director, Livingston is an actor and model. Represented by State Management. He made his acting debut in a short film called Savior by Charles Marinaro. He then went on to do off-Broadway theater shows and appear in other films.

Livingston writes with precision and a concrete resolve to his characters. There is a science, and he breaks it down. Meanwhile, his characters are breaking down just to be built back up. I met Livingston as one of the earliest members of ATLANTA FX on OBS, like Jacelyn. He and Jacquetta came up in the art scene in Newark. He’s the reason she came to be part of the group and organization at-large. Livingston is also a social media community manager at Understood. The work he does intersects across all his media. He knows how to market his projects, his community engagements, and his business as leverage for the next thing.

Meet Michael Adedeji

You can read more about me on the About Creator page.

Check out the Affiliates Page for links to the team’s socials. If you’re interested in their services or their consultation, please reach out. If you’re interested in working with Black Lens and Pens, email me.

Affiliates