- Just ahead on Black Issues Forum, we're exploring the diverse narratives that define the Black experience through publishing, authoring, and breaking into the world of literature.

Join us as we highlight the bold voices pushing boundaries and challenging the narratives traditionally shared about Black communities.

Two authors, two unique journeys, and an abundance of wisdom, creativity, and inspiration.

Don't miss this powerful conversation about the stories that shape our world coming up next, stay with us.

- [Announcer] Quality public television is made possible through the financial contributions of viewers like you who invite you to join them in supporting PBS NC.

[upbeat music] ♪ - Welcome to Black Issues Forum, I'm Kenia Thompson.

Today, we are diving into the powerful world of literature.

We're gonna discuss stories that educate, inspire and push boundaries of what we've come to expect from Black authors.

We're speaking with two amazing authors today, and our first guest is a trailblazer in children's literature using her words to empower the next generation with knowledge, and their rights and responsibilities.

She is the author of, "There Ought to Be a Law" and "My Favorite Future," both are children's books helping shape young minds.

Let's welcome author Portia Bright Pittman to the show.

- Thank you for having me.

- Of course, welcome, you know, share with us, the books number one, look great.

- Thank you so much.

- Right.

I know the audience didn't get to see the picture of "My Favorite Future," but that's what that looks like.

This is, "There Ought to be A Law."

Talk about the inspiration behind both of these pieces.

- Well, for me, you know, I was inspired by, you know, learning the journey as I was going through the legislative process in my job.

I had got hired at the North Carolina Legislature to work in the House of Representatives, and I knew absolutely nothing other than that it was the legislative branch of government.

But in terms of being enthralled into that experience and working with lawmakers, it was kind of like eye opening.

Like, oh my God, I really gotta take myself back to school.

So that way, you know, when I do get in a position to have to stand in for the person that I'm working for, I know what's going on.

So I did just that and, you know, through that process I actually, you know, came up with the book.

- Nice, and so was there a reason specifically that you... Well, besides your experience and your lack of knowledge, but in the children's community were you noticing gaps in knowledge as it pertained to law in particular?

- Yeah, for sure, you know, I don't remember a time, especially coming from rural Eastern North Carolina, you know, taking field trips to the State Capitol to learn about, you know, that process and how important it is.

It plays a vital role, not in just North Carolina, but globally, the legislative process.

And it works - [Kenia] Yeah.

- In our community is so important, you know, when it comes to getting vital resources or, you know, making policies that are gonna affect us all, it all takes place at the legislature.

And so, I wanted to make sure that not only I was learning the process, but I was also providing a tool for young people to have that experience as well, you know, across our state, as well as across the country.

You see a lot of things happening in the school system and a lot more young people advocating to lawmakers about things that are important to them, whether it be with school safety, or getting more resources, or teacher pay.

A lot of things are taking place in education and I wanted that tool to be there for people to, you know, access.

- Yeah, now, what age group do these books target?

- Well, you know what, I actually wrote that book for age group five and up.

But I'm telling you, I have met so many people that were beyond that age group - [Kenia] I'm sure.

- that said they learned so much from the book, it's also been endorsed by two former governors of North Carolina, Hunt, as well as former Governor Perdue, - [Kenia] Yes.

- Congressman Don Davis.

So many people have read the book and was just blown away by it.

And just stepping out on faith, I really didn't think it would go that far.

But I mean, again, you just never know what's gonna take place when you put God in the mix, for sure.

- Indeed, you know, like you mentioned, a lot of adults are probably gonna read this and be like, "Oh, I didn't know that."

- [Portia] Yeah.

- We've had so many episodes where we are educating viewers on, you know, law and policy.

How did you break down some of that complex understanding that we can't get sometimes for kids.

- Well, I wanted it to be very simple and something that they can actually relate to.

And as you see on the cover, I got no bullying or stop bullying, but that's a lot of that going on in the schools as well as in the adult world too, especially in the age of social media.

So I wanted to use that topic that people could relate to, to break down those complex aspects of how the legislative process works and kind of conduced it a little bit into 12 steps.

And I've actually outlined that in the book where you don't get lost and you can actually keep up with the process and go to the legislature and advocate.

- [Host] I love it.

I love it.

And it's so beautiful.

I mean, I don't know if we can show real quick, but the pages- - [Portia] Oh being inclusive was very important to me.

I wanted people of all races, backgrounds to feel like they could be a part of this, 'cause their voices do matter too.

Doesn't matter where you come from.

- [Host] Indeed.

- We're all electing lawmakers to go serve and work for us.

- You are right about that.

Later on we're gonna have another author who happens to also be a publisher on.

And so, but I'd love to hear your process of getting these into fruition into hand.

How was it?

Was it difficult?

What challenges did you face?

- Well, I think for me, starting off I really didn't know where to go.

I googled a few things.

I didn't have like a traditional publishing in my head.

I'm thinking a big publishing house is like gonna pick me up and all that kind of stuff.

But it didn't happen that way, but it happened the way that it was.

So I became a self-published author.

I had to overcome the barrier of not having enough finances, 'cause you know, having an illustrator is important- - [Host] Especially the kids book, right?

- Yeah, for kids books, they're very important and they're expensive too.

And so pulling some resources with family and talking to them about what I wanted to do and they saw the vision and began investing into that.

Also brought on my co-author, who is Dr. Calvin Mercer, he's a professor at East Carolina University, he has wrote so many scholarly books and things like that, and so I really had to convince him because he has never thought, when publishing books, he has never thought on a kid's level.

- Right.

- For publishing.

And so he came on and did a lot of the editing for me, which cut a lot of the costs.

So really it was talking to people about what I'm trying to do and really them seeing the vision and being willing to support me in publishing, for sure.

- Have you ever thought about doing, I could see doing adult versions of both of these books, honestly, because we have adults who are like, "You know what?

I'm not doing the thing that I wanna do."

We got adults who we've talked, don't quite know the law.

- [Portia] Yeah, for sure.

- Have you thought about doing that?

- Well, I have not actually, but I did write another book, "Keys to Successfully Changing Your Life."

I actually have a nonprofit where I help folks who are transitioning back into society and maybe need help with getting a job.

Or maybe they've already been in society and they need help with cleaning their criminal background because there's a lot of people out there that have that issue and can't get a job, can't get a house, maybe it's getting into college or whatever that case may be.

And so I've been doing that, trying to play my part.

I don't know where God's gonna take me next, but I try to focus on one avenue and not try to get overwhelmed in all of my goals, 'cause I can really start going.

I mean, I'm really ready to go to space in my head, but I try to compartmentalize everything that I want to do and try to work on the things that are important.

- Nice.

So we don't know where God is taking you, but where do you wanna be taken next?

- Of course, I would love to get into animation and taking these books and bringing 'em to life, bringing the characters to life.

In 2025, I'm actually gonna be releasing my next title, which is called "Cool Daddy in the Magic Shades".

- [Host] I love it.

- And so I'm excited where that is actually gonna go.

But that is my ultimate goal and continue to give away scholarships to kids as well.

I do that through my nonprofit as well, to send them to after school programs.

That way they're not on the streets or getting into things that could really take them off the path of success and creating some bad opportunities for themselves in this moment.

So I try to do what I can in the educational space to really be a beacon of hope to those who need it the most.

- Good.

Well, these are both great Christmas gifts.

- [Portia] Yes, they are.

- So how can our viewers find them if they'd like to purchase?

- Well, they can pick 'em up at any favorite retailer that they have.

Barnes and Nobles, Amazon.

- [Host] Amazon.

- They can also go to brightbooks.org to pick up the books.

Also, I'm given buy one get one free right now.

- [Host] Nice.

- There's actually activity books to both of those books.

There's a coloring book that has very inspiring words of affirmation that kids can chant every day.

Coloring seems to be a very therapeutic space that you can go into and feel like the world isn't as problematic when you're coloring.

- Yeah.

- And so I'm excited about that and I'm hoping the viewers will pick it up and get that buy one free deal.

- Good.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it's also in Spanish.

- Yes, it is also in Spanish, which is so important to me because I actually had some best friends who were Hispanic and they were actually dreamers, so they weren't necessarily citizens at the moment, but they, you know, were so engaged with their education that they, you know, worked their way to becoming citizens.

But there are so many people that are coming to our country illegally, they don't know what's going on.

All they're trying to do is find a better, you know, future for themselves, for their kids.

And so I want them to understand what our country is all about and how they can actually, you know, become a citizen, you know, the right way through the right path, but also have a tool to show them and educate them about that process as well.

And I think this would actually do that.

- That's great.

Well, Portia Bright Pittman, thank you so much.

- Thank you for having me.

- I'm grateful for these books and I think our audience will be too.

- I appreciate that, thank you.

- Good luck on your next ventures.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

Well, before we introduce our next author, let's take a step into the warm glow of the season with this week's small business feature.

They are lighting up the holidays with more than just candles.

From soothing diffusers to uplifting room sprays, this brand creates moments of calm, connection, and self-care.

Whether you're gifting or indulging yourself, discover how they blend the perfect fragrances to fill your home with holiday magic and heartwarming memories.

Take a look.

[cheerful music] - My name is Alana Gilbert and I am the CEO and founder of Mind Body & Scents.

We're a designer home fragrance company.

My son actually came up with the name.

The concept came from stress.

I was literally in a relationship and I didn't get a two-week notice I was getting dumped.

So when I got dumped at lunch, I had to recuperate and find myself.

And with that, I actually poured myself into candle making.

Candle making is actually a science.

The process is a lot of measurements, it's a lot of do-overs, it's a lot of mess up.

We offer a wide range of scents that go from sandalwood and peach all the way to dark musk and bergamot.

We have a sweet essential, also that earthy musk.

The products that we offer are candles, reed diffusers, and room sprays.

And we're super excited to offer wax melts and car diffusers by the end of the year.

[cheerful music] For the holidays, we always try to just hone in on those scents that's more nostalgic.

So we have sugar cookies and cinnamon.

We have a cranberry prosecco.

We also have a cedarwood and pine for individuals like me that's not gonna take a tree from outside and bring it in the house.

And we also have a hot chocolate and vanilla, and for just sales and all the deals, we're gonna give away gift cards, well more so store credit with purchases over a $100, $150, and $200, free shipping on all orders.

[cheerful music] As a black-owned business that's also a woman-owned business, I love my people.

When I say they show up, that's like the joy.

Just talking to other women in the community that look like me and they're sharing their experiences with candles in general, and even more so how my candles have just made their day, just made their life even more pleasant, I love that.

That's like the joy, and that's really what keeps me going when I feel low.

[cheerful music] Currently we're looking at more corporate contracts and just going through that process.

So you're gonna see us in big box stores.

Thankfully we sell very heavily out of The Brown Sugar Collab in Charlotte, and we just have this new relationship with McCormick and Creations here in Crabtree Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina.

But just to scale it, we're just looking at big box far as Lowe's, possibly Target, and just the bigger brands on a national scale.

[cheerful music] We also offer candle making classes.

So we can do a mobile in your home, in your office, at your team building space, at your job site.

We also do host candle making classes here at McCormick and Creations in Crabtree, and we also do candle making classes in Charlotte, North Carolina at The Brown Sugar Collab.

So we are mobile and we also do, you could come to us at those two locations.

[cheerful music] You can find us in person at The Brown Sugar Collab in Charlotte, the Durham Co-op Market in Durham, two places here in Raleigh, Nashona's on Hargett Street, and actually in Crabtree Mall at McCormick and Creations.

Also, definitely check out our website, mindbodyandscents.com.

- I could smell those fragrances coming through the camera.

Well, we've just explored how children's literature can educate and empower, and now we're diving even deeper into the world of storytelling with a guest who's making waves as both an author, and a publisher.

Our next guest is a publisher, and author, just said that, a New York best time seller, and from his award-winning books like "Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek", to his work championing other authors, Kwame, is shaping the literary landscape, one powerful story at a time.

Let's welcome to the show Kwame Mbalia, welcome.

- Thank you so much for having me, I appreciate it.

- Of course, of course.

So we saw that cover image, but we didn't see how big this book is.

I love it.

I love a good big book.

So this is great.

Tell us about Jax.

Who is he?

How'd you come up with Jax?

- Jax is my ode to black joy, right?

He is almost six feet tall.

He is almost 200 pounds.

He played offensive lineman for his middle school football team.

But more importantly, he is a goofball.

He is silly.

He is infatuated with meatball subs.

He is everything that you don't think about when you see a six foot tall, 200 pound black boy on the street walking towards you.

And I wanted to write a book that celebrated that, that fact that he can be more than just what you see, and discarding all of these preconceived notions, and just be a kid going on an adventure, making friends in a new place, in a new school, like so many other kids go through.

- Oh, I love that.

I love that.

Having kids that are about to tower over me, especially a black boy, I love that idea.

I will say though, he has a slight resemblance.

Your faces are a little bit similar.

The nose looks the same.

Did you...?

- Well, listen.

You know, do I, you know, pay the cover artist?

No, I don't.

No.

But you know, if they wanna feel inspired by my striking visage, I can't say no to that.

- You can't say no to that.

No.

So your themes often explore identity and heritage.

Talk about the importance of seeing that on pages for young, black, and brown kids.

- Well, I mean, that's how I grew up.

I don't know anything different than celebrating identity, embracing heritage, whether it's family, whether it's cultural or what have you, community heritage as well.

It's incredibly important to me.

Those are the values that were instilled in me by my parents.

And so when I'm writing my books like Jax, like a "Tristan", like "Last Gate of the Emperor", it's super important for me to encourage young people to research their own history, their own family lineage, create their own family memories, and family stories, and family trees, when we, you know, as a community, have been sometimes encouraged not to do so.

- Yeah.

- And so I think it's just incredibly important for us as the new adult generation, which is still, - That's crazy to say, right?

- silly to think about to me.

Like we responsible, oh my gosh.

It's incredibly, you know, important for me to encourage young people to, "Hey, hey, sit down and talk to your family, to your parents, learn their stories.

Find your community elders, learn their stories because the way that they raise you helps to shape your identity, and that you can go off and explore on your own, and figure out who you were meant to be within that."

- Oh, I love that.

I love that.

You know, we talked about, I guess the identity behind Jax, but what is your creative process like?

And just talking to you during mic check and you telling us about your morning, you are extremely creative in how you just put your words together.

So like do the ideas just come in the middle of the night, and you just start writing?

What does it look like for you?

- I have.

Okay.

I have legal pads stashed everywhere in my house.

Sticky notes, you know, post-it notes everywhere in my house.

And I get that from my mother, who was also a writer.

- Oh, nice.

- And a English professor.

- That makes sense.

- I saw her up early in the morning before she would take us to school, scribbling, you know, her ideas and thoughts down.

And then, you know, on the weekend when she had time, you know, consolidating them into what would become her stories that then she would write, and often self-publish.

- Yeah.

- And so for me, creativity doesn't have a schedule.

You know, when the muse calls, you pick up the phone or risk missing that opportunity for an idea.

So sometimes I'm soapy eyed with a towel wrapped around me, scribbling in fog in the bathroom mirror, which, you know, my wife hates.

But it's so important for me to write down those ideas.

And when I'm talking to young people, aspiring writers, that's what I tell them.

Like, "Listen, you know, you never know when creativity is going to start flowing, and you need to be ready to receive it at any given moment."

- Yeah.

- So, you said when you talk to young folks about writing, is that something that you do?

Do you have workshops?

- Oh, I love that.

- Yes, I do.

I do a lot of school visits.

- So I'll go talk about a Jax or a Tristan.

You know, we'll talk about storytelling.

And then, inevitably, what'll happen is, someone, a young person who, you know, was a little too shy to ask questions during the Q&A period will come up afterwards, when I'm signing books, and be like, "I have a question.

I wanna be a writer.

I want to be an illustrator.

You know, can you gimme some advice?"

And, I always tell them, you know, find out what they're interested in, writing, obviously, but also find a community, 'cause writing is such a solitary career.

I'm just a little hobbit, [Kenia laughs] goblin in my cave typing away.

And then this, I get to come out and, you know, occasionally talk with other adults about it.

But, primarily I'm by myself.

So finding a writing community is so important.

Because, they will push you when you are, like, ready to quit and stop.

- Yeah.

Nice.

Well, you are also a publisher, so talk to us about why you went from being an author to saying, "Okay, I also need to create a publishing entity."

What was the catalyst to that?

- Can I be honest, Kenia?

- [Kenia] Yes.

- It's because I don't know how to say "no."

- [Kenia] Yeah, I got that problem, too.

I learned about a book that I was looking forward to that I hadn't known had released.

And, I was like, "Why hasn't no one told me about this?"

So I started a newsletter "Black by Popular Demand," that talks about every book by black, not every book, but books by black authors that release every week.

And, that wasn't enough.

I was like, "We need to do more to celebrate and uplift, you know, black voices in writing."

And so, Disney had approached me earlier to, would I be interested in working with them and launching an imprint?

And, we started talking and discussing what that would look like.

It would be middle grades celebrating black joy and black resilience are two of our main tenets.

And, at the end of the day, you know, it just, I want to do everything that I can to not even send the ladder back down for other writers.

I want to send elevators and lifts and pterodactyls, maybe, I don't know, hot air balloons.

I wanna send as many vehicles as possible to help bring more writers to the forefront.

- [Kenia] Yeah.

- And so Freedom Fire is incredibly important.

I think it's the first step in many.

I can't wait to see what we do.

We just finished our first year, 2024.

2025 is on the horizon.

And, I'm just really excited - to see what's next for us.

- What's next.

- And, speaking of what's next, you know, we've seen a lot of book banning, we've seen a lot of DEI efforts being taken away now.

What do you foresee being next as black stories and narratives are being pushed into a black hole?

Do you see us pushing past that?

[Kenia laughs] - What's fascinating about this and that question is that this is not new - for black stories.

- No.

True.

- Right?

- True.

- We had to form black, you know, independent bookstores to sell our books in the first place.

My father, you know, would had to, you know, he would sell other people's books out of his trunks when he would go from festival to festival, you know, as a vendor, which so many other self-published authors have had to do.

So it's not like the traditional publishing has always been kind and receptive to our stories, right?

This is familiar territory.

What's new now is it's happening across the board to a lot of different other marginalized groups, right?

And so, for us, the solution is to do what we've always done, which is to, we establish and found our communities, whether it's a starting an imprint, whether it's, you know, self-publishing our own books, whether it's, you know, networking, whether it's the Black Bookstore Coalition who has recently started putting out their own monthly bestsellers list for books that come out so that they can report, like, "Hey, these are the books that are selling within our bookstores that are popular."

You know, Jax and Tristan have all made that list, as well, and should be celebrated just like the "New York Times," or the "USA Today" bestsellers lists.

So we do what we've always done, which is we band together as a community.

And, this time we have a few more people under our wing, right?

But a rising tide lifts all boats.

The beautiful thing about readers is that they're not selective per publishing house.

They want a good book.

And so, if we can celebrate and promote and uplift good books as a community, everyone wins.

- Few minutes here, maybe two.

Someone's wanting to write a book.

How do they start?

- Sit down in front of the computer and write the book.

Everything after that does not matter.

You can't, you know, sell the book until you write the book.

Write the best book that you can, and then have someone read it, put it away, come back to it, revise.

It's not trash, you just have to work on it.

Edit it.

Create the best book that you possibly can.

Everything after that will fall into place, but nothing else matters until you sit down and write the book.

- Yeah, and, you know, immerse yourself in the writing community too, I would imagine.

Just like with anything else, if you are around like-minded people, the connections will come.

- You'll share resources, you'll promote each other.

You'll do joint events.

It all happens, But you can't go there without a book.

- Without a book, you're right.

And I know that there are a bunch of folks who are watching that would love to also put this under a tree or stocking.

Where can they find this?

- You can find "Jax Freeman in the Phantom Shriek" at your local independent bookstore.

What I love about them, yes, you can get it off of Amazon, you can get it at Barnes & Noble as well.

And I do sign books at Barnes & Noble, but if you go and support your local independent bookstore, like a Page 158 Books here in Wake Forest or Quail Ridge in Raleigh, if you do that, they're the ones who are bringing me into schools to do school visits, to talk to young people, to celebrate reading, writing, literacy, and everything Black joy.

- Great, well, thank you.

Kwame.

Thank you so much.

"Jax Freeman in the Phantom Shriek."

Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

- And we thank you for watching.

If you want more content like this, we invite you to engage with us on Instagram using the #BlackIssuesForum.

You can also find our full episodes on pbsnc.org/blackissuesforum and on the PBS video app.

I'm Kenia Thompson, I'll see you next time.

[upbeat music] [upbeat music continues] [upbeat music continues] - [Announcer] Quality public television is made possible through the financial contributions of viewers like you who invite you to join them in supporting PBS NC.