Today we’d like to introduce you to Cherelle Yarbrough.
Hi Cherelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Cherelle Yarbrough. I am a spiritual being, a mother, a visionary, a creator, an author, an IT professional and a Kemetic Yogi in training with a passion to change society’s negative perception of our young black girls. Five years ago, an unexpected turn of life events sent me into a suspended state of depression, isolation and anxiety, leaving me to raise my three young girls alone. Through turmoil and countless obstacles, I put on a smile to ease the minds of those close to me while secretly harvesting the fear of the harsh reality of how do I navigate through this world alone raising three small young girls. Throughout those trying times, I didn’t realize that what some would have considered to be the perfect recipe for a mental breakdown was actually the driving force to catapult my misery into a mission.
One night while resting in the dark, I wholeheartedly asked myself a series of questions:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What is my purpose?
Where am I going?
After asking those questions, the universal laws applied itself and the road to self-discovery begin. I soon became drawn to wanting to know the truth about myself as a person, a human, and a woman. I wanted to know the truth about my ancestors and the meaning of life itself. Then an interest in Ancient African studies, Kemetic science, and mediation was heavily ignited. I begin to indulge myself in lectures, teachings and textbooks from various brilliant Black scholars. I was so intrigued with this newfound knowledge that it lead me to my next question of how can I be a vessel to disseminate this information to our youth. It was in this very moment that my eyes seemed to have truly opened for the first time in life. Gaining a sense of identity, self-knowledge and self-revelation helped me realize how crucial it was to teach my daughters to know thyself and what it means to have a true sense of identity.
Answers continued to take form after receiving a surprise phone call from my brother Amari Yarbrough (an English Writing/Fiction college grad, former competitive figure skater, and author) stating he had an idea for a children’s story or potential animated series. Our conversation put topics such as the lack of black female superhero representation into perspective and why representation in this form is subconsciously powerful for our children to see. He referenced a picture I sent him of my daughters posing for their preschool graduation which sparked the idea of a storyline to transform them into powerful cosmically charged sheroes named “The Elle Rays”. We talked on the phone for hours about similar ideas we both had and it was after that phone call that we came up with a concept for an early reader picture book series. Inspired by my daughters, the series would feature three young African-American sisters Arielle, Brielle & Lilielle Ray as main protagonists to serve as a visual representation for an alternative narrative on young female action and adventure but to also change the stereotypical narrative of young black girls.
In 2019 my brother and I co-wrote and published the first book in less than 7 months and finished Book 2 several months thereafter. Book 3 is underway which will complete the first trilogy series. Concepts, new characters, and storylines are currently in the works for the second trilogy series as we also continue to work towards the goal of transforming the series onto the screen to bring the story to life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The process definitely was not smooth. In my excitement to begin this project plenty of doubt clouded my mind considering I was now a single mom, my home was facing foreclosure, I was working nonstop to make ends meet and on top of that I had never written a book, let alone a series. Many discouraging questions went through my mind that easily opened the door of false evidence appearing real. When my brother presented this idea to me, the first statement he made was, I know you’re a private person, would you feel comfortable with putting yourself and possibly the girls out there with them being the inspiration behind it. This was a tough question because I honestly didn’t think about the level of transparency that it would require.
Not having any social media at that time, I had to overcome the detrimental thought of actually caring about what people may think about me. After careful thought, I told my brother you know what, let’s make this story. I felt bold about moving forward with it because I knew this project was bigger than me. I knew in my spirit that I was on an assignment to do this for the culture and because it was really the answer to one of my questions which was how can I share the knowledge I’ve gained about self-discovery.
While in preparation for marketing Book 1 with going the traditional route for printing, launch party, book fairs, school visits, in-person readings, etc. covid hits and everything shuts down, including our plans. This was a major setback because I was absolutely clueless on how to navigate using social media. The illustrator was highly impacted by the pandemic which set the anticipated launch timeframe for book 2 back. The journey was not and still is not smooth and can be uncomfortable at times. But I feel that sometimes only through adversity comes real change, so getting out of your comfort zone is what actually gives you that push to try harder.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m known for my resilience, hard work, and dedication so with that foundation I’m always trying to figure out creative and innovative ways to market The Elle Rays book series. My primary focus is to connect with positive platforms to raise awareness about the psychological importance of conditioning black and brown girls to see the true power within themselves and not just through a Eurocentric viewpoint. With The Elle Rays book series showcasing these three young black girls as brave, heroic, powerful supernatural beings that are fearless yet possessing the very common human trait of vulnerability, I truly believe I am on the right path to crushing the negative preconceptions of our young black girls by continuing to write our own narrative.
How do you think about luck?
When you clearly define “luck”, luck is by chance. So when I look at the “unexpected” turn of events that has taken place in my life leading up to this very moment in time, I honestly can’t say that luck had anything to do with it. I believe that everything that happened was indeed meant to happen and each traumatic moment has been a learning experience. I’ve expressed to my brother on numerous occasions that if I did not go through those life circumstances, then there would be no book series inspired by my daughters because there would have been no traumatic experience as that catalyst to get me to that point. The trauma was the driving force to get me to actually stop and think because at that point I was alone in my solitude so distractions begin to dissipate when certain elements are removed from your life.
Many people don’t like to be alone because then you may be confronted with who you really are and some may not like who they really are and that’s okay, but what are you going to do to change. So I don’t consider most life events to be good or bad luck, I just view it as a good or bad circumstance that is a temporary experience of which I can either choose to make the best or worse out of it because I control my narrative and my destiny.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theellerays.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theellerays/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elle.rays.31
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/elle_rays/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLvuPNCoXS-XT7NJjtS2NTw
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0977163024/
Image Credits
Roy Cox
