Today we’d like to introduce you to Latesha Whittaker.
Hi Latesha, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my entrepreneurship when I was living in Fort Myers, Fl. At that time, I was involved in a mix of Case Management, Law, venturing through different avenues within the political world, ubering, and trying to get back into doing music and pursuing MY passions. After leaving my last (law) case management job, I was having difficulty finding work, which was so weird to me because I was used to getting a job right away with my skills and credentials. I was going through a very spiritual trial at this time and was just over life. I was at a low in my life at the moment and felt like I was just falling apart. I got a call from a recruiter for a call center job, and even though I wasn’t too fond of working at a call center again (it just wasn’t my type of job), I was willing to take it because I was desperate at that point. I was familiar with this call center and believed I set up for an interview for this company before, but was denied the job due to them wanting me to work MANDATORY WEEKENDS. I’m sorry, but after working within a career where I got accustomed to weekends off for two plus years which allowed me to keep the Sabbath, I just wasn’t with it. I explained to the recruiter that I didn’t want to bother with the interview because I really wanted a flexible job so that I can work on my craft. After making some decent money through Uber and Amazon Flex and not having to be tied down to a mundane schedule, I realized that I could focus on my passions more due to working less, getting paid right after my shift (which made it easier to keep up with my bills and expenses), and not feel stressed and tied down by these jobs that lack empathy for my situation. I got tired of working for people at that point, especially when I felt I could’ve done a better job than some of my higher-ups despite not having a college degree. I just didn’t think it was fair I was getting denied jobs I have evident experience in simply because of a piece of paper. “So you want me to have a Bachelors in Psychology to do Case Management even though I have six years experience in this field with no degree? OKAY”…
This recruiter told me that things have changed over some time and that they could work with me, so he set me up with an interview. I went into the office, signed in at the front desk, and waited with my resume in my hand. Two other ladies walked in after me at the time, and both were called in for an interview before me. So after sitting for (another) 30 minutes, I went to the front desk to inquire about my interview, the gentleman said to hold on and he will get the manager to talk to me. I waited, and 15 minutes later, this lady with a raspy voice called my name. I walked up to her and she just walked to the side near the exit and said she wanted to talk to me. She then explained to me that it’s mandatory I work 40hrs and that she can’t work with me on no weekends (despite me not working due to Sabbath). Living on this side of Florida, being black, and honoring the Sabbath just doesn’t seem normal if I didn’t look Indian or Jewish. 90% of the time, employers thought I was lying about my faith just to have Fridays off. I was used to getting denied jobs once I expressed to employers I don’t want to work on Sabbath (Friday after sunset to Saturday sunset). I always got the deer in headlights look. I was so upset with wasting hours of my time to come to a place where I already knew they wouldn’t work with me just to get that type of attitude. I was like, “Well, the recruiter said you could probably work with me.” The lady said, “I don’t know why he told you that.” I just shook my head and said “It’s cool” and walked away. When I got to my car, I cried like I lost my best friend. Hurt at the fact that I have to go through this just to live a DECENT life. I don’t know why, but that moment burned a fire in my soul. I prayed shortly after and promised myself within the next two years, I’ll be transitioning into working for myself. That feeling of having to depend on a dead end job to make some money when you’re going through some hard times is so depressing, but it sparked a flame in me…
At this point, I had plans of moving to Atlanta for a while. As much as I love Florida, the cost of living was just too high. I did extensive research on Atlanta and visited on two different occasions over the years to see if I like the lifestyle. Plus, living in a place where I see people looking like me all the time was a bonus. As I had plans to move to the Stone Mountain area (due to there being a Caribbean influence on this side of Atlanta), all of a sudden, the pandemic happened. Can you imagine having a plan to move and then Corona decided it wanted to go viral? So hours were cut, the temp job I picked up was lost, and the last bit of money we needed to move is missing. How things were going, my mister and I at the time were contemplating if this is a sign that we shouldn’t move. But we already planned everything, so we leaped with faith.
The 1st year living in the metro Atlanta area was a rough transition. The pandemic slowed a lot of things down, my father passed away during the midst of it all, and me and mister-mister were slipping down some heavy slopes. It was a hard year and I started to think I made a mistake moving, but as the year continued, I really started to see the essence of living in Atlanta. OPPORTUNITY. Opportunity for music, the opportunity for building, just so much opportunity to do more. Another title I have next to the Suntian Qween Ambassador is the Networking Lieutenant. I network with different entities to bring clients the results they’re looking for. So I help manage (Music) Artist Showcases, I distribute artist’s projects for radio spins, DJ spins, blogs, etc, and I push to create development teams for future Suntian programs (that will be showing themselves in the near future).
I was building the Suntian Naziyon platform for some years before being appointed the Qween Ambassador, so to see how far we’ve come and are still executing the plan is truly an honor. We’re about creating a culture of our own through the arts and utilizing resources to develop our Naziyon (Nation). We’re working our way into the next phase of the plan which will be involving more aspects of community development. We had fun writing about music and the arts, but now we want to focus on community development. So I’ve been linking with entities in the Atlanta area like New Era Detroit (Atlanta chapter) and Certified Modeling Entertainment to expand on certain aspects of expansion for Suntian Naziyon and other entities Lady Mprez is tied to. I even have one of my best partners, Yah Doctrine, who is the founder of 242 Artist Network in the Bahamas to continue pushing this movement of community and unity through networking. We have plans of creating events for artists to expose their talents. We’re linking with different entities in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, (US) VI, Florida, and now Atlanta to push this new culture of music, socialism, and more. So today this is where I am, I’m the Qween Ambassador for Suntian Naziyon and I’m a Networking Lieutenant.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to success, to your goals and dreams, is never an easy one. There were so many struggles in between that many didn’t even know I was dealing with. Switching careers, sleeping in and out of my car, loss of a family member, loss of friends, being scammed out of money, family issues, adapting to Atlanta culture, not being able to get decent and affordable housing when I first moved here, people not understanding my dialect/accent in Georgia, and having a man drain me of myself. There has been quite a bit of bumps in the road just to get to this point of my career, but every bump has made me stronger. So I don’t regret anything. What’s meant to happen will happen and where you are now is where you’re supposed to be. I just continue to keep my faith in Yaj (Jah) and know things will always eventually get better.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work as a brand (Suntian Qween) Ambassador for Suntian Naziyon and am a Networking Lieutenant. My role is to network with different entities internationally to utilize different resources to help uplift the Naziyon (nation). So if I need to find a venue for someone to do a music video in, I’m the link. If someone needs a plan written out for an event they plan to have, I’m the link. If you need help writing a letter to an embassy to get permission to have a show in that country, I’M THE LINK. Basically, I’m the link or middle person that connects my clients to the next link. I round up all the resources I can to give our clients multiple options to help them best suit their needs in regard to what they’re looking for.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
That I’m a shy person. People who know me or see what I do will find this hard to believe because my confidence has a natural way of exuding itself, but deep down, I’m a shy person. I prefer to stay behind the scenes (as some can tell). I’m not a fan of the spotlight and prefer not to be in it unless I choose to be in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: ladymprez.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ladymprez_connex
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGLU0vqBSG0289I8otleKQA
