Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiana Stevenson.
Hi Kiana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I took journalism classes all throughout high school. At first, it was just an elective. I chose it because I enjoyed creative writing in middle school and figured it couldn’t be that hard. Creativity came natural to me, and writing was similarly second nature. Then I met Mr. Joseph Jordan, the one who looked right through my slick attitude and saw something in me I never cared to glance at. “You have a talent,” he told me in 10th grade after reading one of the countless articles I wrote about issues at my high school. His words evoked emotions in me that surprisingly no pristine report card or winning play on the softball field ever made me feel: pride, joy, and confidence. Mr. Jordan helped me find my purpose.
And for the next few years, I did absolutely nothing with it. I didn’t need to, I already had everything figured out. I would become a pediatric nurse practitioner, mostly because I knew I wanted to help people and I love kids, but partially because my mom got her nursing degree when I was in middle school. I would go to Spelman College, the most prestigious women’s institution in my eyes, to obtain my degrees and graduate making six figures. But after taking one anatomy class in my senior year, I realized studying the blood cells wasn’t for me. It was excruciatingly boring. I dreaded Dr. G’s 6th-period class. The only thing that prevented me from skipping was the fact that the class was made up of my entire friend group. But I couldn’t laugh with D’Cora & Carly or crack jokes with Chris in med school – and after receiving my financial aid letter, Spelman became the first dream not even my entire village could make a reality – so what would I do for the rest of my life?
Whew, was that last semester of high school a stressful time. It felt like my entire life fell apart that January because it had. This plan I knew front-and-back since I was a freshman flew out of the window in the final quarter??? I had stopped playing softball after my junior year because I had no desire to play in college. What options did I have left? What else was I good at? As I sat in Mr. Jordan’s office that he turned into a mini-newsroom for our newspaper’s editors – editing the layout for our January issue with another episode of Black Girl Podcast playing in my headphones to block out his lecture – I remembered that conversation. It all made sense. The thing I had considered a hobby was actually what I was meant to do for the rest of my life. I visited Clark Atlanta University in February with my mom & aunt, and we paid my new student fees the same day. I was enrolled as a Mass Media Arts major.
The flame Mr. Jordan lit was emboldened by passionate Black women like Scottie Beam who showed me what was possible. Gia Peppers, Rebecca “Bex” Francois, Sapphira M(artin), and Alysha P(amphile) put me on to the game amid so many life lessons over countless episodes I consumed in 2018 & 2019. I studied Ashley Akunna, Freddie (Ransome), Ayesha K. Faines, Danielle Young, (Just) Latasha Mercer, and Uchechi Chinyere. I watched more interviews about my favorite artists, actresses, and authors than what was probably healthy. But I learned so much about digital media and how I could intersect my passions. By the time I stepped foot on campus in 2019, I had the plan. And I was going to milk this new platform for all I could. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
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?
Not at all! First off, I’m Black. Second, I’m a woman. Third, I’m young. Fourth, I prioritize Black womanhood above all. Media is not the most financially-stable or reassuring industry. I definitely chose the road less traveled. But I didn’t, and still don’t, care.
When I started actually spreading my journalistic wings in college, many people did not take me seriously. I was a college freshman just trying to get my foot in the door, and I quickly realized so was everybody else. The music industry is a wild place full of competition, greed, and envy because popular culture places celebrities on a pedestal and being the slightest bit adjacent to them gives you just enough clout to get into exclusive Atlanta events because you know “so-and-so”. But journalists often fall at the bottom of that totem pole because we’re not so forward-facing. No one *really* cares about your sob story or what you think makes you different. What can you actually do? And can you do it well enough on your own that we may actually need you?
I got work-study in CAU’s Mass Media Arts department so I could keep an ear to the promenade and be the first face to greet the same professors every day & visiting VIP. I joined Her Campus to start building my portfolio and create content. I launched my own platform Listen to Black Women to celebrate/highlight Black womanhood online and record the hilarious-but-necessary conversations between my friends & I (shoutout to Mooka Chanel & every Black Girl Banter guest). I hit the ground running in my first year. Then COVID tried to rob me of my second so I spent my third in redemption mode.
I’ve fallen out of love with journalism. There have been times where I genuinely had nothing to offer or say. I went through months of writer’s block in quarantine due to depression. I took opportunities I knew were not for me just so I could show the Black women & girls calling me their “shero” I was still doing something worth reposting or have something to boast about on my resume. People older than me, some part of the same demographic I champion, have attempted to silence & undervalue me because I’m “too young”. I’ve been told I place myself in a “box” by loving Black women & music so much. I’ve also been told I need to “narrow it down”. I have failed hard.
Every part of this journey has been risky. But I would rather chase my joy and be grounded in my passions than spend the rest of my life building upon a faulty foundation filled with everything “safe” that everybody else saw for me. Where’s the fun in that?
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an entertainment journalist, content creator, and podcast producer currently based in Atlanta, GA. I launched ‘Listen To Black Women’ in January of 2020 to showcase the true essence of Black womanhood and broadcast the beauty of Black culture through cultural commentary. It has grown into a multi-media platform with social media content on Instagram at @Listen2BlackWomen, editorials on Listen2BlackWomen.net, and podcast episodes on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.
As a graduating senior at Clark Atlanta University, I expand Her Campus’ online presence as the Social Media Director for our CAU chapter through digital campaigns, curate promotional graphics for events by Clark Atlanta University’s Mass Media Arts Department in partnership with large corporations such as Viacom, and advocate for students interested in digital media as the VP of Digital for CAU’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Most recently, I have become 1/4 of the Carefree Black Girl Podcast powered by Revolt TV. I am also a digital media intern for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Membership & Industry Relations Intern for the Atlanta Chapter of the Recording Academy. I have previously worked for companies like iHeartMedia & The Atlanta Press Club, and my skillset has been recognized (and built upon thereafter) by organizations like the National Association of Black Journalists & the Online News Association.
I think my passion sets me apart from others. My purpose fuels every single thing I do, even outside of my career. I use every internship or simple interaction as an opportunity to grow professionally and personally. Every part of me loves Black women, and I truly feel like we are gems to the world. I use my talent for us, however I can, and I’ll continue to do so as long as I have breath in my lungs. It’s the least I can do for all of the Black women who made me who I am, starting with my mama. We deserve our flowers and I have no problem personally passing out bouquets door-to-door.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
You can find me online on almost every platform @RebelliousKiana. DM me! My LinkedIn & MuckRack profiles are under my name, Kiana Stevenson. Whether it’s Black Girl Banter, Carefree Black Girl, or Gen Z POV, any podcast episode I’ve ever worked on can be found on most streaming platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and sometimes YouTube.
I love working with other people and learning about their perspectives, so I’m always down to collaborate on a project (as long as it aligns with my own morals/aspirations). I love helping people bring their visions to life or contribute to their passion projects. I love trying new things in general. I think that’s what we’re all here for anyway – to help each other in some way & explore all the possibilities this simulation has to offer.
You can support me by amplifying my work or sharing kind words with me. But more than anything, pray for me (not everybody though IYKYK). Speak my name in rooms that I am not in. See me as a human being. That’s all I can ask, and I’ll do the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.listen2blackwomen.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebelliouskiana/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiana-stevenson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebelliouskiana
- Other: http://icn.dj/show/carefreeblackgirl/
Image Credits
Image Credit: Selena Freeman (side photo), Jimmy Eason (photoshoot with white background)
