BLACK CREATIVE CIRCLE
BLACK CREATIVE CIRCLE Article by STARLA GATSON | Photography by JERON STRICKLAND | STRICKLY US Black female politician and author Shirley Chisholm once declared, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” The Congresswoman’s guidance has been echoed and shared countless times over the decades, encouraging many to show up in spaces they or others like them have not previously occupied. But what is one to do when the table for which he is looking doesn’t yet exist? Why, he takes a cue from the Black Creative Circle of North Louisiana (BCCNL) and builds it himself! The BCCNL was created to give local black creators a place to show up and show their work, be empowered, and inspire one another, filling a need the organization’s vice president, K’Shana Hall-Davis, noticed fairly quickly. “When I went to certain events in the area, I never really saw anyone that looked like me as the artist,” she explained before adding, “I’m not saying it didn’t exist; I’m ju