Kameisha Jerae Hodge

Kameisha Jerae Hodge
Hodge in 2010
Hodge in 2010
Born (1989-11-01) November 1, 1989
Washington, D.C., USA
OccupationWriter, editor, poet, spoken word artist
Alma materLafayette College (BA)
Southern New Hampshire University (MA)

Kameisha Jerae Hodge (pronounced /kəmiːʃə dʒɛreɪ hɒdʒ/; born November 1, 1989) is an American writer, publisher, poet, and spoken word artist from Washington, D.C.[1] She is the founder and CEO of Sovereign Noir Publications, a publishing company established in 2019 that elevates Black women's voices.[2]

Early life

Hodge was born in 1989 in Washington, D.C., the oldest of eleven, and she, a brother, and a sister were raised by their mother Sabrina.[3][4][5] For a while, they were homeless, staying with relatives or at homeless shelters.[3]

Hodge began reading in poetry competitions while in middle school.[6] In tenth grade, she met her mentor, Yolanda D. Coleman-Body, who introduced her to journalism, publishing, and writing and taught her how to "exist in the industry as a Black girl".[2][5] Coleman-Body encouraged Hodge to write for Rated-T, the school magazine; Hodge became a reporter, writer, and editor.[7][8][6] She also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Knight Vision, the school newspaper. She graduated from Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School in 2007.[7][9]

Hodge attended Lafayette College as a Posse Scholar and English and Africana major and quickly became involved with campus life.[10][11]

She served as the VP of Writing Organization Reaching Dynamic Students, a student arts group; performed at mic nights and poetry slams; started Lafayette's step team; was resident of the Association of Black Collegians; co-hosted a radio show with DJ Spyda Da Don; and oversaw the African-Caribbean interest floor in her dorm.[3][10][11][9][12] She also interned at MTV's development department for The N during her summer break.[10][13] While there, she was a live audience member for Total Request Live and in the pilot episode of Dance or Drop, a proposed MTV show.[14] She graduated from Lafayette in 2012 with a BA in English and moved on to pursue an MA in English and creative writing with a concentration in poetry from Southern New Hampshire University.[15][1]

She also has a certificate in publishing.[6]

Career

Hodge self-published her first poetry collection, Atlas of Consciousness, in 2010 while still a student at Lafayette.[16][17] Since then, two more collections have been published: Double Consciousness: An Autoethnic Guide to My Black American Experience (July 2014) and Woman. Queer. Black. (November 2021).[18] She has been a #1 bestselling author on Amazon, is published in the Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives, and was a TEDx speaker at Lafayette College.[16][1][19][20][18][17] She has also worked with Martha's Table, NPR, WAMU, UrRepublic, and Viacom.[17][21][22]

Hodge founded Sovereign Noir Publications, a publisher focused on elevating Black women writers, in 2019.[5][1][22] She and high school classmate Charles Smith founded i2Kings1Queen Publishing.[9] She is also a mentor for the First Ladies of Poverty Foundation.[1]

Personal life

Hodge is a lesbian.[2]

Hodge has a beloved dog named sparky

Hodge is a devoted fan to Ni'Jah

Awards and honors

YearAward NameAward BodyReference
2007Editor's Choice AwardPoetry.com[4]
2008Editor's Choice AwardPoetry.com[4]
2008Silver Communicator AwardInternational Academy of the Visual Arts[19]
2008Poems and Poets of the Year AwardPoetry.com[16]
2009Aaron O. Hoff Program of the Year AwardLafayette College[21]
2011Certificate of Academic AcknowledgementThe McDonogh Network (Lafayette College)[23]
2012Honorary Founder AwardPrecision Step Team (Lafayette College)[23]
2012Global Cultural CompetitionCafé de la Penseé[18][24]
2014Hey Grow! Hero AwardDirections for Our Youth[23]
2014Poetry Book of the YearRainbow Rendezvous[21]
2016Best Nonfiction AuthorRainbow Rendezvous[24]
2016Poet of the YearRainbow Rendezvous[24]
2016Best Poetry Book of 2016Rainbow Rendezvous[24]
2017Social Marketer CertificationHootsuite[23]

References

  1. "Kameisha Jerae Hodge: Resident Book Publisher and Self Publishing Coach". First Ladies of Poverty Foundation. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  2. "Meet Kameisha Jerae Hodge: CEO & Founder, Sovereign Noir Publications". Shout Out LA. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  3. "Posse scholars and their families". yumpu. Posse Foundation. 2008. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  4. Hodge, Kameisha Jerae. Atlas of Consciousness. p. 9.
  5. "KAMEISHA JERAE HODGE - PUBLISHING MENTOR - ARLINGTON, VA - WASHINGTON, D.C." Girl Social Gang. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  6. "Kameisha Jerae Hodge". HeySummit. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  7. "Where Are They Now". issuu. Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School. 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  8. "Contributors". issuu. Friendship PCS. 2006. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  9. Merritt, Flonora (2016-05-18). "Kameisha Hodge, Class of 2007". Friendship PCS. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  10. "Expressing Herself" (PDF). Lafayette. 2009. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  11. "New African-Caribbean Interest Floor" (PDF). Lafayette College. 2011. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  12. "meet the scholars". The Posse Foundation. 2010. p. 30. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  13. "Profiles: Kameisha Hodge '12". Lafayette College. n.d. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  14. Hodge, Kameisha Jerae (2008-09-29). "A Summer Job that Rocks". Lafayette College. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  15. "Class notes: 2011" (PDF). Lafayette College Alumni Association. 2015. p. 78. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  16. "Poetic Prodigy: Kameisha Hodge '11 Publishes Atlas of Consciousness". Lafayette College. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  17. "CEO AND FOUNDER: KAMEISHA JERAE HODGE". Sovereign Noir. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  18. "Kameisha Jerae Hodge". Amazon. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  19. "Evening with Ella and Kameisha Jerae Hodge". MixCloud. Black Authors Network Talk Sho. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  20. "TEDxLaf - Kameisha Hodge - Human Downgrade 1.0". YouTube. TEDx Talks. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  21. "Kameisha Hodge - Editor". reedsy. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  22. "Exclusive Interview with Kameisha Jerae Hodge". Dendy Media. 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  23. "Kameisha Hodge". SpeakerHub. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  24. "Kameisha Jerae Hodge". Kameisha Jerae Hodge. n.d. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
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