My goals are simple: create original content that tells the stories of Black and marginalized women in America via words, films, and events.
I’m here to create simple conversations that center the complex identities of women like my grandma, who married and became a mother at 18, and died from Alzheimer’s disease at 69; and my mama, who fell in love with a Pisces after years of self-discovery, traveling, and nearly a decade of single mom living.
Minute, life altering experiences between the dash of birth and death keep me up at night. From simple captions on social media, blog posts, short stories, and scripts I’m finally learning to write in college, they’re what I strive to amplify.
I am currently enrolled in the Creative Writing for Entertainment program at Full Sail University. My podcast, Resident Sis, is the homegirl headquarters of Black women experiencing daily America. I own Danzy Bird & Co LLC, an online copywriting and content marketing consultancy dedicated to helping small creative businesses communicate with their audiences. My debut book, The Girl Talk Chronicles, was self-published in 2014, and I plan to write a follow-up. And currently, I teach children how to read and write better.
(See also Slay Culture, an independent digital media brand delivering self-identity, lifestyle, and entertainment content, and One 4 Us Events, an event series company.)
In short, I’m a Southern writer and respecter of words and stories.
My favorite foods are chicken, pasta, and grits (no sugar). I guzzle coffee (and water, equally) like I’m paid to. Queen Sugar, The Golden Girls, Living Single, and Frasier are my favorite shows. Florida is home. Zora Neale Hurston has to be my ancestor (she and “Khadijah James” are the reason I write). Ava, Shonda, and Issa are role models. ESSENCE anything is my dream job. I have great friends and family. And my favorite person ever is 10 and calls me “Mommy”.
Thank you for being here! Read some of my work. Read my résumé, then hire me to write for your publications. (Or at least tweet me who’s hiring!) Hire my company to create your company’s SOP. Enroll your little ones in tutoring sessions. Follow me on the socials @ariel_cwilliams. And most importantly, keep me in prayer…’cause it’s real out here for a multi-hyphenated creative millennial!
-Ariel