Oakland-born, Richmond-raised, CieraJevae is the founder of Serving Melanin Collective, an artist-educator, activist, community advocate, published author, and a past Poet Laureate of Richmond, CA. Her artistry highlights Black girlhood, womanhood, and all the lives lived in between. As a survivor of sexual assault, a storyteller, and a community curator, she aims to take what is most vulnerable and create sacred space for the unraveling and rebuilding of her community. Her work ranges from the beauty of Black love, survivorhood, Black feminism, freedom delayed & denied of Black folks behind bars, and the woes and wisdom of education.  

CieraJevae has performed for organizations and institutions such as The Innocence Project, Voices for Justice, Youth Speaks, Making Waves, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation, UC Santa Cruz, University of Pikeville, Western Illinois University, and more. She has competed on a national level at CUPSI in New York, and the National Poetry Slam in Colorado. She has been interviewed on The Black Woman’s Book Collective, and The Conversation Room Podcast. She received her B.A. in Sociology and her MFA in Writing.