Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria-Pearl Wright.
Victoria-Pearl, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born into my father’s family home on Rosedale Street in Third Ward. Although I only spent three years in that home before moving with my family to Pullman, Washington State, I have a plethora of fond memories surrounding that home and the city that I can still recount to this day.
However, I did not grow up in Houston. I grew up in a college town surrounded by wheat fields: a boat of blue in a sea of red when it came to the political climate of the town and surrounding area. It was a beautiful country, the Palouse, but being one of the only children of color in my classes and activities was incredibly harmful to my mental health as a child. I was bullied by my classmates. I never really had many role models that actually looked like me, and I felt incredibly unwanted and unloved because of who I was. I was depressed. I was suicidal. I hated myself. Yet, no one would have ever known simply because I seemed like a happy child.
On the outside, I portrayed an image of light, but in my writing, my music, and my movement, my tales were dark and cold. I’ve always been a creative person. Being that my parents are huge creatives in their respective industries — my father, Horace Alexander Young, a contemporary jazz musician, and my mother, Phyllis Gooden, a dancer and theater director — it was almost as if I didn’t have a choice but to gravitate towards the performing and creative arts. Dance, music, writing, theater, I did and have done it all. I didn’t realize that I had a real gift in all of my talents until recently, but I felt like I was only subpar for so long simply because I compared myself to folks that had circumstances that were not my own.
My family moved back to Houston in the Summer of 2008 after my parent’s finalized their divorce. I attended Pershing Middle School for a year and sang in their choir, and then moved out to Atascocita, where I attended high school and participated in their dance and choir programs. A majority of my time in high school was spent either participating in the Diaz Music Institute, where I was training as a background vocalist, salsa dancer, percussionist, and sound engineer, or in between two churches I attended, New Covenant Church and St. John’s Downtown Methodist, where I was a youth leader, a praise dancer, and member of the media team.
I kept myself busy to fight off the dark thoughts, but after a bad break up the second semester of my senior year, I fell back into a deep depression, ended up leaving my religion altogether due to personal matters, and made a decision that I was leaving Houston, and never coming back to live here permanently again. By August 2013, I had packed my bags and relocated back to Pullman, Washington to attend Washington State University, My father’s Alma Mater, and my parent’s former employers. I originally went back with the intention of rebuilding my parent’s legacy that they left, and ended up having my entire world rocked.
During my time at WSU, both my personal identity and my identity in my work changed monumentally. I founded a dance company and umbrella organization — Group Effort Dance Company and Dance at WSU — pledged and was an active member of the Alpha Gamma Chapter of Sigma Kappa, was an active member of the Black Student Union and was the elected Public Relations chair of the cabinet, was on the Associated Students of Washington State University staff for two years, one as the Director of Student Life and the other as the Director of Diversity Affairs, was a Resident Advisor for a year, and built and developed the Crimson Leadership VIP program for the Leadership Center in the Student Involvement department.
I went from wanting to teach behind four walls to wanting to develop young people to find their gifts, and every time there was an opportunity to do so in an organization, I found a way to do it. Because of my work, I received a multitude of awards. From Panhellenic Woman of the Year, the President’s Award for Leadership, to receiving the Top Ten Senior Award for Campus Involvement.
I also realized through my major change to Comparative Ethnic Studies, that my identity was more than just my race and my faith. I realized that as a human being, me being multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, Queer, bilingual, and educated was okay. I learned my history and its importance. Once I knew that I fought hard as hell to make sure everyone around me could taste the freedom I felt coming from the books I read and the classes I took. I was on fire, and my fire made me an influential being on my campus.
The last semester of my senior year, I married my childhood sweetheart, Charles, and graduated from Washington State University from the Honors College, Cum Laude, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, one of the oldest and most prestigious honors societies in the country, all while pregnant with my now 10 month old son.
I’m now a year out from graduation, and I can honestly say moving back to Houston was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. The “real world” opportunities the city and the people in it have allowed me in ways I never thought could happen, and even though I do plan on traveling and living in other places throughout my lifetime, Houston is always going to be home for me.
Has it been a smooth road?
As I mentioned before, I struggled with depression growing up. That struggle is still something I battle with every single day, along with low-self esteem issues, and anxiety. Everything surrounding my mental health and the lack of support I felt trying to fight it had a direct impact on stopping me from being the person I wanted to be. What helped me fight back against my darkness, my demons, has been through my writing, and to be frank, counseling.
It saved my life, multiple times. The weight on my shoulders was gradually lifted over time simply because I was able to speak to someone who didn’t know me. She never judged me, and she actively asked me questions, forcing me to reflect on myself. She listened. I personally believe that if more people had access to help like that, it would make a world of a difference.
After graduation, I had the hardest time getting hired because of my pregnancy, and even though I did not want to be back in Houston, I knew for the sake of my family and our survival, being close to extended family was the best choice. My husband and I packed our apartment up and drove three days with my mother back down to Houston.
Four days later, my son, Quanah Leo, was born, and 18 days later, Hurricane Harvey hit.
My family and I hadn’t even had a chance to unpack everything from our move and lost everything. We were devastated. Yes, I understood that my family and I had our lives, but when you work hard for what you have, when you finally feel like you can attempt to get your life together and “be an adult,” and in a weekend’s time lose everything you’ve worked for, that can be traumatizing.
Unfortunately, after waiting to return back into the home we were renting, our landlords illegally evicted us, and we stayed with family members for 8 months until we could finalize permanent housing. We still haven’t recovered from what happened financially, didn’t get much help from the state or FEMA, but fortunately, we were blessed to have friends and family raise funds for us to aid in getting back up on our feet.
Not everyone was so lucky.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m so incredibly lucky to have my personal brand, my business, as well as my primary source of employment, and two non-profits I’ve worked for and with since I returned to Houston.
In September of 2017, 8 weeks postpartum to the day, I walked into Cafeza, a coffee shop and music venue in the First Ward, for the first time for a Writer’s Block Open Mic. I was in awe. The shop, with its eclectic vibes and diverse atmosphere, was heaven to me. One of the owners, Ryan Hazen, was doing interviews for sound engineers that night, and after jumping up and down to get his attention, got an interview and was hired on the spot.
I haven’t left since, and am now the venue manager of the shop, handling the booking, sound engineering, lights, atmosphere, and event promotion while managing employees and being an all-around bad-ass bartender simultaneously. I plan on staying at Cafeza and aiding in its growth. The owners, Ryan and Keisha Hazen, are not only my bosses but mentors and friends of mine. It’s an incredible experience to work in a space that is such a community pillar in the First Ward, and I can’t wait to see it’s growth over the next few years.
Working at Cafeza also inspired me to start an entertainment agency, Coffeeshop Entertainment, which is currently in its soft launch stages. We manage and work with an artist that are up-and-coming in the city and surrounding region. With artists such as Sha Davis and the 1990’s, Patric Johnston, and Emily Eisa on our roster, we’ve had a significant amount of growth since the idea was incepted back in December 2017, and we haven’t even officially launched yet!
Aside from my primary work, I’ve also worked and have been an active participated with the Diaz Music Institute and We are Writer’s Block. Both are 501c3 Performing Arts Non-Profits in the city, and they both have been incredibly impactful in my life.
I’ve been apart of DMI since 2008, and not only is my work with them the reason I landed my job at Cafeza, but my performing career with them allowed me to gain an understanding of the music business industry as both a musician and someone who worked behind the scenes, all while having the honor of performing with Latin Jazz legends such as Johnny Pacheco and Roberto Roena.
The organization’s director, Jose Antonio Diaz, is a Grammy-nominated instructor and has known me since I was in diapers. His mentorship has allowed me to not only flourish as a musician, but also as a teacher, a sound engineer, a producer, and more. I currently teach dance for the institute as an instructor, and love giving back to an organization that poured so much into me.
I joined Writer’s Block in the summer of 2016, but it wasn’t my first time interacting with its founder and CEO, AJ McQueen. I met AJ at a speaking engagement he did for the youth program at St. John’s. I may be asked one or two questions and spoke with him for ten minutes or so before he got swept away by other individuals wanting to speak with him. I had no idea that AJ would end up being who I consider my brother-in-law seven years later. Writer’s Block is service based. Giving back to our community is the most important part of our mission, and we work incredibly hard to do so.
Its family-based structure allows for a close support system to build while being surrounded by nothing but creative individuals. The Block has allowed me to grow as an entrepreneur, a community member, and a performing artist. I would not be who I am without their support and encouragement.
It took years for me to get to a place where I could finally create a platform for myself, simply because I let fear dictate how I lived my life. Once I conquered that fear and took myself seriously, building my brand has been such a fulfilling experience. I wasn’t just building in my niche, I was literally building into myself. I was writing every day, releasing new poetry every day, creating new creative content, and reflecting constantly on how my experiences shaped who I am as a person.
This new found growth has turned into a creative project called “Diary of a black millennial”. The project uses various social media platforms to essentially showcase my journey as a working millennial mother in the music business industry. I wanted to create something that could show people what life for one particular black millennial looks like, and how I take on challenges that millennials like myself face every single day. My generation is in such a sensitive and monumental time in our lives. We’re having children, we’re graduating from college, we’re innovating new ideas, we are changing the way this country operates. Simultaneously, we’re being blamed for all of the issues occurring in our country.
My story is mine and does not depict what every black millennial is going through. I created “diary of a black millennial” to showcase a side of blackness that often doesn’t get representation. Slowly, black representation in the media has continued to shine thanks to creatives of color like Issa Rae, Donald Glover, Jordan Peele, Ana DuVernay, and Jenelle Monáe, to name a few. I would love to be considered on the same level as those individuals one day and know that I’m going to have to work incredibly hard to do so. I’m ready for the challenge.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
People ask me “why don’t you go somewhere like LA or New York? Why stay in Houston?” and my response to them is always “there is something special about Houston.” There is an untapped potential about this city that allows for start-ups, creatives, and entrepreneurs to flourish if they know how to tap into the population. We are the fourth largest city in the United States, and the most diverse. Why go somewhere else when you could literally collaborate with the incredible human beings we have in our city and make the next big thing?
The best advice I can give to anyone starting out is getting out of your house. Don’t let the distance of a location stop you from networking and making connections.
Everywhere in this city is far. Conquer your fear of being awkward because you’re alone. I guarantee there are people at the same event who are alone as well. What is going to differentiate you from someone else is going to be the amount of work you put into building yourself and your brand. If you’re at home and not engaging with the people, you won’t grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vpwright.com
- Phone: 713-560-2278
- Email: thevpwright@gmail.com
- Instagram: @thevpwright
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thevpwright
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thevpwright
- Other: YouTube: https://goo.gl/FYn1re
Image Credit:
Cary Irving, Trevor Kelly, AJ McQueen, Izabel Chalker
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