In 1619, the White Lion landed in Virginia, bringing what is believed to be the first group of Africans to the American continent. Over the next 189 years, the transatlantic slave trade continued to bring kidnapped Africans to the USA. The ship captains thought they were merely bringing cargo. They did not know that they were bringing talent, skill, creativity, vision, entrepreneurship, ability, and genius that would, over time, develop into a rich culture that would impact every aspect of American life.

This month, we focus particularly on how Black culture transformed the arts: literature, music, visual arts, film, etc.

Tony Morrison, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Amanda Gorman, Horace Pippin, Jonathan Green, Ava DuVernay, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Aretha Franklin, and Beyoncé are but a sample of folks who epitomize the brilliance of Black ability, I hope their names are not unknown to you.

Together, they represent a series of firsts and have paved the way for the Black artist I want to tell you about my daughter, Isabel.

Because Tony, Maya and James wrote about the Black experience, because Amanda reminded Black folks to keep climbing, because Horace and Jonathan painted Black scenes of joy and beauty, because Ava directed and Denzel and Halle represented Black faces on the screen, and because Aretha and Beyoncé sang unashamedly about what it is to be a Black woman in this world, Isabel can look at the realm of art and believe that she can achieve all she wants to achieve with the talent God has given her: composing music.

Isabel is a senior in high school and just turned 18. She is looking forward to the next chapter of her life: going to college in the fall and majoring in music composition. But she has been composing since she was not quite ten years old and has already put out three albums currently found on Spotify under Chabelaj, the artistic name she chose for herself.

Isabel was born in South Carolina and was adopted as an infant by my husband Matt and me. She was raised in a home where three cultures intertwined: Matt’s white southern culture and the American culture in general, my Ecuadorian/South American culture entrenched in her through frequent travels to Ecuador to see extended family, and the Black culture we worked to ensure she was exposed to through mirrors and mentors, and through African American literature, music, art, and history.

As a result, Isabel is fluent in Spanish and English, has dual citizenship in both countries, moves seamlessly in all three cultures, and considers herself proudly Afro-Latina through and through. The artistic name she chose (Chabelaj) comes from a nickname given in Spanish to a woman named “Isabel” and the “j” is for her very American last name: Johnson. She told me it is to honor both parts of her who she is.

Isabel wants to make her name in the world of film scorers, a world dominated by white men, and she is certain she can. Sometimes, she is plagued by the normal doubts all young people have when starting their careers: “What if I’m not good enough?” “What if I fail?” “What if I don’t have what it takes?”

When that happens, we talk through her fears.

But I have never once heard her wonder if being a young, Black woman can keep her from having a seat at the table of the greatly talented. She has grown up surrounded by Black excellence in the arts, in books, in paintings, in music, in Hollywood.

Because of those who have come before, she knows she can.

It won’t be easy, and she will likely run into those who will try to keep her down because she is a young Black woman full of fire, confidence, and ambition.

We talk about that as well.

But there is no doubt in my mind and heart that one day, she, too, will become part of the Anthology in Black, standing on the shoulders of those who went first.

This is a shameless plug for you to support this young woman who is out to make it impossible to ignore her.

She’s on her way.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7iglToV3wlWmPjMyTJeBkb?si=nOkNbN2yTxGog2X3BqO7pA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabeljohnson_chabelajmusic?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553376484818&mibextid=LQQJ4d

YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC0rrLQCRrrvEr_LbWuINvwQ?si=xCRQNGZkqZJ7Vv8L