DTPHX Spotlight: How Muse Creates Diverse Community Through Centering Black Storytelling
“When you look at Black history in Downtown Phoenix, it becomes even more important and intentional that Black lives, experiences, art and culture exist here,” says Muse, an artist and creative producer, who leads Centered.PHX, a Black storytelling platform for curated live storytelling events and cultural conversations.
“I want to center ourselves amongst ourselves, in a space where we are listening to each other and really experiencing each other,” says Muse, who will be hosting a free Juneteenth event at Heritage Square, in collaboration with Picnic Sessions from 6:00 to 9:30 PM at 113 N. 6th Street.
“June is also Black music month (African American Music Appreciation Month) , so we wanted to let the turntables do the talking. Three different DJs will take us through the evolution of Black storytelling through music,” Muse says.
“For all the beautiful ways Phoenix is blossoming and blooming, she is still very young. I feel like Downtown Phoenix is exploring its identity. I’m always paying attention to trends and what is happening culturally. I look to the Deep South, where I come from, and how they lead cultural trends.”
Through Centered.PHX, Muse wants to create an inclusive and welcoming space for people to share their stories, “in ways that foster connection, healing, and visibility.” She also aims to continue raising awareness of how Black culture has shaped and continues to guide Downtown Phoenix.
Downtown Phoenix has a rich Civil Rights history, among other major cultural contributions from the Valley’s Black community. Eastlake Park is a landmark space in the Civil Rights movement, with both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois delivering seminal speeches there. It was also historically the starting point for all civil rights marches to the Capitol.
Honoring this vibrant progressive history is especially important in the context of Juneteenth, a day commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States, specifically in Galveston, Texas. These enslaved people in the then remote, Confederate-controlled desert region were not made aware of their own freedom until two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, when Union troops reached Galveston on June 19, 1865.
Muse, who grew up in Mississippi but has lived in Phoenix for over sixteen years, is still inspired by her Southern roots. “Mississippi is one of the Blackest states in the country, and I also graduated from a historically Black college, so I really had to do my own due diligence around finding culture, diversity, and community in Phoenix.”
“I found so much Black community that already existed here, in large part to PhxSoul, as well as Tremaine Jasper and the platform he built to ensure that Black businesses, arts, and culture could be found online and accessible. That truly helped transform my experience living in Downtown Phoenix."
“If there’s no one intentionally telling Black stories, it’s like the Zora Neale Hurston quote, ‘If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.’’’
After a brief stint back in Mississippi, the desert called Muse, when a friend referred her to a job at 98.3, the Valley’s local Hip Hop radio station. “That is where I really got a chance to see more of Phoenix, I connected with club promoters, business owners, and musicians.” While working as an account executive, Muse was involved in promotion, learning how to tell a story and build creative partnerships. “That’s when my love for storytelling really started.”
After a few years in radio, Muse yearned for more organic community spaces, where people could truly engage, “activate, build cultural infrastructure, and support inspiring initiatives that uplift, and create lasting community impact.”
On her journey to founding The MUSE.eum and creating the Centered.PHX storytelling platform, Muse explored a variety of community engagements and cultural activations.
“Our first event was a few chairs scrounged up,” shares Muse.“It was with Mary Stephens at the Phoenix Hostel & Cultural Center Downtown, about twenty people gathered over some wine, and we had a great time! Then the conversations and community started being built.”
That inspired Muse to co-host a podcast focused on the Black woman’s experience in the Southwest, which birthed their first storytelling event, called “When Did You Fall In Love With Black Women?” at Tempe Center for the Arts, to a packed crowd.
In 2021, Muse began Centered.PHX and has since produced over seventy-five events around storytelling, creative expression, and community connection.
Muse is a leader, steward, and conduit for artistic culture in the Valley. Her creative practice actively builds sustainability and infrastructure for marginalized communities and those whose stories are less visible, yet still vital.
Muse shares, “My approach centers culture as a foundational part of how a city grows and evolves. This work allows me to connect creative practice with broader conversations about city development, access, and identity.”
“I’m also an artist, and people always tell you you can’t make money as an artist. That you can’t sustain yourself with the literal gift and talent you were born with. I make it my mission to always share the pot at the end with my community storytellers. I want to be a conduit for the Black dollar.”
“In this time of literal erasure of history, I had to be my own archivist. It is important to see spaces, share stories, see Black people getting together joyfully, and to both document and share our beautiful culture.”
Royal Young (@theroyalyoung on Instagram) is a non-binary poet and author from downtown New York City, who now lives and creates in the desert. Their work has appeared in Interview Magazine, New York Times, The Rumpus, Phoenix Magazine, Phoenix New Times, LOOKOUT, and DTPHX, among others.