LaMeia Reddick Photography contributed LaMeia Reddick – community engagement consultant, founder of KINnected Leadership consulting firm, artist, and community advocate is creating a safe space for Black youth and young professionals in North Preston. She is doing this work out of BLXCK HOUSE Life Studio, a split-level house she purchased with her mother. “By trade, I’m a facilitator so I often pop up in other peoples’ spaces but I wanted to have my own space,” says Reddick. “So, my mom and I bought the house together with the intention of allowing me to grow my skills and my work.” The “X” in BLXCK HOUSE represents the interchangeable title of Block House and Black House. Block comes from the fact that the house is located on the North Preston “block” meaning a familiar place where everyone hangs out or where people were raised and Black of course stemming from Black pride and Black love. What started out for Reddick as a place to host organization-related events and a place to hone her own skills eventually became a place she wanted to share and offer to others – thus BLXCK HOUSE Life Studio was born. “I do a lot of mentorship and development with young people, young entrepreneurs through BLXCK HOUSE,” says Reddick. Since first establishing BLXCK HOUSE in 2015, Reddick has hosted many events in the house, saying she is really proud of what BLXCK HOUSE has been able to achieve. One event she was particularly proud of was an art workshop for adults which she held in partnership with the Association of Black Social Workers and with the help of counselor, social worker, and social justice advocate Rajean Willis. “We were able to invite an intergenerational group of people to explore art as a healing tool,” says Reddick. Reddick adds it’s been beautiful to see how BLXCK HOUSE has affected the lives of local kids. “We really try to curate the experience for them so when they leave feeling very happy and excited that they had an experience that was different, I get really happy because they don’t have access to things that some other kids in the city do,” says Reddick. Recently, Reddick was able to raise enough money through a GoFundMe campaign to build an addition onto the house so kids can have somewhere quiet to work and eat.
LaMeia Reddick is creating a safe space for Black youth and young professionals in North Preston. She’s doing it out of a split-level house purchased by
“We just built a homework café outback,” says Reddick. The homework café was a partnership with Eyes for the Job, a Nova Scotian reality television show. As of right now, Reddick says the spaces are a bit separated. The basement area is renovated to be more kid-centric and the upstairs is more of Reddick’s personal living space and an area for young professionals.
her and her mother, which she calls BLXCK HOUSE Life Studio.
As for what’s next for BLXCK HOUSE, Reddick and her mother are constantly looking for event ideas and new ways to add to the BLXCK HOUSE experience saying she hopes this space will become a source of empowerment for the community. “Through that empowerment, we will see a whole bunch of other beautiful things happen,” says Reddick. “We are empowered people and there’s really nothing that we can’t do if we really put our minds to it. So, I hope people will see that through what my mom and I have been able to do.”
BLACK to BUSINESS
11
Winter 2021