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by The_Bliss_Report from Metro Detroit

Last Post 42 days, 11 hours Ago


TEEN MOTHER OVERCOMES ODDS AS FILMMAKER & WRITER
May 15, 2008 | 5:52 PM
Category: News
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When Janaya Black got pregnant as a teenager, loved ones told her to kiss her dreams goodbye. Compelled to leave her father’s Westland home and drop out of Eastern Michigan University, she didn’t even know if her boyfriend would want the baby — or her.

But Janaya had big dreams. And the 18-year-old would let nothing stop her. So she took a telemarketing job, selling wallpaper and blinds to support herself. Fortunately, her boyfriend proposed and they married. With a healthy baby boy, DeShawndre, she worked in the mortgage industry for 10 years—and accomplished Dream #1: writing her first novel, The Breaking Point.

After that, her husband played a small role in Eminem’s 8 Mile, and the couple fell in love with movie-making. So they immersed in the local film community, and Janaya and Rockey made a trailer in 2004 for a movie based on her book. Along the way, they had a daughter, now 5-year-old MaKinlee. And Janaya wrote a second novel, As Told By The Other Woman, and a third book, Beautiful Rage: The Break of Dawn.

Then came Dream #2: she began writing for The Front Page, ultimately becoming assistant editor.

Now she’s about to unveil Dream #3: a feature film! Till Death will premiere on August 1st at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Produced by her film company, Black-Smith Enterprises, and filmed in Detroit, the drama is part of a three-day film festival at the Museum and the Boll Family YMCA. Trinity Film Coalition, which Janaya and her husband founded with Marshalle Montgomery, is sponsoring the free festival.

Janaya says that overcoming the odds to live her dream as a mother, wife, novelist, journalist and filmmaker is absolute Bliss.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, doing what you love to do,” says the 31-year-old Westland resident who’s been happily married for a dozen years.

Her advice to teen mothers who fear they’ll never succeed? “If you step out on faith and go after what you want in life, you set your feet on that path and nobody can deter you. The only obstacle in life is always you, and what you’re willing to do. Don’t let anything stop you.”

You can learn more about Janaya and contact her at her website www.black-smithenterprises.com.

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The_Bliss_Report

Tired of bad news? Send me a good news story and I'll publish it in The Bliss Report. I’m a former Fox 2 news writer and a bestselling author. A Michigan native and downtown Detroiter, I’m an exercise and healthy eating enthusiast—after celebrating a 100-pound weight loss on Oprah! As an expert on interracial families and biracial people, I was a guest on Montel with my first book, White Chocolate.

Member Since: 4/17/2008


 

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