Claire and Amaranthia's story

In one week in March 2022, days after launching Sista Creatives Rising with her daughter Amaranthia, Claire lost her mobility by the hour. Enduring emergency surgery to remove a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from her spine, she let go of all delusions and illusions about her health. Claire is now within the 1% category to walk again after such surgery. Now in remission, Claire redetermined to help marginalized women gain inner strength by accessing their artistic side.

A Buddhist and Frances Perkins Scholar, Claire's journey to scholarship began during her childhood in Barbados when she sought relief from the chaos of living under domestic violence. Claire uses her creative works and writings to encourage 'women-identified and femme-expressing' trauma-survivors to utilize art for self-improvement. In the 1990s, standing at The Door of No Return in Senegal, where enslaved people last saw their homeland, she reaffirmed her purpose: to overcome intergenerational trauma.

In episode 25, Claire's daughter, Amaranthia talks about the bullying and racism she experienced that led to a set of mental health issues, in particular with agoraphobia, PTSD and anxiety. She uses art as a way of coping, healing and expressing the pain, and now builds communities and programs to help and connect with others.