Candice Peterkin, CEO/Founder of SHEISART Media, has dedicated her time and service to Black women since 2019. Support for the multimedia business Peterkin founded has been growing through social media, gaining more and more followers.
“SHEISART to me is a place where Black women can connect and have the ability to share the voices that have been discouraged or silenced,” said Peterkin. “We want people to recognize us as a community made for and run by Black women. We want people to come to us for information regarding Black women.”
The digital company has more than 3,000 followers on Instagram and strives to gain more in the future. The company has built its foundation not only with the goal of giving Black women a much-needed voice but also making more Black women feel heard and included.
“Black women have been silenced in the media for far too long,” said Peterkin. “Seventy six percent of everyday Black women feel voiceless in the media.”
Followers are allowed to engage and leave comments in regard to news or controversial topics like the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the historic election of Vice President Kamala Harris. Despite the upsetting realities of these conversations, SHEISART Media strives to bring together a positive community.
When asked about the company, Peterkin made sure to include basic information about how things are running. “SHEISART Media is a remote digital company,” she said. “We currently have six team members, including myself, who all share a passion for journalism and media arts.”
With the pandemic still being an issue, Peterkin said a recent project focused on how Covid-19 impacts Black women. “We focus on sharing the stories of everyday Black women,” she said. “We have recently partnered with a nonprofit to create visual content for their online platforms.”
The latest hire, Jada Jean from Florida, said she has plans to make SHEISART Media more “inclusive” to more women. “For March, we hosted a Zoom call for all women to join and speak to three entrepreneurs and ask them questions on how they started their own business,” she said. “It was a huge success.”
In honor of Mother’s Day. Peterkin said they had a conversation about how motherhood impacts womanhood with both mothers and daughter.
She said the company has been on a mission for two years. “The mission behind SHEISART is to create a place and a space for Black women from ages 19 to 26 to share their stories. We are here to provide information and stories about Black women.
“The influence I am providing to the younger audience is the ability to see themselves in another woman who is willing to speak her truth even if society says no,” Peterkin said.
You can find out more at the SHEISART Media website.
