Festival Sponsors
Festival Partners
Steering Committee
Jerica Wortham, Founder & Lead Artist
Jerica D. Wortham, a Tulsa, Oklahoma native, is an acclaimed bestselling author, award-winning spoken word artist, and a driving force in the arts community. She founded J’Parlé in 2012, a platform that amplifies diverse voices through its literary magazine and live show, J’Parlé Live.
Her multifaceted career includes teaching poetry to inmates, founding the J’Parlé Scholarship fund, and serving as the Program Director for the Greenwood Art Project. Jerica's contributions to the arts were further highlighted in her role in the leading single "Shining" for the Motown-signed project Fire in Little Africa and her feature in OWN Network's docuseries "The Legacy of Black Wall Street" in 2021.
As a visionary behind the Pärlā Creative Festival and the (B)light Project, Jerica champions BIPOC creatives and community enrichment. Her accolades include multiple Poetry Slam Championships, features in major publications, and receiving the 2020 Black Wall Street Spoken Word Artist of the Year and the YWCA’s 2021 Woman of the Year, Pinnacle Award for Arts and Humanity.
Jerica is dedicated to fostering artistic expression in her community. She balances her professional achievements with a joyful family life with her husband, Webster, and their two sons, Solomon and Jonah.
Amy Gay, Logistic Chair
Amy Gay is a Tulsa native. She graduated from Northeastern State University with a Bachelors in Business Administration. She has over a decade of experience specializing in planning conferences, marketing, and graphic design. Prior to that she was promoting Tulsa as a destination for conferences. Currently she’s a Senior Marketing Manager working for a nonprofit that provides professional learning resources for educators. She’s passionate about her faith, family, travel, movies, and reading.
Jazzy (Jasmine) Bivar-Smith, Forum Chair
Jazzy (Jasmine) Bivar-Smith is a vibrant and invigorating leader committed to connection and community growth. Since moving back to Tulsa in 2022, Jazzy has been committed to serving her community, largely in North and West Tulsa. Jazzy's professional experience includes two decades of organizational experience- 8 years in corporate talent and organizational development and more than 12 years leading front-line employees in the culinary industry. These professional, plus her lived experiences- being unhoused as a teen, a young mom and community organizer- led her to establishing The Fancy Hippie Group, which specializes in community and organizational culture development to positively impact the lives of underserved and marginalized peoples.
On any day, Jazzy may be in the streets writing stories for Focus Black Oklahoma or facilitating with Restorative Justice Institute of Oklahoma as she enjoys connecting folks to share stories and experiences to influence action. Her and her husband, Omar, have two adult children in college and four active animal children at home.
Hank Byrd, Film Chair
Hank Byrd has spent the last 15 years working as a screenwriter, producer, director and author. His background gives him a unique understanding of how story, and the performance of it, are a marriage of talents and collaboration. Hank is also the creator of the popular web series, bLERDS, where he serves as the show's creator, head writer and executive producer. He’s currently one of the head writers on the crime thriller, “Boneyard”, starring Mel Gibson and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, scheduled for a 2024 release.
Beth Henley, Visual Arts Chair
Elizabeth Henley is a painter, multimedia artist, and social practitioner from Tulsa, Oklahoma. While living and working in Tulsa, she attended several schools including studying Interior Design at Oklahoma State University, but never finished with a degree. After taking color theory and art classes, she realized her main passion was creating work through visual art. She began displaying art publicly in 2015 with a focus on portraiture and incorporating elements of Afro-futurism into her pieces. Her art journeys through themes of self-exploration and preservation, identity, strength, trauma, spirituality, and solitude as they relate directly to her experience of growing up as a Black woman in present-day Oklahoma.
In 2017, she redirected her artistic pursuits to finding space in her local art scene for Black Artists in the Tulsa area. This desire for inclusion and diversity in art led her to found and create Black Moon in 2018, an all-Black artist collective in Tulsa focused on breaking standards, pushing innovation, and cultivating creativity among her local community. With the formation of Black Moon, Elizabeth and fellow artists have shown in galleries and museums throughout the Oklahoma area, and created work that has been included in national news publications. Her goal is to become a successful and well-established artist and promote Black Moon as a beneficial resource for artists in her area.
Obum Ukabam
Obum Ukabam is a versatile contributor to Tulsa's vibrant arts community. Recognized for his roles in productions such as 'Paradise Blue,' 'Dream Girls,' 'Song of Jacob Zulu,' 'The Moon is Neighbor,' 'Dead Ringer,' 'American Son,' and as the co-author and Director of 'Reflections,' he also brings his creative talents to the forefront as a director, writer, and producer. He is the Director for the Spring 2024 musical 'Once on this Island' and has previously co-directed 'Little Shop of Horrors.'
In addition to his theatrical endeavors, Obum is deeply honored to hold the role of Arts Commissioner for the City of Tulsa, where he actively promotes and celebrates the city's Arts culture. As the founder of 'The Black Actor's League,' he is dedicated to empowering Black actors through training, support, and fair compensation. He also founded 'Black Broadway Tulsa,' a platform highlighting the voices, talents, and contributions of Black artists in the city. Obum values the opportunity to collaborate with the community and is committed to fostering Tulsa's thriving cultural scene through active engagement in artistic and community initiatives.
Angie Dixon-Walker, Soiree Chair
Angie is a Kansas City, MO native and has lived in Tulsa now for the past 26 years. Angie is the proud owner and master designer of Party of the Year, a custom balloon and event decor business. She is passionate about bringing her customers’ visions to life, one celebration at a time, it’s her specialty! She is your go-to event decorator. With years of experience as an event decorator, she has mastered the art of transforming spaces into breathtaking experiences. From elegant weddings to vibrant parties, her passion is bringing dreams to life and making smiles contagious. She creates the Party of the Year for you!
Taylor Finley, Marketing Chair
Taylor is a proud Tulsa native. Since she was a kid, Taylor has always had a love for film and TV. As she got older, she realized it was her dream to one day be a filmmaker. So, in 2019, she started her creative journey by learning about video production. This led to a blossoming freelance career in video, photography, and graphic design. Taylor is passionate about community development and visual storytelling. She believes in the transformative power of storytelling to connect and enlighten people. She loves meeting new people and helping them find creative ways to share with others. Taylor is a big foodie and loves trying out new places to eat. In her free time, she enjoys going to local art events in Tulsa. She is excited to be a part of this committee and help continue to grow Tulsa’s creative scene.
Davontai Bradford, Dance Chair
For over a decade, Davontai Micheal has been a well-versed dancer in not only hip-hop but ballroom as well as styles like Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, and solo jazz. Teaching for a little over 15 years, from youth at Tulsa Central Fine and Performing Arts to teaching workshops that involve dance and the history behind the dancing. He also shows his showmanship through his modeling, emceeing, and poetry. His love is not only for dancing, but the history behind it, and the knowledge of history needs to be given to the next generation.
Kode Ransom, Historian
Kode Ransom stands at the intersection of history, artistry, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and family—a beacon preserving Greenwood's legacy while actively shaping a future filled with possibilities for the vibrant community he proudly calls home.This bio encapsulates Kode Ransom's multifaceted identity, capturing his roles as a historian, advocate, artist, mentor, entrepreneur, athlete, and dedicated family man—all integral parts of his dynamic presence within North Tulsa's heritage and growth.