

jessica Care moore
Poet, Actor, Filmmaker, Activist, Educator, Book Publisher, Cultural Arts Curator, Institution Builder, Recording Artist,
Voice of Detroit
jessica Care moore is one of the leading voices of her generation. An award winning poet, recording artist, book publisher, activist, cultural arts curator, and filmmaker. She is the Executive Producer and Founder of the 20-year old rock & roll concert and empowerment weekend, Daughters of Betty - Powered by Black WOMEN Rock! and the founder of The Moore Art House 501C3 dedicated to elevating literacy through the arts in neighborhoods and schools. The founder of Moore Black Press, she published poets Saul Williams, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, asha bandele, Danny Simmons and more. Her publishing house secured an imprint deal with HarperCollins in 2024 and released NYC poet Brad Walrond's extraordinary collection "Every Where Alien. She has mentored youth all over the country, and has lent her voice and time inside juvenile detention centers, prisons, universities and art institutions around the country her entire career.
Your favorite's emcee's favorite poet, she has recorded her poetry with Hip Hop legends -- Common, Nas, Jeezy, Talib Kweli, Karriem Riggins, Techno Pioneer Jeff Mills, The Last Poets, Jose James, Roy Ayers and others. Writer Greg Tate called her poetry “A black scream. moore is the author of The Words Don’t Fit in My Mouth, The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto, God is Not an American, and Sunlight Through Bullet Holes. Her fifth book, "We Want Our Bodies Back" published by Harper Collins in 2020 won the American Library Association Black Caucus Poetry Honor. Her first children's book, Her Crown Shines is slated to be published in 2024 and illustrated by Dare Coulter (Harper Collins). The celebratory poem caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey and she shared it widely on her social media pages.
Her full scale theatrical work, Salt City, A Futurist Techno Choreopoem premiered at The Apollo Theater. She's received several Spirit of Detroit Award, a "Cultural Hero" Award from The Torch of Wisdom Foundation and The "Trailblazing Poet" award from Words Beats and Life in Washington D.C., in addition to Testimonial Resolution from the Detroit City Council. She was appointed by Governor Whitmer to The Michigan Council of Arts and Culture. The Director of the Ford Foundation referred to her as a National Treasure.
She is a 2019 and 2017 Knight Arts Recipient, a 2018 Joyce Award Winner, 2016 Kresge Art Fellow, The 2013 Alain Locke Awardee and the 2015 NAACP Great Expectation Award.
Her anticipated rock and roll project is a collaboration with powerhouse rock singer Steffanie Christ’ian. The duo’s album (and group name) , We Are Scorpio is currently out through Talib Kweli’s Javotti Label and moore’s Black WOMEN Rock! Brand.
In 2023 moore was invited by the family of Malcolm X to read her work at The Shabazz Center, alongside Angela Davis and Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump. She has read her poems and leant her powerful voice to many causes all over the world, including, United Nations World Aids Day , Shanghai's Iron Mic Music Festival, Berlin International Poetry Festival, Flupp International Literary Festival in Brazil., and was honored to perform at the first Afrochella Festival in Ghana during the year of the return. Her work has graced the stages of The Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the London Institute of Contemporary Arts.
moore's first feature film, He Looked Like A Postcard was nominated for "Best Feature Narrative" at The Pan African Film Festival, The Miami Black Film Festival, and The Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival. She wrote, produced and co-stars in the film with Tobias Truvillion.
Moore captivated a national television audience in the 90's when she won the legendary “It’s Showtime at the Apollo” competition a record breaking five times in a row -- with a poem. moore's poetry and voice is prominently featured on the 4th floor of the Smithsonian's New National Museum of African American History.