Ms. China Hudson

“It takes a village to raise a child.”

This ancient African proverb held true for a certain young girl who was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother passed away when she was only nine years old, and although she lived with her father until the age of fourteen, China Hudson’s village of aunts and uncles would be the most influential people in her life. The morals that they instilled within her – such as, remembering that people are always watching you and that you represent your entire family when you are out in the world – would lay a foundation within her spirit to value community and family above all else.

Her college experience would not be a positive one. Attending the Milwaukee School of Engineering, she faced a student population which was predominantly male and Caucasian. This unbalanced representation became increasingly toxic and unhealthy, and Hudson sought out more for her education and her future than what that school could ever provide.

Twenty-three years ago, Ms. China decided to venture out West and make Las Vegas her new home. She hit the ground running, serving the community in many ways. Hudson established several youth cultural and empowerment programs for not only the City of Las Vegas, the Clark County School District, the Las Vegas Urban League – 21st Century Program, and the Clark County Parks and Recreation groups, but she also became highly active working with the West Las Vegas Library Theater.

China Hudson also co-founded the Sisters In Society Taking Action (S.I.S.T.A) Girls Rite of Passage Program in 2003. It was her desire to embrace young women aged ten through seventeen in the teachings of the traditional African Rites of Passage. It was important for her to be the change that she wanted to see in the community, stepping up to the plate and setting an example. Through the work of this program, over 500 youth have been positively affected and more than 200 young girls have graduated into womanhood.  Subsequently, the young women from this program grew older and still needed their “village” for support and guidance. Therefore, the Ladies for Change Lifestyle Transition Program was born to assist them along their way. This second program is geared towards women aged seventeen through twenty-two years of age. Both programs provide life skill workshops in attitude, cultural awareness, the importance of community, positive self/body image, sexuality, health, and financial literacy.

Although Hudson definitely plays a key role in facilitating and overseeing the programs, she is adamant about the fact that it is not a one-woman-show, by any means. If it were not for the many women in the city who continually support her, the programs’ success would not be possible.

“I am so very grateful for strong women like Nikki Palacio, Maticia Sudah, and Tuwanda Locke – to name just a few.  They have been consistently supportive of me and the mission. I can’t express that enough,” Ms. China asserts.

In 2015, members of the Las Vegas community recognized the value in the opportunity that awaited Ms. China in Ghana, West Africa at the Krobo Odumase Village. They held several fundraisers to help send Hudson to Ghana for the Dipo Rite of Passage Ceremony. By spending over a month immersing herself in the culture, she gained a deeper appreciation of the mission she had begun in the United States. As Ms. China watched hundreds of young girls being dropped off to the Queen Mother of the Rite, she was overwhelmed to witness the women of the village take the young girls on an amazing journey to womanhood. After completing the ritual as well, Hudson was then given blessings by the Queen Mother of the Rite to perform the sacred ceremony herself.

The continued education didn’t end there. Ms. China also traveled to the Oyotunji African Village, located near Sheldon, South Carolina. This staple of the African Spirituality Community was founded in 1970. It is named after a powerful Yoruba empire that grew to become one of the most politically influential states in West Africa from the mid-7th to the late 18th century. In fact, the name of the village translates as, “Oyo rises again.”  After studying there, China Hudson completed her Egungun Priestess Initiation in September of 2021. She is now also a wedding officiant, being licensed to give the community a sacred cultural experience during their special day. By doing so, she is eager to tie the past and the present together for those who wish to include traditional rituals in their ceremony.

For over two decades, Ms. China has passionately brought culture and ancestral reverence to the forefront of the Las Vegas valley. She has taken on the responsibility of teaching and demonstrating African dance, storytelling and drumming and making it a spiritual experience that everyone can embrace and enjoy. She is a dynamic spoken word artist, African dance instructor, and a member of Olabisi African Dance & Drum Ensemble. Currently, she also holds the position of the Performing Arts Center Coordinator at the West Las Vegas Library Theater. As such, she provides and helps organize events, programs, plays, workshops, lectures, master dance classes and festivals.

“I am blessed to hold this position. Giving other people the opportunity to shine is the most rewarding part. I was once that person. I remember the excitement I would feel when I would receive calls from various libraries asking me to come and perform. Now, I get to help give that feeling to others who want to share their art with the world,” she confides. “Language and ritual are important. They connect people. Involving and teaching children culture at an early age is extremely important.”

Hudson has written, directed, and performed in over fourteen original productions showcasing social, racial, and political issues. In addition to those, she has also acted in well-known theatrical plays, including For Colored Girls, The Vagina Monologues, Amen Corner, The Bluest Eye, The Color Purple-Las Vegas, Dreamgirls-Las Vegas, and A Raisin in the Sun. Her favorite original character that she created and portrays is a six-year-old girl who has no filter, expressing herself with the mouth of a grown woman in a child’s body, but she admits that the two roles she has yet to play (but would love to) are Shug Avery from The Color Purple or Mama Morton from the play, Chicago. Ms. China continues to share her love of the arts by being a Teaching Artist for the Smith’s Center of Performing Arts and the Nevada Arts Council.

Ms. China has been recognized time and time again for her work in the community. In 2009, she was the proud recipient of the Channel 13 Jefferson Award. She was named as the 2011 Las Vegas Black Music Awards Spoken Word Artist of the Year. To add to her accolades, she was the Womelle’s 2016 Woman of the Year, and in 2019, the City of Las Vegas awarded Hudson with a proclamation designating February 23rd as “China Hudson Day”.

Despite being awarded all of these incredible accomplishments, Ms. China states humbly, “My proudest moment is when I’m in the grocery store and children run up to me and say, ‘You’re the Africa lady!’  They may not remember my name, however they remember the African dance steps or the song they were taught. They remember the positive experience they had in the classroom, dance studio, or Black History program. That is what makes me proud.”

The Sankofa Bird is a deeply rooted symbol of Ghana, and its’ literal meaning is “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.”  It is with great honor that we showcase a woman who is like the human embodiment of the treasured Sankofa Bird – China Hudson – the one who gracefully reaches back to our African history and brings forth the priceless cultural teachings of the African Spiritual Diaspora.

If you would like more information about the programs and/or services that Ms.China Hudson provides, you can find her on Instagram @mschinapojazz or as China Hudson on LinkedIn.