My superhero of an 83 year old Dad is presently recovering from back surgery in a rehab facility. In this episode we talk about how he wound up here and what his goals for healing are. * LISTEN HERE: * The Memoir My Dad Wouldn’t Write is a radically honest conversation between a daughter and […]...

The latest youtube video gives you a taste of the educational presentations that my prime collaborator, Dail Chambers offers. This was my second time co-teaching with Dail whose non profit YEYO ARTS offers arts and social justice education. Thanks to the KIRKWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY for partnering wit...

The latest youtube video follows me all the way to Dar es Salaam, a city of millions in the East African country of Tanzania. While there I stayed at XODUS HOUSE, a boutique hotel created by a Black woman!  Watch my journey (And find out how to book your stay!) here: #airbnb #retreat #blackart #t...

The latest youtube video highlights one of my prime collaborators, artist Dail Chambers, and her gift for organic gardening. Dail and I already partner on Fannie Lou Hamer House, our artist retreat space. Soon we’ll be offering a gardening experience you can sign up for! Watch the video below: Wo...

In the words of the great American poet Gwendolyn Brooks: “We are each other’s business; we are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s magnitude and bond. In this episode my dad details some of the many jobs he had and how he moved from laborer to academic. He also shares how his income was […...

In 1966, SIUE officially began an East St. Louis special program named “Experiment in Higher Education” (EHE). This program was established through federal funding and provided financial support to disadvantaged students for their first two years of college. This was my dad’s first teaching j...

My father met a woman who would forever shape him as and artist and a man. She became a signature mentor, and provided him with character building guidance that he still draws from to this day. That woman, was the great African-American dancer, choreographer, creator of the Dunham Technique, auth...

The Memoir My Dad Wouldn’t Write is a radically honest conversation between a daughter and her dad. My dad has had an incredible life as a poet, activist, professor, and cultural worker. He wouldn’t write a memoir, so this series of conversations is partly that. You can find my podcast on –> www....

After the murder of George Floyd, the world has responded in an unprecedented wave of protests. My dad has lived through several massive surges of political fervor like the current one. These “surges” are often  (but not always) accompanied by “consciousness raising.”  What does it mean to come t...

The namesake of the Artist Retreat space I co-host with Dail Chambers’ — Fannie Lou Hamer— was a civil rights activist who used her singing and knowledge of spirituals and freedom songs toward the liberation of Black people. As artists we seek to provide refuge for fellow creatives who —...