Art and Literature

Seeing Color

Rev. Gloria Bradley

The Memory of Sound: Jazzy 1959

Bobby Sox, Bobby Darin, Bubble Gum. Mack the Knife, full of life, having Fun. 1959. I had no idea what was on the horizon. Imagine the...

Christina Martinez-Williams

Poem: We Laughed and Laughed

As a girl, I shared a game with my abuela played it every time she visited or I visited her probably even into my early teens. She...

Malisa Payne

Capturing Heart: The Work of Artist Dean Mitchell

I recently ran across the work of a man that is remarkably talented at capturing the heart of people. He has an arresting ability to...

Malisa Payne

'Ain't Got No, I Got Life'

“Ain’t Got No, I Got Life”, which came out in 1968, is a powerful song that speaks of singer Nina Simone’s life. It is soulful and rings...

Shannon Lucas-Roberts

Poem: Our Corner of America

In our corner of America, the groceries have to be carried from store to car, car to elevator, elevator down the hall, hallway into our...

Autumn Swain

Life Lessons Learned From a Drum Circle

What is it about the drum? When my husband and I were first dating we would spend a majority of our dates walking and talking in...

Rev. Gloria Bradley

Poem: Uncomfortable in My Comfort Zone

The following is a poem written by Rev. Gloria Bradly: To begin with, I’m addressing this letter to the little girl in all of us. The...

Yolanda Johnson

Naturally Beautiful

I am not my hair. I am not my skin. I am a voice that lives within. These are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs as a young adult, 'I...

Malisa Payne

Dance Even if it's Broken

Misty Copeland is the first Black principal dancer for a major ballet company and a hero in our family. What year did she earn this...

Ayren Jackson-Cannady

Maya Angelou's Poetic Take on Equality

In high school I thought that, perhaps, I'd be the next Maya Angelou. I studied her poems before bed. I read them aloud into a tape...

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