UNFINISHED BUSINESS, UNTOLD STORIES

From January 29, 2024 - February 5, 2024, Ms. Afrika Abney promoted the panel discussion entitled: UNFINISHED BUSINESS, UNTOLD STORIES: A Look Beyond the Immediate Horizon at The Future of Children’s Literature Written by African American Authors via email and on social media.

3:30 pm- UNFINISHED BUSINESS, UNTOLD STORIES: A Look Beyond the Immediate Horizon at The Future of Children’s Literature Written by African American Authors. PRESENTERS: Kwame Alexander, Tricia Elam Walker, David Miller, *Tiffany Mitchell Patterson, *Leroy Nesbitt and Joy Jones

"Kwame Alexander has written 38 books, three of them in a chair next to a fireplace at his neighborhood Panera Bread. He now writes in a penthouse in London, where he lives. But, he misses the writing studio he built in Virginia a few years ago. It has huge windows, a large painting of John Coltrane, 3000 books, heated floors, a blue couch, and a loft which was Randy’s idea. When he’s not writing, Kwame’s playing Softball with his soon-to-be six feet tall middle school daughter, walking around London listening to audio books, and travelling to schools and libraries across the globe...on Zoom. Kwame has eaten snails, chocolate covered bugs, and grasscutter, which is like a big rat, which he had no idea he was eating because it was in a really tasty stew he ate in Ghana while building a library and a health clinic in a village called Konko. He’s never eaten frogs. But, he has written a book about them called Surf’s Up. And, some other books you may have heard of like The Crossover and Swing and The Undefeated and Becoming Muhammad Ali, all New York Times Bestsellers, which his Dad likes to brag about in grocery stores and doctor’s offices. Kwame loves jazz. Kwame loves his family. Kwame loves his job. Part of Kwame's job is to write and produce the Disney Plus TV series based on his novel The Crossover. The other part of Kwame’s job is to Change the World One Word at a Time. Oh yeah, he also won the Newbery Medal. Whoa!"

"Tricia Elam Walker, author of the novel Breathing Room and other publications, is an award-winning fiction and non-fiction writer and cultural commentator who has written for National Public Radio, The Washington Post, Essence magazine, the Huffington Post and more.  She practiced law for sixteen years prior to teaching writing in Washington, DC and Boston.  Tricia is also the author of two acclaimed children's books, Nana Akua Goes to School (winner of the 2021 Ezra Jack Keats writer award) and Dream Street (one of the NYTimes 25 best books of 2021). Tricia is currently an assistant professor of Creative Writing at Howard University and is working on several projects including more children’s books, plays, essays and novels."

"Baltimore native, David C. Miller, has received international acclaim for Dare to Be King: What If the Prince Lives. A Survival Workbook for African American Males, a thought-provoking, 52-week curriculum teaching adolescent males how to survive and thrive in toxic environments.

Miller is a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Social Work at Morgan State University with a primary concentration on Black Fatherhood. Miller has written several children’s books, including Chef Toussaint, Khalil’s Way, Brooklyn’s Finest: The Greene Family Farm, Gabe & His Green Thumb, and They Look Like Me (coloring book)."

*"Tiffany Mitchell Patterson, Ph.D., is a Manager of Social Studies at District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Prior to joining DCPS, she served as an Assistant Professor of Secondary Social Studies at West Virginia University. She taught middle school social studies for 10 years in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, VA, and served as an adjunct professor in teacher preparation programs at local universities. In these roles, she taught a variety of university level courses including Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Methods, Research in Secondary Education, Teaching Diverse Learners, Education Equity, and Introduction to Critical Race Theory. Mitchell-Patterson earned her doctorate in Multilingual/Multicultural Education and Education Policy from George Mason University. Her research interests include racial and social justice in education, education activism, and teaching diverse Black histories, people’s history and underrepresented narratives in PreK-20 education. Advocacy, activism, intersectionality, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive education lie at the core of her work. Education is her revolution."

*"Leroy Nesbitt, Jr. Executive Director, Black Student Fund 

"The Black Student Fund (BSF) was founded in 1964, following Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic March on Washington in 1963, where people of all races demanded immediate change.

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During the 1960s, black enrollment at independent schools in the Washington, D.C. area was extremely low, languishing at 1% or less in many schools.

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Private schools lagged behind public schools in achieving diversity, prompting the BSF to become one of the few organizations dedicated to addressing inequality at elite institutions.

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The BSF embodied the spirit of multiracial cooperation and focused on expanding educational opportunities as the key to achieving the "Beloved Community" that Dr. King envisioned. " 

Leroy Nesbitt, Jr. is a social engineer and lawyer with more than thirty years of experience in the education arena. Leroy Nesbitt, Jr. is a graduate of Middlebury College and Howard University School Of Law. Following his graduation from law school he clerked for the Honorable George W. Mitchell, Associate Judge Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He then returned to Howard University serving as associate general counsel and directing the Moot Court Team at the School of Law. His work in the education arena continued at his undergraduate alma mater Middlebury College as Special Assistant to the President. He presently serves as Executive Director of the Black Student Fund. During his more than thirty years in the education industry Leroy has worked as arbitrator, lawyer, professor, administrator, programmer and consultant. He has worked with colleges in nine states and high schools in more than forty cities. "

“Joy Jones is a trainer, performance poet, playwright and author of several books including Private Lessons: A Book of Meditations for Teachers; Tambourine Moon, which was selected as one of the best books for children by the black caucus of the ALA and featured on the Bernie Mac Show; and Fearless Public Speaking. She has won awards for her writing from the D. C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, and the Colonial Players Promising Playwrights Competition, plus awards from both the D. C. Department of Recreation & Parks and the D. C. Commission on National & Community Service for outstanding community service.

Joy Jones’ provocative op-ed on marriage trends for The Washington Post, “Marriage is for White People”, went viral. She is the director of the arts organization, The Spoken Word, and the founder of the Double Dutch team, DC Retro Jumpers, which has led exhibitions and classes throughout metropolitan Washington and abroad. Joy often leads workshops on creative writing, communications and black history.”