Contributors - International Storytelling Center

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Contributors - Freedom Stories

Discussion Panelists

Panelist

Dr. Alicestyne Turley, PhD

Director of Freedom Stories Project

Born in Hazard, Kentucky, prior to becoming an educator and public historian, Dr. Turley has worked in law enforcement, as a community organizer, and was the first African American administrator...

Panelist

Mzuri Moyo Aimbaye

Singer, Actress, and Playwright

Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Mzuri Moyo Aimbaye is an internationally acclaimed singer actress, and playwright of the multi-award-winning one-woman play, “The Fannie Lou Hamer Story.” Her Swahili name means...

Panelist

Sheila Arnold

Master Storyteller, Historic Character Interpreter, and Teaching Artist

Sheila Arnold has a talent for storytelling, a passion for history, and compassion for people. She has traveled throughout the country sharing her personal stories, historic character interpretations, Christian monologues,...

Panelist

Andrew Baskin, MA

Professor of History, Simmons College of Kentucky

Andrew Baskin is an Professor of History at Kentucky’s only private HBCU (historically black college or university), Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville, teaching Western Civilization and African American History...

Panelist

Lecia Brooks

Chief of Staff, Southern Poverty Law Center

Lecia Brooks is the chief of staff for the SPLC, where she provides counsel to senior leadership, assists with strategic planning and works with people from across the organization to...

Panelist

Mitch Capel

Storyteller and Spoken Word Artist

Mitch Capel, who often performs as “Gran’daddy Junebug,” is a seasoned storyteller, recording artist, published author, and poet. Mitch first began writing and performing skits at the age of 12,...

Panelist

Daryl Carter, PhD

Associate Dean, East Tennessee State University

Dr. Daryl A. Carter is Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion for the College of Arts & Sciences at East Tennessee State University. Dr. Carter also serves as director of...

Panelist

Omopé Carter-Daboiku

Wordsmith and Storyteller

An Appalachian of mixed ancestry, Omope Carter Daboiku hails from the Ohio River town of Ironton. She migrated to Cincinnati in 1972 and to Dayton in 2012. A cultural geographer...

Panelist

Adam Dickson, MPA

Center Supervisor, Langston Centre

Adam Dickson was raised in Washington County, Tennessee, graduating from David Crockett High School. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Carson-Newman University and...

Panelist

Ilene Evans, MA

Artistic Director of Voices From the Earth, Inc.

Ilene Evans is an inspired storyteller, performer and scholar who weaves music, poetry, dance and drama, to bring history alive. Ms. Evans creates and presents storytelling/theater programs and workshops/seminars that...

Panelist

Dr. Cicero M. Fain, PhD

Assistant Professor of History, Southern Maryland University

Dr. Fain is a third-generation black Huntingtonian. He is the recipient of the Carter G. Woodson Fellowship from Marshall University and received his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from The...

Panelist

Lyn Ford

Storyteller and Author

A nationally recognized and award-winning fourth-generation storyteller, author and educator, Lyn Ford shares folktale adaptations, spooky tales, and original stories rooted in her family’s multicultural African-American Appalachian (Affrilachian) heritage. Ford’s...

Panelist

Anne G’Fellers-Mason

Executive Director, Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia

Anne G’Fellers-Mason is the Executive Director of the Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. She has worked for the nonprofit for over ten years. Anne has a Bachelor...

Panelist

Mama Linda Goss

Co-Founder and former President, National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS)

Born in Alcoa, Tennessee, currently, Mama Linda Goss is the storyteller ambassador for the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, Maryland and the storyteller-in-residence at the Peale Center....

Panelist

Ann (Beard) Grundy

Community Activist and Civil Rights Advocate

The daughter of Reverend Beard, born while her father was pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama, Ann is still considered the “Baby” of 16th Street Baptist Church....

Panelist

Reggie Harris

Musician, Storyteller, Educator

Internationally acclaimed performer Reggie Harris is a deeply rooted singer, songwriter, storyteller and cultural ambassador known worldwide for his ability to inspire hope and create opportunities for building community and...

Panelist

Jasmine Henderson

Board Member, Umoja Unity Committee

Jasmine Henderson serves as a board member and recording secretary for Umoja Unity Committee, a nonprofit organization focused on bridging diverse cultures through education and artistic presentations in East Tennessee....

Panelist

William Isom, II

Director of Community Outreach, East Tennessee PBS

William Isom II is a 6th generation East Tennessean and Director of Community Outreach at East Tennessee PBS in Knoxville. As the director of the Black in Appalachia Project for...

Panelist

Trina P. Jackson

Education Team Coordinator, Highlander Research and Education Center

Trina (she/her/cuz), a Georgia native, works at the Highlander Research and Education Center as the Education Team Coordinator. There, she leads Highlander’s Education Team with grassroots organizing and movement building...

Panelist

Rev. Robert Jones

Storyteller, Musician and Visual Artist

Robert B. Jones, Sr. is an inspirational storyteller, singer, instrumentalist, and visual artist celebrating the history of American Roots music. His initial love was country blues guitar, but over the...

Panelist

Anthony Mayle, M.Ed., CRC, ABD

Assistant Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion Marietta College

Tony Mayle was born and raised as part of a Morgan County, Ohio Melungeon community which has existed in the Morgan County area over several generations. He is a first-generation...

Panelist

Dr. Dinah Mayo-Bobee, PhD

Associate Professor, East Tennessee State University

Dinah Mayo-Bobee is an Associate Professor of History at East Tennessee State University. She began developing and teaching college-level courses in 2002 and earned a Ph.D. in History at the...

Panelist

Dr. Steven Nash, PhD

Associate Professor, East Tennessee State University

Steven Nash is an Associate Professor of History at East Tennessee State University. He earned his master’s degree in history from Western Carolina University in 2001 and his PhD from...

Panelist

Charles Neblett

Activist and Organizer

Impacted at the age of 15 by the death of Emmett Till, and how openly the murderers spoke of the murder, Charles Neblett has been in the Civil Rights/Freedom struggle...

Panelist

Bobby Norfolk

Storyteller and Author

Bobby grew up a shy child in North St. Louis with a debilitating stutter. Son of an elevator operator and confectionery clerk, Norfolk’s future was hazy as a poor black...

Panelist

Alona Norwood

Community Activist

Alona Norwood, age 21, was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Alona currently resides in Johnson City, Tennessee where she is active in community protests and continues her work with several grassroots...

Panelist

Ted Olson, PhD

Professor of Appalachian Studies, East Tennessee State University

Ted Olson holds the Ph.D. in English (1997) from the University of Mississippi, the M.A. in English (1991) from the University of Kentucky, and the B.A. in English (1982) from...

Panelist

Dr. Freida H. Outlaw, PhD, RN, APRN, FAAN

Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) American Nurses Association

Dr. Freida Hopkins Outlaw was named the Academic Program Consultant to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) at the American Nurses Association on September...

Panelist

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

Storytellers, Musicians, and Recording Artists

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker deliver uplifting presentations of toe-tapping songs spiced with humor, history, and tall tales. Their music includes a variety of old-time blues, Appalachian music, slave songs, and...

Panelist

Kiran Singh Sirah

Past President, International Storytelling Center

Kiran Singh Sirah is the former President of the International Storytelling Center (ISC), and participant in the Freedom Stories Project. ISC is an educational and cultural institution dedicated to enriching...

Panelist

Dr. William H. Turner, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Black and Appalachian Studies, Berea College (Retired)

Harlan County, Kentucky native; consultant to non-profits serving marginalized communities; and Director of Education for the Appalachian African American Cultural Center, Bill is the fifth of 10 children, born in...

Panelist

Adam Velk, MA

Museum Director, Green McAdoo Cultural Center

Adam Velk is the Director of the Green McAdoo Cultural Center (GMCC), a nonprofit organization devoted to honoring and telling the history of the Clinton 12; the first students to...

Panelist

Frank X Walker, MFA

Artist; Poet; Director MFA Program, University of Kentucky

A native of Danville, Kentucky, Frank X Walker is the first African American writer to be named Kentucky Poet Laureate. Walker has published ten collections of poetry, including Turn Me...

Panelist

Dr. Darin J. Waters, PhD

Associate Professor, University of North Carolina (Asheville)

Dr. Darin J. Waters is an Associate Professor of History and Director of Community Engagement at the University of North Carolina at Asheville where he teaches courses in American history,...

Panelist

Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD

Professor, East Tennessee State University

Dr. Elwood Watson is Professor of History, Gender Studies and African American Studies. He has published numerous articles about race, gender, higher education, popular culture and American culture in national...

Panelist

Dr. Sandra Weissinger, PhD

Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University

Dr. Weissinger is Associate Professor of Sociology at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. She also currently serves as Director for the Department of Sociology Graduate Program at Southern Illinois University where...

Panelist

Wayne Winkler, MA

Author; Director WETS-FM at East Tennessee State University

In addition to serving as director of ETSU’s public radio station, Wayne Winkler is the author of two books, his first, Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia and...