Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Audre Lorde
When
I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision,
then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. - Audre
Lorde
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Mary McLeod Bethune
If we
accept and acquiesce in the face of discrimination, we accept the
responsibility ourselves and allow those responsible to salve their
conscience by believing that they have our acceptance and concurrence.
We should, therefore, protest openly everything... that smacks of
discrimination or slander. - Mary McLeod Bethune
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
The Heart Of A Diverse Filmmaker
How has diversity worked to my advantage? As a African
American Film Director I have been faced with the challenges of being a leader
in my short films by leading the artistic and dramatic portrayal, visualization
of the script, and by guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment
of my creative visions.
As a young boy, my school and community peers participated
in a host of anti-social behaviors, setting themselves up for failure. My
family dynamics strived for structure and nothing but excellence. Although I
was raised in a middle class neighborhood, my African American family was still
faced with diversity challenges. At an early age I knew I wanted greatness, and
I wanted to make a positive impact in a variety of human societies in all
regions of the world. I attended predominant African American schools, playing
sports, and making above average grades. Among all of that, I had a greater
love for the performing arts, which instantly became my passion and allowed me
to stand out amongst all my peers.
In my later years, as
a minority college student, I also struggled in finding ways to make a cultural
difference. Therefore, I gravitated towards studying in Engineering at the
University of Florida, which was very challenging. I constantly found myself
studying harder than my class peers to only get average test results. There
were many times I felt loss and a lack of belongingness. This shattered my confidence and I was still
dealing with my passion for theatre. It was not until my junior year that I
found myself in the college of Performing Arts. It was then, I began to focus
on my passion in life, and my journey in finding ways to impact diversity on
all different levels. I felt a sense of relief studying theatre, however one
thing still stood out to me; I was a minority theatre student. Though I enjoyed
the productions I was cast in, I still felt that I didn’t totally belong. I
wanted more. I wanted more productions for minority students. That hunger led
me to explore other production options.
As an inspiring African American Actor, in 2004 I was given
the opportunity to write, produce, and direct my first play, The Girl Who Cried Out Father. I took
this opportunity to express the need for more minority productions on all
levels of diversity. The Girl Who Cried
Out Father production was a huge success. Most importantly, this production
had learning experiences that would later grow me into the leader I am today.
On that stage I drove and found my passions in writing and directing. Finally, I
found a place I belonged. That experience has been the experience that has kept
me going and moving forward.
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