PERFORMANCE ARTISTS

Faylita Hicks (she/they) is a queer Afro-Latinx writer, spoken word artist, and cultural strategist. With an appreciation for powerful narratives that lead to cultural shifts and community safety, Hicks works with justice-focused nonprofits, arts and literary organizations, and performance venues throughout the US to actively engage in anti-carceral liberation efforts through dynamic storytelling. Hicks is also the author of the critically-acclaimed debut poetry collection HoodWitch, a finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award.

Anthony R. Keith, Jr., Ph.D. (Tony) is a Black, gay spoken word artist, poet, and Hip-Hop educator. His debut, How the Boogeyman Became a Poet, is a powerful YA memoir in verse, tracing his journey from being a closeted gay Black teen battling poverty, racism, and homophobia to becoming an openly gay first-generation college student who finds freedom in poetry.

Award-winning journalist Danyel Smith is author of the critically-acclaimed Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop (One World / Penguin Random House, April 2022). Danyel is also creator/host of the popular Black Girl Songbook, a podcast that centers the sounds and stories of black women (Spotify Original).

Born in Harlem to Dominican parents, Raquel is an award-winning journalist, cultural activist, podcaster, and documentary filmmaker who travels widely to speak to diverse audiences about Latina identity, social justice, gentrification and inequality.

Joel Christian Gill is the Inaugural Chair of Boston University’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Narrative and Associate Professor in the CFA School of Visual Arts. He is also a cartoonist and historian who speaks nationally on the importance of sharing stories. He is the author of the acclaimed memoir Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence, cited as one of the best graphic novels of 2020 by The New York Times and for which he was awarded the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize.