Edward M. Garnes, Jr.

Hailed as a national expert in diversity and multicultural counseling, Garnes and fellow activist Kevin Powell kicked off 2004 launching the State of Black Men National Tour. Dr. Joseph White, noted psychologist and author of Black Men Emerging, calls Garnes a new school leader “equipped with the courage, resilience, and dedication to take us to the next level.” Atlanta native Garnes is a journalist, counselor, educator, editor, producer, and community activist. On the forefront of institutional change, he co-founded Depauw University’s Student Coalition for Awareness, Revolution and Education (S.C.A.R.E.) and assisted university administration and legal counsel in the drafting of DePauw’s formal Hate Crime Policy as an undergraduate. Garnes received his BA in English Writing with specializations in Mass Comm and Black Studies from Depauw. He also worked as a Black Studies Department Teachers Assistant and administrator in Multicultural Affairs.

A Competitive Fellow in Urban Counseling, he received his M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University. Garnes has worked as a diversity and leadership development consultant for the Washington D.C. firm Woodard & Associates executing projects with the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Housing.

A finalist for the Fulton County Arts Council Dialog Literary Fellowship, he has shared the stage with such legends Nikki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka, and The Last Poets. A nationally renowned writer, he is currently a music contributor to Creative Loafing, Atlanta’s revered alternative news weekly. Garnes is an award-winning journalist who has worked as the Entertainment Editor for Atlanta's Good News (GN) Magazine and as a contributor for Upscale, the Southeast Performer, and Elemental. Garnes has profiled and interviewed such cutting edge artists as Spike Lee, Outkast, Gerald Levert, DMC of Run DMC, T-Boz of TLC, and Raphael Saadiq. Featured as a cast member of the Black Family Channel's Spoken, hosted and executive produced by Apollo legend Jessica Care Moore, he is currently penning In Search of Dr. Garnes, a provocative book of essays on black leadership, hip-hop, and higher education. Garnes is the co-owner of Babuke Brothers, LLC, a media relations, entertainment, and arts programming firm executing programs with the National Black Arts Festival, Hands On Atlanta MLK Service Summit, MTV Jams, Red Bull, and 1iota Productions.

Sugar Johnson

You may have seem him dashing down Utica Ave to catch the #4 to Union square for sweet tarts and raisin scones, shaking his groove thang at Guernica to the sounds of resident DJ Blessed Productive, or crooning old James Brown tunes on the BB Kings stage. Wherever you are; your friendly neighborhood Sugar Johnson is sure to find the keys to your heart.

Born to Afro-Caribbean parents, Sugar Johnson hails from the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn and lived briefly in the Caribbean. The actor, vocalist, video journalist, and author has spent nearly a decade captivating audiences in various mediums including a five year stint as a cable access television producer/host. His critically acclaimed chap book series has the blessing of heavy weights like Spike Lee, who invited the burgeoning artist to open for him at a collegiate speaking event. After obtaining his B.A. in Mathematics from DePauw University, he went on to perform at major venues and universities sharing the stage with prolific artists such as The Last Poets, HBO Def Poet Jon Goode, and M-1 of Dead Prez. Johnson’s poems are featured in the popular series Signifying Harlem edited by Jade Banks, and he has studied under Erica Hunt in the esteemed Cave Canem Workshop.

Of the incomparable thespian Johnson, Joi Lee (Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks) has said “it makes all the difference in the world to see an actor enjoy himself in the work, and this is Sugar. He is alive, vibrant, funny, truthful and fun to watch. Sugar is a natural!” He and Lee worked together on 4 Years to Life for the Urban World Festival. Johnson has graced NY stages in performances including Night at the Rebel Café (Howl Festival) with Eric Sanders and Bob Holman and Sex Is…with Jahidah Diaab, a cutting edge commentary on relationships for which he served as an actor and co-director. The southern boy from Brooklyn also appears as cast member on the debut season of Jessica Care Moore’s Spoken on the Black Family Channel.

A dedicated activist and educator, Johnson worked as a teaching artist intern for Community Word instructing weekly workshops to New York youth. He also makes time to host showcases for Big Brothers and Big Sisters and lend his support to grass root initiatives like WBAI 99.5 FM’s Pre- Holiday Marathon coordinated by Louis Reyes Rivera and Poem in your Pocket Day at Horizons High School. Johnson will release the poetry books Tell Me in My Ear and Food Clothes and Shelter in early 2005 on his imprint Home Grown Publishing, LLC. He is also the co-owner of Babuke Brothers, LLC, an Atlanta/NY based entertainment company.

 

Alice Lovelace

Alice Lovelace is a veteran performance poet, award winning playwright, essayist, non-fiction author, artist-in-education specialist, arts consultant, sought after speaker, and lecturer.

Her work has been published in numerous newspapers, magazines, journals and international publications. Most recent publications include Remembering My Birth: New and Collected Poems from Horizons Press, and This is for Family, poetry and music CD from BlackEagle Records. She has an essay in The Citizen Artist: 20 Years of Art in the Pubic Arena from Critical Press, and is featured in Drumvoices, Volume 9 and Drumvoices Revue, Volume 11 published by Eugene Redmond. Alice has been featured in numerous news articles, student essays, and in interviews on television and radio. Over the years, she has given over 700 public readings of her poems and short stories.

Alice is considered one of Atlanta's premiere poets. In the late seventies she worked shoulder to shoulder with Toni Cade Bambara to organize the Southern Collective of African American Writers (SCAWW) and was a coordinator for the historic 1980 Conference on Black South Literature and Art at Emory University. She has shared the stage and worked with the most highly respected writers - national and international-in the African American Diaspora.

Alice has a Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution from Antioch University. During the 80’s and 90‘s, she worked with Alternate ROOTS and Arts Extension Services at the University of Massachusetts to design and teach an Art for Social Change curriculum for artists, arts administrators and social service organizations. For over twenty-five years, she has served on local, state, federal and international funding panels and public policy review panels.

Alice was a founding board member and past Executive Director of The Arts Exchange, an in-town artist retreat, and served as the Regional Director for the New Forms Regional Artist Initiated Grant program. Alice served as Executive Director of Alternate ROOTS, a 13 state artists run service organization and was one of the founders and past Executive Director of the Atlanta Partnership for Arts in Learning, Inc., an arts infusion program that facilitates collaborations between teaching artists and classroom teachers.

In recognition of her work in the community, Alice received two Bronze Jubilee Awards-for Literature and for Long Term Contributions to the Arts; the Community Service Award from the Sisterhood of Higher Education; the 1995 City of Atlanta Mayor's Fellowship in the Arts for Literature, and the Paul Robeson Cultural Democracy Award from the Arts Exchange. In 1997, the Fund for Southern Communities presented Alice with the Torchbearers Award for consistent contributions to social justice. Project South presented her with the 2002 Spirit of the Movement Award in recognition of her use of poetry to educate the public about issues of political and social justice.

Most recently, Alice serves on the City of Atlanta's Community Cultural Plan Steering Committee, and received the 2005 Georgia Writers Association "Lifetime Achievement Award". Since 1995, Alice has served as co-editor of the on-line publication In Motion Magazine (www.inmotionmagazine.com). She is a contributor to the on-line publication Community Arts Network (www.communityarts.net). Alice teaches English at Horizons School in northwest Atlanta, she is a creative consultant and writing instructor, trainer, lecturer, and keynote speaker at numerous sites across the country. Her areas of expertise include intergenerational programs, specialist in arts infusion and community based art for social change.