Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

Photo Credit: Cre8jax

Geexella is a singer, contributor for WJCT, DJ, student, and dreamer of liberation. They founded Duval Folx in 2018, a dance party that was a direct response to Jacksonville at the time being a focal point for Black, Trans and GNC violence. This moment called for more than just a dance space in the south. They wanted to curate a brave and secure ecosystem for marginalized communities through dance music.

Terri Bailey was born and raised in Gainesville, FL. This former high school dropout returned to school at 40 and obtained a BS in Elementary Education from Bethune-Cookman University and an MA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. As a lifelong writer and storyteller, Bailey incorporates her advocacy and organizing work into her poetry, weaving women’s empowerment and social justice issues into spoken word performances. She also integrates the Southern folklore she grew up with and African spirituality in her stories and poems. Her three proudest moments as a writer include winning first prize in the short story competition at Bethune-Cookman University (2010) for The Journey, a modern, Afrocentric adaptation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, performing at the Zora Neale Hurston Festival with the poetry collective If You Ask A Sistah, and most recently being first runner up for Alachua County’s first Poet Laureate. For the past few years, she has been working on When the Witches Ride You: A Collection of Southern Afrofuturistic Speculative Fiction and Black Horror and has started a Patreon page in hopes of raising funds to cover publishing expenses by the end of the year. Bailey is the Founder of Bailey Learning and Arts Collective (BLAAC -pronounced black). This nonprofit organization focuses on building socially responsible communities and leaders through grassroots organizing, community education, and the arts. BLAAC’s newest program, The Queens Room, offers empowerment tools such as self-care plan development, EFT/TFT (tapping) services, and writing to heal workshops. She hopes to inspire women by sharing how she survived poverty, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Bailey is also a Yaya and Apetebii Ifa and feels the presence of African spirituality in her life is the grace that continues to save and nurture her.

E. Stanley Richardson is an American Poet, Actor, Playwright and Producer. He is the Founder and Director of ARTSPEAKSgnv Inc. and the North Central Florida Youth Poet Laureate Program. He is the author of the award winning book of poetry entitled Hip Hop is Dead – Long Live Hip Hop. The Birth, Death and Resurrection of Hip Hop Activism (2017). Mr. Richardson is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Alachua County, Florida (2020 – 2022).

Flavorful came to life after the fusion of A&A Dlites and Saveurs Afrik’aines. It is run by two women from West Africa who grew up and lived in different parts of the world. Flavorful’s mission is to share the culinary treasures of Africa and other parts of the world while learning and sharing more about other cultures with you, our friends. It provides delightful Afro fusion cuisine, seasonings, cooking classes, travel experiences and so much more.

Ivoire Delice & Market is a restaurant that is committed to promoting the rich and diverse culture of Western and Central Africa. It also runs an onsite market where patrons can buy imported spices from Africa, groceries, and other items. Ivoire Delice & Market offers smoked fish, dried meats, plantains, and other fruits, frozen potato, sweet potato, jute and cassava leaves, fresh vegetables like water greens, collard greens, melon seeds, and more.

Cristovão Nwachukwu is a fourth-year PhD student in English at the University of Florida. He obtained his B.A. in Portuguese and English language and literatures in 2017 from the Federal University of Bahia, in Brazil. He currently studies African literatures, more specifically the representations of Black African immigrants in contemporary African novels that take place in the U.S. and Europe, and the impacts of racialization and trauma in the African family unit. His research interests include African Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Decolonial Studies, and Migration and Diaspora Studies.