Franklin Abbott has been a practicing psychotherapist in Atlanta for nearly forty years. He is also a poet, musician, community organizer and amateur oral historian. His connection to the Congregation and Old Stone Church goes back more than 40 years to early urban radical faery gatherings held in the sanctuary before First E became its steward. He has spoken at First E many times, performed music and poetry there, coordinated events and memorials. He and First E founding minister Lanier Clance were close friends and co-hosted an eclectic existential radio program on WRFG for over five years in the mid- ’80s. His current project is a double CD of 44 original poems and 14 original songs titled Don’t Go Back to Sleep.
“From Shakespeare to Beauvoir: A Feminist Life in Books”
Charlene Ball is the author of Dark Lady: A Novel of Emilia Bassano Lanyer (SheWrites Press, 2017) and co-author, with Libby Ware, of Murder at the Estate Sale (Black Opal Books) and Murder at the Book Fair (in progress). Dark Lady tells the story of Emilia Bassano Lanyer, who published a book in 1611 that called for women’s equality and freedom. Emilia also may have been the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Murder at the Estate Sale is the first in The Molly and Emma Booksellers series, about two women booksellers who solve mysteries. Charlene and Libby write mysteries together under the pen name of Lily Charles.
Charlene has taught English and Women’s Studies, and now writes and sells antiquarian books with her partner and wife, Libby Ware. Charlene lives in Atlanta about a mile from Libby. She is a longtime member of First E.
Live and In Person for the first time in two years!
Just in time for Queen Esther’s Purim holiday honoring a woman of valor, from the Hebrew Bible also comes a passage in Proverbs, a hymn that describes and honors what was thought of as a woman of valor, defined by one contemporary Jewish social commentator as personal bravery.
What did this quality look like when the phrase originated? Not what you may have expected. What does it look like today? A mixed bag for both male and female identified persons.
Rev. Marti Keller has been a parish, community and social justice minister for more than 23 years. Her “Jewnitarian” involvements include co-editing “Jewish Voices in Unitarian Universalism,” and other UUA publications around the Jewish source of our living tradition. She has been the President of UUs for Jewish Awareness and is currently a member. She is part of a ministerial team launching an online Mussar Jewish values program in 2022. She is also past vice president of the Society for Humanistic Judaism and serves on the advisory team for the international Secular Synagogue.
James Baldwin was a powerful voice of a generation nurtured by the Harlem Renaissance, by segregation north and south, and a world war in the name of freedom and the elimination of fascism. Today we likely remember Baldwin most for his fiery writing in the service of the Civil Rights Movement, work that earned him international notoriety. He was a celebrity speaker and world traveler, but also tailed by the FBI at the request of Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. However great Baldwin’s contribution to the movement, it was never the whole Baldwin. James Baldwin resisted being straitjacketed into any one identity. He was Black and queer. He was an American and an expatriate. He was never comfortable in his own skin, but perhaps never more incisive than when he confronted his own insecurities. In our own age of identity politics and the heavy-footed reaction to it, James Baldwin is worth rediscovering.
H. Robert Baker is Associate Professor of History at Georgia State University and is the author of Prigg v. Pennsylvania: Slavery, the Supreme Court, and the Ambivalent Constitution (2012) and The Rescue of Joshua Glover: A Fugitive Slave, the Constitution, and the Coming of the Civil War (2006). His scholarly articles have appeared in the Law and History Review, Common-Place, and the Journal of Supreme Court History. He holds a Ph.D. in History from UCLA, where he studied with Joyce Appleby. He has been a Fulbright Fellowship and been a fellow at the Institute for Constitutional Studies. He also writes about wine, law, and contemporary culture for the blog Tropics of Meta.
…I want to speak about the multi-colors of division – class, lifestyle, culture/sub-culture, gender, skin tone, hair texture, empathy meter, etc., etc. ……too many et cets…..and the grey areas of inclusion – can you guess what they are?
Visceral reactions and easy categorizing are giving way to in-depth evaluations of our human intersectionality.
Get on board. Examine yourself and get back into the Upper Classroom.
(Upper Room, get it?)
PAULA LARKE / VOICES IN THE TREETOPS I used to call myself a truth teller. Now I simply offer scenarios for reflection and possible reparation. No more a teacher, always an incorrigible pedagogue, I have preached, cajoled, exhorted peace and justice for over 40 years. I banged drums, strummed lullabies, plunked bass and joked face-to-face with audiences all over the USA. Forty years of social evolution and devolution. I am an American traveler, a troubadour formerly self-named Truth Tellah. Now I am Awed Observer, from time to time offering food for reflection and reparation. Now I just observe the madness, occasionally bursting into song, dance, or tirade. Folk generally prefer the song and dance.
Larke is a veteran of off Broadway theater in NYC, national touring companies of Broadway plays, artist residencies for North Carolina Arts Council, NC Public School Forum Teaching Fellows Program, Riverside Church of NYC, Berea College Promise Neighborhood, ran an arts program five years for refugee youth at Clarkston Community Center here in Georgia.
Lisa is a psychotherapist in private practice, a poet, writer, and activist. She is a long time member of the First Existentialist Congregation. She has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh since 1999 and has studied with many other Buddhist teachers. Lisa incorporates feminism, existentialism, mindfulness, compassion and a social justice perspective in her therapy practice. She also trains therapists how to use mindfulness in their lives and professional practices. Lisa is a cofounder of the Avondale Alliance for Racial Justice and on the leadership team. For info, see AA-RJ.org. You can download her CD, Mindful Meditations for Well Being, for free at www.wellbeingpsychotherapy.net.
Anthony Knight is the President & CEO of The Baton Foundation, a Georgia nonprofit organization that serves the emotional, intellectual and cultural needs of Black boys in grades five through nine. Before founding the Foundation, Mr. Knight worked for twenty-two years as a museum educator and consultant.
Mr. Knight has extensive experience with and interest in African-American history and culture, public and living history, informal education and Black youth. Mr. Knight’s work with The Baton Foundation reflects his ongoing interest in the issues and practices related to the collecting, preservation and interpretation of information about and material culture from the African Diaspora.
Mr. Knight’s undergraduate work was in Spanish and English (Ohio Wesleyan University), and his graduate work was in museum education (The George Washington University). Mr. Knight also holds a degree in Spanish-to-English translation from the Núcleo de Estudios Lingüísticos y Sociales, Caracas, Venezuela. Mr. Knight is a New York City native.
Rev. Kimble Sorrells is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, with a ministry in contemplative practices focused on equipping us with the peace and resolve to be justice makers in the world. They are also a Registered Yoga Teacher and draw on this and other spiritual traditions to inform their ministry. As a Bi-vocational minister, Kimble also works with Lifeline Animal Project as the Community Programs Manager, guiding caseworkers as they assist pet owners in times of challenge.
Kimble has experience in variety of ministry setting. They have worked in LGBTQ advocacy for many years including as staff for Reconciling Ministries Network and the Atlanta Pride Committee. They currently serve on the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board and work primarily in advocacy with the Transgender community.
Michelle (they/them/she) is a Black, queer woman born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO). They have worked in social justice, community engagement, and politics for over 14 years. They started their journey as a teenager as the first Black woman appointed Chairman of the KCMO Youth Commission, where they led a team of young people who created policy recommendations for the city government. They went on to study political science in Little Rock, Arkansas at Philander Smith College.
They were a founding member of the first Gay-Straight Alliance at a Historically Black institution in Arkansas. Afterward, they worked in the Social Justice Institute at Philander Smith College managing programs and events in social justice education for the campus and community at large. Michelle worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign to advance rights and visibility for Black LGBTQ+ folks. While in Arkansas, they were appointed to the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice, where they served to inform policy pertaining to incarcerated young people. Michelle was also a board member of Women Lead Arkansas, an organization geared toward the inclusiveness of women in political engagement.
Michelle is now a resident of Atlanta, GA, and is set to receive their Masters in Political Science from Clark Atlanta University. Currently, they serve as a 2021 Reproductive Health Rights, and Justice Fellow with the Rockwood Leadership Institute to deepen their commitment to movement and leadership development. They are excited to bring together their passions and education to fulfill the mission and vision of Women Engaged. In their free time, Michelle enjoys crochet, playing/streaming video games, and connecting with loved ones.
Michelle is the Chief Operations Officer of Women Engaged, an initiative that uses a creative, hands-on learning approach to advancing Black women’s human rights, youth empowerment and civic engagement efforts in Georgia.
“Little David’s Harp: The Transformative Power of Music”
Rev. Angela Denise Davis is an ordained minister, arranger/ composer and a music educator. She is the founder of Uke Griot, a program that offers ukulele instruction focusing on awakening musical skills, increasing social engagement, and fostering joy in making music. Her musical arrangements are largely focused within the domain of Negro spirituals and blues. In addition, she has a broad interest in using the ukulele as a conduit for spiritual practice, meditation and healing. She joined forces with ZAMI NOBLA (National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging) in May 2019 to create and direct a community music program, Uke-In, that welcomes all persons, with targeted outreach to the LGBTQ community. She is a James Hill Ukulele Initiative (JHUI) certified teacher.
Like so many adults, Angela took piano lessons for many years as a child and was involved in the middle school chorus but discontinued her music instruction after high school. She had a profound loss of vision in 2003 which left her legally blind and caused her to rethink how to engage music. She ultimately discovered the ukulele in 2016, and it changed her life. She believes that almost anyone can learn to play the ukulele and reap a wealth of benefits from music instruction. Angela is especially interested in using music as a tool to help older adults reignite their passion for music making.
She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University where she earned a B.A. in Art. She also holds a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, and a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from Georgia State University
