Timothy B. Tyson Author
Timothy B. Tyson, author of the much-acclaimed Blood Done Sign My Name and other award-winning books, is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies and Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture in the Divinity School at Duke University. Blood Done Sign My Name, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Christopher Award and the North Carolina Book Award, was the 2005 selection of the Carolina Summer Reading Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assigned to all new undergraduate students. Tyson’s previous book Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power (UNC Press, 1999) won the James Rawley Prize and was co-winner of the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize, both from the Organization of American Historians. He also co-edited, with David S. Cecelski, Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and its Legacy (UNC Press, 1998), which won the 1999 Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. Tyson was a John Hope Franklin Senior Fellow at the National Humanities Center in 2004–05. He is a North Carolina native and a graduate of Duke.
Mary D. Williams Vocalist
PlayMakers: Debut. With a voice reminiscent of Mahalia Jackson, her dynamic vocals soothe troubled minds and lift the heavy hearts of those who witness her awesome performances. Powerhouse psalmist Mary D. Williams is truly that "power in the house". A native of Raleigh, NC, Mary is no stranger to the gospel scene. She has been ministering solo at local churches, festivals and various events for many years, developing a strong following from performances with such artists as Bobby Jones, Sister Cantaloupe, Lee Williams & the Spiritual QC's, Luther Barnes, Keith "Wonder Boy" Johnson, as well as appearances on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Other performances include ministering at the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. in Washington, DC, the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC, Duke University Chapel, Bobby Jones Gospel Recording Retreat in Las Vegas, traveling with Duke Divinity Professor Dr. Timothy Tyson and the United Methodist Western Conference. She received Female Vocalist of the Year at the NC Gospel Announcers Guild's Prestige Awards ceremony. Mary keeps herself very busy ministering the word of God throughout the eastern half of the United States. She is a specialist in ministering to women who are 17 struggling with marital challenges.
