Project Contributor Bios ………………………………………………………….VI

We Shall Overcome: Poetic Witness to Civil Rights Nashville Vol. 1 was the capstone assignment for students enrolled in Creative Writing Poetry at TSU (Spring 2020). It is part of the “I Want to Write” initiative in TSU’s Languages, Literature and Philosophy Department. Learn more by visiting: www.tnstate.edu/llp/iwanttowrite.

Jacqueline Asamoah was born and raised in Ghana. Shortly after high school, she relocated to America to continue studies. At Southwest Tennessee Community College, she was the Creative Editor for the Southwest Source, Sergeant at Arms for SGA, Vice President of Public Relations for Phi Theta Kappa, and a Peer Tutor at the Academic Support Center. She studied abroad in Peru and Greece. She is currently an honors student and peer tutor at Tennessee State University. She aspires to become a surgeon, and writes poetry in her free time.

Nikayla Cobb is a graduating senior at Tennessee State University where she is majoring in Human Performance and Sports Science with a concentration in exercise science. During her time at TSU, she has joined a community service based organization called “Love You Like A Sister,” where she participated in different community service projects that confirmed her desire to pursue her passion in education. Service activities included volunteering at local elementary schools and tutoring an AVID class in a high school.

WaTeasa Freeman is a Junior at Tennessee State University. She majors in Mass Communications with a double minor in Africana studies and English. Freeman is 20 years old and from Columbus, Ohio. She has been writing poetry since 2011 and considers it a passion of hers. When she is not writing she enjoys crochet, painting, makeup and singing.

Joseph B. Hart is a senior at Tennessee State University, majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Business and Psychology. He served and the United States Army for 23 years and retired as a Staff Sergeant, during that time he deployed five times. He aspires to pursue a career in Theology and work as a Chaplain in hospitals and Hospice. When he is not busy serving at his church and missions, he enjoys training for the Track and Field Masters and being a Personal Trainer.

Maya Mayes is a native of Atlanta, Georgia and studying civil engineering at Tennessee State University. She serves as the executive chairman of ASCE, the secretary of Allure Modeling Troupe, and the revamp chair of Society of Women Engineers. Maya is interested in a career in transportation engineering.

Norel McAdoo (Ceo Norel) was born in Little Rock Arkansas, is a super dynamic creative. Entering the rap scene in 2015, his career began with the releases of the album series “Step Into My Office” volumes 1-3 and the eps: “Slumber’s Over” and “C.E.O”. At the end of his junior year of high school, he became known as an award winning poet. A part of the poetry troupe The Writeous, he became a published and professional poet with publication of a poetry book entitled: A Writeous Look at the Crises: Poems Inspired by the Little Rock 9.

Adazia McDonald is a student of language. She is currently teaching herself Japanese and learning Spanish. She plans on using her language skills to become a translator or an interpreter. She is 20 years old and is in her sophomore year at Tennessee State University. She also works a serving job at Rodizio Grill.

Jasmine Moseley is a recent graduate of TSU, with a BA in studio art. She is a Nashville based painter and illustrator that specializes in paintings depicting African American women and/or children in a wide array of settings, moods, and/or hairstyles that help reflect their beauty, strength, and tenacity.

McKenzie Reid is a student at Tennessee State University where she is studying English with a concentration in Secondary Education. She was inspired to pursue a Bachelors of Art in English because of her passion for literature. She gained interest in becoming an educator due to her love for school, children, and learning. When she is not in classroom or working with children, Reid loves to work with the homeless shelters and the children’s emergency shelter within her community.

Keith Thomas is a student at Tennessee State University with a great imagination and creative skill set. He is not afraid to step outside his comfort zone. Thomas wants his readers to feel so much emotion within his work that they want to read more. He wants to generate excitement about the written word.

Irwin Todd is a freshman at Tennessee State University. He’s a creative, reliable, hard worker whose curiosity helps him cope and approach the challenges of life. His major is Agribusiness, and his career goal is to work for either the USDA or the FDA as a marketing specialist.

Trinity Young was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is currently a Sophomore at Tennessee State University pursuing a liberal arts degree with a concentration in humanities. At TSU, Trinity is a member of the university’s Honors College. Upon graduation, Trinity plans to continue his life as an entrepreneur and investor. Some of his interests include making music, men’s fashion and world travel.

Michelle J. Pinkard, PhD: Creative Writing Poetry Course Instructor

Dr. Michelle J. Pinkard teaches African American Literature, Poetics and Women’s Studies at Tennessee State University. She is the creator and director of the I Want to Write Initiative. Her scholarship is inspired by intersections in African American, Gender, Modernism and Creative Writing studies. Ultimately, the apex of these varied interests is an examination of the way identity affects the creative process.

Courtesy of We Shall Overcome: Press Photographs of Nashville in the Civil Rights Era

“I came to Nashville not to bring inspiration, but to gain inspiration from the Great Movement that has taken place in this community.” –Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Thank you for paving the way,

Creative Writing Poetry Class, Spring 2020

John Lewis of SNCC leads Nashville Christian Leadership Conference (NCLC) freedom marchers in 1963. Courtesy of crmvet.org.

“I think it is a must for young people and generations yet to come, to understand, to feel, to touch, to almost smell the drama of what happened a few short years ago [the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s]. So maybe, just maybe, we will never ever repeat this unbelievable time in our history. We have to tell it all, and make it plain, and make it clear, so people will never ever forget the distance we have come, and the progress we have yet to make.” - Congressman John Lewis 1940 - 2020

C.T. Vivian of SCLC confronting Sheriff Jim Clark, Selma, Alabama, 1965. Courtesy ofcrmvet.org.

“Leadership is found in the action to defeat that which would defeat you. … You are made by the struggles you choose.” - Rev. C.T. Vivian 1924 - 2020

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