Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, I attended segregated schools until my family moved to the Mile High-City, later graduating from East High School. I then attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, and first taught in the Denver, Aurora, and Cherry Creek Schools, before moving on to higher education. I later lived five years in Madison, Wisconsin, attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison and teaching at Edgewood College. Upon returning to Denver, I have traveled quite a bit in Lowcountry South Carolina and Georgia, immersing myself in Gullah/Geechee culture. Those trips further prompted my interest in exploring the African Diaspora outside the United States. As a result, I have journeyed to Brazil and Belize, the latter providing me with an opportunity to learn more about the Garifuna culture. In recent years, I have traveled across the pond to London and Liverpool to explore the Transatlantic Slave Trade from the other side of the Atlantic.
