Interested in participating with the Black Storytellers Project? We want to hear from you!...
I graduated from Columbia College Chicago with my B.A. in Fiction Writing and was the first graduate of the Black World Studies program. Six years earlier, I reluctantly dropped out of Howard, unsure I'd ever have the money or emotional capacity to ever return to college. The women in the Liberal Education department at Columbia resuscitated me: Marya (Smith) Sherron, Lisa Brock, Stephanie Shonekan, Cadence Wynter, & shout out to Cheryl Johnson-Odim. They stood unapologetically as activists, mothers, artists, and researchers doing the work of their souls.
20 YEARS AGO...
I graduated believing that all learning spaces should look like what these Black women curated. I was thoughtfully ushered into new agencies for what it meant to name myself, be myself and co/create knowledge: this is how I define liberation [cue up OutKast, 1998]. And I have consistently been charged to curate the same with everyone I share learning spaces with.
Two degrees, a husband, a kid, three books, a transitioned mother, 8 Blackgirl Gold scholarships, a trademark, 3 sankofas, a Moth competition, and two U.S. cities later... My praxis has always centered Blackness and since 2007, my "academic home" has been Education. Mid 2021, I claimed myself a generational bridge for Black folx in the U.S. and the Diaspora – using storytelling as liberation. I felt my soul's work threading my entire career. My research and art began to flourish in ways I could barely keep up with. My Village deepened exponentially and I have been actively curating paths to honor them.
It is with this energy that I humbly and excitedly express gratitude, (re)introducing myself as Associate Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University, beginning Fall 2025. I look forward to working alongside the AAAS Squad and the College of Arts & Letters to unapologetically center Blackness and Black Feminisms while building the Black Storytellers Project.
This is an open invitation for you to tell / share stories with me. If you are interested in participating in the Black Storytellers Project in any capacity, let us know! Please take less than 3 minutes to fill out this Google Doc and someone will connect with you shortly!
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I love you. I appreciate you. We rich, Billye.
[cue up "Triumph" from The Wu, 1997] In addition to my Columbia models, there are a few folx/groups who have been incredibly instrumental throughout this journey, who (or is it whom?) I must thank by name: Azania, Cassie & Dre, Chantae, Chezare, Chris/S'bu, Da'Ché, Uncle Dan, Desirée, Donald, Drea, my Sorors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated – Lambda Chapter – DSFATAL, EdD Cohorts 4 & 5, Fresh Grease, George, Gholdy, Gigi & Vicki, Grant CEA Families, Teachers & Staff, Ivan, José, Kimberly, Kristal, K.O., MaToya, Meameno & Napandulwe, N'Sangou, Nicole, Dr. Parsons, Qiana, Rachel, The Real PhDs of Carolina, Regina, Renée, Shanyce, Shawn, Sheri, Soyini, Stovall, Tehia, Tina, Torie, Toya, Ty, Tyson, Veli, Bunki & Noma, Wanda, Ozella & Bre, Yolie, The Black Storytellers who have broken bread with me thus far, the city of Chicago, and of course, The Temples', The Rhodes', The Sankofa Waters Squad, and Mary & William, Asé.
