Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul (35 page)

Antonio Crawford
is a Christian, a husband, a father, a teacher and an entrepreneur who is proudly serving his country in the United States Navy. He is a gifted and dedicated writer, contributing from the farthest reaches of Southern California, San Diego.

Michelle Cummins
wrote articles for
Garage Band Magazine
in Orange County, California. She's written, directed, produced and edited music videos. Her production company in Hemet, California, Chez Michelle Production, produced a short film.

Jeanine DeHoney
is a freelance writer and a family services coordinator in a Brooklyn daycare center. She has had her essays, articles and stories published in severalmagazines, such as
Black Secrets, Black Romance, Essence, Upscale, Sisters In Style,
Emerge, Radiance, Today's Black Woman, TimbookTu
and
Bahiyah Woman Magazine
. Currently she iswriting a novel about a family who lives in a Brooklyn brownstone. She owes her love of writing to her mother, Evelyn Rushing, who always had a notebook and a pen beside her when Jeanine was growing up.

Betty DeRamus
is a newspaper columnist and a 1993 Pulitzer Prize finalist. The Detroiter is the author of
Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad
, true stories about free and enslaved nineteenth-century black couples who went to extraordinary lengths to stay together. Please contact her at
[email protected]
.

Phyllis R. Dixon
is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin. She is the author of
Let the Brother Go If
and the novel
Forty
Acres
. She currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Adiya Dixon–Sato
received her B.A. on East Asian studies from Yale University and worked as a writer and teacher in Tokyo. Returning to New York for law school, she is currently penning a collection of essays on Japan. Please e-mail her at
[email protected].

RuNett Nia Ebo
entertains, educates, ministers and motivates. That's her purpose. RuNett Nia Ebo (Gray), Philadelphia author and poet, established “Nia's Purpose” to teach black History in Rhyme while entertaining audiences of all ages. She has eight books of poetry. For more information, visit her Web site at
http://poetebo.expage.com
.

Lorraine M. Elzia
is an editor, author and literary artist. She is co-owner of Eve's Literary Services and co-moderates Essentially Women, a writing group for African American women. She has previously been published in
Chicken Soup for
the Single Parent's Soul
. Lorraine can be reached at
[email protected]
and
www.evesliteraryservice.com
.

Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig
is the founder and editor-in-chief of
Shades Magazine
; a reporter with the Tri-Valley Herald in Pleasanton, California; has worked as an editor and reporter for several publications; and is the coauthor of
Living in theMoment:
A Guide to Living a Full and Spiritual Life
.

Leslie Ford
is a self-taught trumpeter, arranger, composer and lecturer, CEO of Leslie Ford & Group, LLC, and founder of the Jazz Institute of New Jersey, Inc., helping children connect to the power ofmusic. Leslie iswriting his autobiography. To contact Mr. Ford visit his Web site:
http://lesliefordandgroup.org
.

E. Claudette Freeman
is an award-winning playwright/author and a twenty-plus year radio veteran. She is the station manager of Gospel AM1490WMBMinMiami. She is currently working on a screenplay version of her novel
Sheltered Deliverance,
while developing theatre for radio. E-mail her at
[email protected]
.

Nancy Gilliam
is a 2005 Who's Who Among America's Teachers honoree. She teaches English at Greater Hope Christian Academy in Philadelphia. She has authored the companion study guide to
B.J. Robinson's Lebron James: King of the Court
and was included in
Chicken Soup for the African American Soul
. Visit her on the Web at
www.nancygilliam.com
.

Elaine K. Green
is a native New Orleanian, freelance writer, avid reader, married to husband, Eddie, and mother to daughter, Kelli. Please e-mail her at
ekgreen@
hotmail.com
.

Kiana Green
is currently in her junior year at Williams College. She is pursuing a degree in American studies with a concentration in African American Studies and Political Science. She enjoys writing short stories and poetry that explore black life and culture. She is a slamm poet, DJ and jazz vocalist. She plans on becoming a playwright.

Joe Gurneak
has worked in the oil industry his whole life and served as police commissioner for his community. Joseph has experienced the gift of others that have come into his life and left him enriched in heart and soul. He is passing that gift on in
Chicken Soup
stories.

Emma Ransom Hayward
is a former teacher and librarian. A well-known black-doll collector, she uses her dolls to profile and document the black experience in America fromslavery to the present. She is completing a book,
Images in Black Spoken
in Many Voices
, photostories with vintage pictures. E-mail her at
[email protected]
.
Briana Hendrix
is a recent high school graduate who is looking forward to her freshman year at a Michigan university. She enjoys playing basketball, socializing with friends and spending time with family—but mostly playing basketball.

Lolita Hendrix
, APR is a professor of public relations at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She also consults regularly, assisting businesses and organizations with public relations, grant writing and other communication needs. She enjoys writing, exercising and spending time with her two children. Please e-mail her at
[email protected]
.

Barbara Holt
is a Chicago Urban League executive whose career has spanned service in the public and private sectors and included election as the first woman and first African American alderman of the Fifth Ward. She enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren, writing, needlework, bowling, traveling and, of course, cooking and dancing.

Tanya Hutchison
resides in California with her husband and five children. She founded Phenomenal Women, Inc., a nonprofit organization. Tanya's recent book,
Beauty! It's a Journey Not a Destination
, is a memoir about her life growing up against the odds.

Damita Jo Johnson
taught middle school for twenty years. She holds several degrees and is currently pursuing her doctorate degree. She has been married to Pastor Gene Johnson for twenty-three years. They pastor a church in Carson, California. She enjoys singing, teaching, acting, writing, exercising and helping people.

Yvonda Johnson
is a recent Habitat for Humanity homeowner. She works as a quality control representative. She enjoys reading, writing, spending time with her two sons, as well as attending church. She plans to continue her journey as a newfound writer. Please e-mail her at
[email protected].

Linda Jones
, a veteran journalist and freelance writer, is author of
Nappyisms:
Affirmations for Nappy-Headed People and Wannabes!
She is founder of A Nappy Hair Affair, Inc., which promotes African American culture, and is owner of ManeLock Communications, a writing service. She lives in Dallas, Texas and her Web site is
www.lindaLjones.com
.

Berthena Kemp
is a mother, grandmother and great grandmother who is active in church, writes, travels, swims and loves the Lord. She is a breast cancer survivor who spends her time lobbying on behalf of survivors. She is an amazing woman who earned her bachelor's degree at age seventy-three. Berthena inspires everyone she comes in contact with. Contact her by e-mail at
[email protected]
.

T. Rhythm Knight
is a native Floridian currently residing in Miami. Although she works as a computer systems analyst, she's a writer at heart. She recently completed her first novel,
On theWings of Angels
, and is currently working on the second one,
The Master Plan
. You can e-mail her at
[email protected]
.

Sherie Labedis
is a Berkeley graduate, civil rights worker, teacher, speaker, mountain climber, black belt and writer. In her book,
You Came Here to Die,
she chronicles her fears, loneliness and jubilation as an eighteen-year-old voter registration volunteer in South Carolina in 1965. Contact her at:
[email protected]
.

Anita S. Lane
is the founder and editor of
Keeping Family First
online magazine (
http://KeepingFamilyFirst.org
). She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She lives in Detroit, Michigan, with her husband and four young children. Please e-mail her at
[email protected]
.

Margaret Lang
is a published author of fourteen stories and a Christian speaker/teacher in the United States, Thailand, East Timor and Australia.Margaret's desire is to help the poor overseas. Margaret's daughter is a physician/missionary in Asia, her son is a worship leader and she has two granddaughters. Her e-mail address:
[email protected]
.

Evelyn K. Lemar
is an Army veteran and mother of one daughter, Chantel, twelve. She is currently working on her first novel and is also a poetry/spoken word artist. In addition to writing, she enjoys books, livemusic and the beach. Please e-mail her at
[email protected]
.

Susan Madison
resides on St. Helena Island in South Carolina. Madison writes a column for the
Lowcountry Weekly
and has recently released a book entitled
if i can't
sing the blues
, a collection of essays and poems. Susan can be e-mailed at
color-sofjoy@
islc.net
.

Keith Mallett
is a painter, etcher and ceramic artist, his subject matter ranges from still lifes to abstracts. In recent years, he has devoted his talents to themes that portray the beauty and strength of the African American experience. For more information, visit his Web site at
www.keithmallet.com
or write Keith Mallet Studios, Inc., P.O. Box 151378, San Diego, CA 92175.

Nadine McIlwain
is a former Ohio public school educator, who has received numerous awards for excellence in the classroom including the prestigious National Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation. Her first book,
From
Ghetto to God: The Incredible Journey of NFL Star Reggie Rucker
was published in 2001.

Charles Stanley McNeal
is a student of American Sign Language at Mount San Antonio, Walnut, California. He is an employee of AT&T in the city of Pasadena, California. Charles's love for poetry and writing developed when he was a child. His goal is to become a licensed interpreter.

Monica Montgomery
was born and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois. She has been writing short stories and poetry for personal enjoyment since she was ten years old. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in mass communications at a local university.Monica likes to spend her free time bowling, skating, at the movies or on road trips. Her dream is to see the world and then write about it.

Evelyn Palfrey
writes romantic suspense for the “MarvelouslyMature.” Her novels,
The Prince of Passion, Dangerous Dilemmas
and
Everything in Its Place
have appeared on the Essence Best Seller List. She is an attorney in Texas. Find out more about her at
www.evelynpalfrey.com
.

Dawn Nicole Patterson
earned her B.A. and Juris Doctor from Washburn University. She is a wife, mother and educational consultant who speaks Spanish and enjoys research and helping others. Her book,
God's Leaders Leading God's People
, is available through Cushani Publishing, Inc., 913-299-4144. Please contact her at
[email protected]
.

Hattie Mae Pembrook
has written her first book,
Messages to Awaken yourSelf
, which is the companion text to her sister's original and inspirational CD,
A Musical
Messenger
. She enjoys writing, facilitating wake-shops
with her sister and being a champion for children. You can visit her Web site at
www.hattiemae.com
.