Dare To Be

Were you that young cousin in your family who didn’t take dance lessons? I was. No tap shoes. No leotards. No teased, glitter-laden or overly gelled hair. Instead of practicing for recitals, I satisfied my hunger to leap and pivot by desperately trying to emulate the synchronized moves of Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. And then an infamous episode of “Different World” aired and I was captivated by a form of dance foreign to me, but so familiar to the fictional college students I had come to admire. Who knew that during my cultural awakening, a young Howard University grad - newly returned from a time in Africa - was rigorously researching the history of this very art form for an amazing undertaking. Ahead of the organization’s VIP Gala: Step Afrika! After Dark on Thursday, June 9, 2016, I talked with Williams about his 20-plus year journey starting, building and managing this successful not-for-profit dance company and arts education institution. Dance l Stepping l Africa l Arts Education l Step A

With less than six months to Election Day, the U.S. Supreme Court has a big gaping hole due to the recent loss of Justice Antonin Scalia. The fear of a dreaded 4 to 4 split looms above its gleaming marble columns like a dark and lightening-charged cloud. U.S. President Barack Obama faces uncooperative congressional leaders and a high court nomination that appears to be in indefinite limbo. Before 2016. Before Clarence Thomas. The most controversial Supreme Court nominee, Thurgood Marshall, Jr., shook the halls of Capitol Hill and every southern courtroom with his intense grasp of the law and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. From Sam Davis, Jr. and Sugar Ray Robinson, to Hurricane Katrina and Nelson Mandela's life and presidency after nearly three decades in prison, reporter and author Wil Haygood has elegantly covered and reimagined countless true stories of talent and triumph. His new book, "Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed American," continues Haygood