FOR RELEASE WED., FEBRUARY 8, 2023
MEDIA CONTACTS: Marcus Amaker Artist-in-Residence mamaker@gaillardcenter.org
Charlton Singleton Artist-in-Residence Emeritus csingleton@gaillardcenter.org
Kellie Lawson Director of Marketing klawson@gaillardcenter.org
GAILLARD CENTER SOCIAL MEDIA: @gaillardcenter
facebook.com/thegaillardcenter
Charleston Gaillard Center Releases
Raising the Volume Episodes XXVIII - XXXI
February 8, 2023 – Charleston, SC – Today the Charleston Gaillard Center released four new episodes in Season Three of Raising the Volume. Featuring conversations on music, race, art, activism, and more, the series is curated by Artists-in-Residence, Marcus Amaker, Charlton Singleton, and the Gaillard’s Education & Community team. In Raising the Volume, issues are explored through open, honest dialogue. Each conversation includes an in-depth conversation with local Black leaders, educators, business owners, and artists.
The following episodes and lesson plans were released today:
Episode XXVIII - Michael Allen shares National Park Service and African American experiences.
Episode XXIX - Kimberlyn Davis highlights the Emanuel Nine Memorial.
Episode XXX - Damon Fordham reviews African American history.
Episode XXXI - Tessa Spencer explores the world of news from her perspective.
Download photos here.
Each video is accompanied by a lesson plan for both middle and high school students. The Gaillard Center’s on-staff educator, Sterling deVries, will facilitate cross-school virtual meetings for students in different areas to discuss the content of the interviews. Thirty-one lesson plans are available now at gaillardcenter.org. The lesson plans highlight the following interdisciplinary themes: global awareness; civic literacy; working creatively with others.
Watch the episodes and download the plans here. All videos and lesson plans are available for free as part of the Gaillard Center’s Education & Community Program.
Previously released episodes include:
Episode I - A conversation on music, racism, art, activism, and more with Marcus Amaker & Charlton Singleton.
Episode II - A conversation on Charleston activism, past and present with former Municipal Court Judge for the City of Charleston for 33 years, Judge Arthur McFarland.
Episode III - A conversation on awareness and action with the Executive Director of YWCA, LaVanda Brown.
Episode IV - A conversation on growing up in Charleston and life as a journalist and author with Herb Frazier.
Episode V - A conversation on arts management with Dr. Karen Chandler.
Episode VI - A conversation on The Jazz Initiative and Jenkins Orphanage Band with Dr. Karen Chandler.
Episode VII - A conversation on his life and the health of our Black community with Dr. Thaddeus J. Bell.
Episode VIII - A conversation on entrepreneurship with Andrea Davis.
Episode IX - A conversation on finding your voice with Dr. Kylon Jerome Middleton.
Episode X - A conversation on music and life with The War And Treaty.
Episode XI - Kellen Gray examines classical conducting.
Episode XII - Marcus Amaker and Charlton Singleton talk about music, joy, and memory.
Episode XIII - Regina Duggins discusses her role as a mentor, teacher, and community leader.
Episode XIV - Dr. Bernard Powers analyzes life and Black history.
Episode XV - Jirah Perkins explores art and being you.
Episode XVI - Osei Chandler describes discovering your Kuumba.
Episode XVII - KJ Kearney highlights Black Food Fridays.
Episode XVIII - Michael Brown details community traditions, inspiration, & conflict resolution.
Episode XIX - Quiana Parler explores passion, goals for the future, and Gullah culture.
Episode XX - Dr. Brown analyzes gentrification, equality advocacy, and community outreach.
Episode XXI - Lonnie Hamilton III describes his experience as a Charleston educator and a politician.
Episode XXII - Techa Smalls-Brown reviews the importance of practicing mindfulness.
Episode XXIII - Daniel Green explores finding your brand.
Episode XXIV - Ann Caldwell examines telling your story.
Episode XXV - Truth Be Told: Vesey Panel Discussion
Episode XXVI - Elana Boyd-Pea describes founding Black Charleston Professionals.
Episode XXVII - Anson Street African Burial Project
Funding for this program is provided in part by The Martha & John M. Rivers Performance Hall Foundation, Puffin Foundation West, Ltd., TD Bank, Daniel Island Community Fund, Mark Elliot Motley Foundation, and South Carolina Humanities
ABOUT MARCUS AMAKER
Marcus Amaker was named Charleston, SC’s first Poet Laureate in 2016. He’s also the award-winning graphic designer of a national music journal, an accomplished electronic musician, and a mentor to hundreds of students.
His poetry has been presented by The Kennedy Center, and has appeared in Departures magazine, Chicago Tribune, PBS Newshour, and several other publications. In 2019, he won a Governor’s Arts award in South Carolina.
His poetry has been studied in classrooms and has been interpreted for ballet, jazz, modern dance, opera and theater. Marcus has recorded three albums with Grammy Award winning drummer and producer Quentin E. Baxter of Ranky Tanky.
His latest book is The Birth of All Things, from Free Verse Press. He’s currently the Gaillard Center’s artist-in-residence.
MUSIC tapeloop.bandcamp.com
NEW BOOK, VINYL AND MORE newpoetrybook.com
WEBSITE marcusamaker.com
ABOUT CHARLTON SINGLETON
A native of Awendaw, SC, Charlton Singleton began his musical studies at the age of three on the piano. He would then go on to study the organ, violin, cello, and the trumpet throughout elementary, middle, and high school. In 1994, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from South Carolina State University. Since that time, he has taught music at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, as well as being an adjunct faculty member at the College of Charleston. In 2008 he co-founded and became the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Charleston Jazz Orchestra; an 18-piece jazz ensemble of some of the finest professional musicians in the Southeast and the resident big band in Charleston, SC. Mr. Singleton is also the organist and choir director at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Charleston, SC. In November of 2016 he was named the inaugural Artist in Residence at the recently renovated Gaillard Center in downtown Charleston. He remained in this position until July 2019; at that point he was named Artist in Residence Emeritus. In this position he continues to lead the Summer Youth Jazz Orchestra Camp as well as lead the “Jazz Through the Ages” assembly, which attracts a capacity crowd of students at the Gaillard Center.
As a performer, Charlton leads his own ensembles that vary in size and style. He
has performed in France, Great Britain, Scotland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, The Netherlands, as well as many great cities throughout the United States. He is a founding member of an ensemble called Ranky Tanky. The group is a quintet that interprets the sounds of Gullah from the Southeast Coast of the United States. In 2017 Ranky Tanky reached the top of the Billboard, iTunes, and Amazon Contemporary Jazz charts with their self-titled debut recording. In 2019 they accomplished the same feat with the release of their sophomore effort, “Good Time”, which recently won the 2019 Grammy Award for “Best Regional Roots Album”. Ranky Tanky was also recognized and honored with a resolution by the South Carolina House of Representatives for their achievements in the music industry. In 2021 Charlton was the recipient of the SC Governor’s Award, which honors arts organizations, patrons, artists, members of the business community, and government entities who maximize their roles as innovators, supporters, and advocates for the arts. It is the highest individual honor for the arts in the state of South Carolina.
In addition to performing, he is in demand as a speaker, clinician, composer, and arranger. He has also shared the stage with and/or worked with some of the most talented entertainers in the world, including Bobby McFerrin, Ruby Dee, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, Houston Person, Darius Rucker, Fred Wesley, and Cyrus Chestnut to name a few. Outside of music and entertainment, he, and his wife, MaryJo, are the proud parents of Shalamar, D’Marcus, and K’Leb, as well as their pets...Sassy, Jango, MoJo, Pumpkin, and Ginger.
WEBSITE charltonsingleton.com
INSTAGRAM @csmusician
FACEBOOK @charltonpsingleton
ABOUT STERLING DEVRIES
Sterling deVries, the Director of Education at the Charleston Gaillard Center, is dedicated to supporting the educational community through the arts. Following fifteen years as a classroom teacher, deVries builds on the knowledge that arts are an integral part of classroom content. Her Master’s degree in Arts in Education
changed her approach to teaching and resulted in a student-centered, arts-enhanced method of content mastery.
ABOUT STEPHANIE LANCASTER
Stephanie was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated from Flagler College with a bachelor of Fine Arts and College of Charleston with a Masters in Early Childhood Education. Stephanie was a classroom teacher for five years before joining the Gaillard Center three years ago. Stephanie currently lives in West Ashley with her husband and their pup, Hadley. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach, painting, biking, watching movies, and trying new restaurants.
ABOUT MICHAEL ALLEN
Michael A. Allen grew up in Kingstree, South Carolina; he is a 1978 graduate of Kingstree Senior High, as well as a 1982 graduate of South Carolina State College with a degree in History Education. He began his public career with the National Park Service in 1980 as CO-OP Education Student. He has served as a Park Ranger, Education Specialist as well as the Community Partnership Specialist for The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor/Fort Sumter National Monument and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. In 2014, he was assigned by the National Park Service to participate as a lead team member on The NPS Special Resource Landmark Study exploring the history and legacy of The Reconstruction Era in American History. Because of this groundbreaking effort, a new national park service site was establishment by Presidential Proclamation, Reconstruction Era National Monument on January 12, 2017. In December 2017, Michael Allen retired from the National Park Service after a 37 and half years’ career of public service. He is also the husband of Latanya Prather and father of Brandon, Shaelyn and Isaiah. He lives in Mount Pleasant, SC and is active in community affairs.
Michael Allen has been a community activist for most of his professional life. He has a deep-seeded interest in our nation’s spiritual growth as it relates to the history and culture. He played a major role in the National Park Service's Gullah-Geechee Special Resource Study, which began in 2000. The Gullah-Geechee Special Resource Study examined the feasibility and suitability of establishing educational centers as well as determining ways to increase interpretation and preservation of this
valuable culture. The final report was presented to Congress in the May of 2005. In October of 2006 the US Congress through the leadership of fellow SCSU Alumnus Congressman James E. Clyburn, and the tireless support of Michael Allen the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Act was passed which established the first and only African American National Heritage Area in the Country. In October of 2007, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Commission, which was comprised of 25 Grassroots citizens’ members from all four states of the corridor. His primary responsibility was to ensure that this new National Heritage Area become a reality in an effort to provide hope, opportunity and support to grass root organizations and the wider Gullah Geechee Community. In October of 2009, he was formally elevated to the Director’s Position for the Corridor and directed the efforts of the corridor to develop a Management plan that will guide the operations of the corridor for the future.
Throughout his career, Michael Allen was involved in designing exhibits and presenting interpretive programs that involve local communities and history. These programs were designed to attract non-traditional audiences to National Park Service and other historic sites. He was instrumental in 1999, in erecting the “African Importation Historic Marker” on Sullivan Island; in 2008, he assisted the Toni Morrison Society and the College of Charleston in erecting a “Bench by the Road” commemorative bench at Fort Moultrie to memorialize the islands participation in the African slave trade. Finally, in 2009 he was instrumental in unveiling “African Passages” an exhibit that highlights the African arrival, presence and contributions to Gullah Geechee Culture and American society through the eyes of Africans and African American who passed through Sullivan Island on their way to be enslaved in the Charleston and beyond. An additional focus of his career has been the inclusion of the socio-economic and political influences that brought the country to Civil War. He was appointed and serve on the South Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee that oversaw the observance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War as well as the events of Reconstruction.
He also has been involved in a number of other innovative projects designed to engage new audiences in understanding and appreciating African and American history. He was a founding Board Member of the International African American Museum, which is slated to open in January of 2023 in Charleston SC. It will offer a
glimpse of Africans and African Americans contributions in the making of the modern world. In addition to his association with the International African American Museum, in 1993 he was a founding member and former Vice President of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission. He was the past Treasure for the South Carolina Council for African American studies. He also served as a board member for a number of local and statewide organizations such as, The African American Historical Alliance, Habitat for Humanity’s East Cooper and the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association and the Long Point Road Historic School Association. On June 11, 2013, Michael Allen received the 2013 Historic Preservation Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award from the Governor Office, Palmetto Trust and the South Carolina Dept. of Archives and History. He was presented with the SC State University Distinguished Alumnus Award during Founders Day weekend on March 2, 2014. In September 2014 Michael Allen, was recognized for his exemplary leadership in environmental issues at the George B. Hertzog Jr. Awards Luncheon, an annual event hosted by the Institute for Parks at Clemson University. The luncheon and lecture are named for Hartzog, the seventh director of the National Park Service. During the luncheon, Allen received the Robert G. Stanton Award, named in appreciation of the remarkable career of Stanton, the first African-American director of the National Park Service. The Robert G. Stanton Award recognizes recipients for sustained and innovative achievements in promoting racial or ethnic diversity in the management of North America's natural, historic and cultural heritage. In 2015 The South Carolina African American Heritage Commission recognized Michael by presenting him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2016, Michael Allen received The Williamsburg County School District Hall of Fame Award as an outstanding graduate of Williamsburg County School system. In April 2019, Governor Henry McMaster recognized Michael with the Order of the Palmetto. This is the highest civilian award to be given to citizens of South Carolina by the Governor of the South Carolina. In additional to these awards he has received a number of other awards from Fraternal, Civic, Governmental and Community organizations. In January of 2021 Michael received the Martin Luther King Portrait Awards. This award recognizes people who emulate the spirit of community service portrayed by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Finally, on October 21, 2021 Michael Allen was awarded the 2021 Governor’s Award in
Humanities which recognize outstanding achievement in helping communities in South Carolina better understand our cultural heritage. Since his retirement he is still active and vested in preserving the life, legacy, contributions and heritage of African Americans in the context of SC and US history. He was instrumental in assisting Historic Charleston Foundation in the management of the Mosquito Beach Civil Rights Project (2018-2020). This NPS funded project on James Island, resulted in the nomination and inclusion of this Historic Civil Rights landscape to the NPS National Register of Historic Places in October of 2019. In additional, in February 2020 a website was created and launched to capture the humanitarian spirit of this valuable resource. In addition, a SC State Historic Marker and interpretative panels will soon be place near the entrance to Mosquito beach and along the historic corridor of this site. In August of 2019 Michael partnered with Reconstruction Beaufort a community and nationwide efforts to highlight the history and legacy of the Reconstruction Period. He served as the former Chair of the Advisory Board for this organization. This effort was developed to enhance the capacity of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Site as well as to assist with enhance educational awareness of this challenging period in American History.
Michael currently serves as Community Preservation Specialist at SC State University his Alma Mater in Orangeburg SC. Michael is supporting the University in managing a HBCU grant from the National Park Service. This grant is funding the restoration and rehabilitation of Wilkinson Hall one of the oldest structure on the campus of South Carolina State University. His primary responsibilities are to ensure that the restoration of Wilkinson Hall adhere to the NPS HBCU grant guidelines, additional all of the quarterly and yearly reports are developed and submitted by Mr. Allen. Finally, his tenure with the National Park Service creates a professional, cordial and open relationship between SCSU and the National Park Service.
As you can see, Michael Allen’s professional and personal career has been filled with accomplishment after accomplishment. Throughout it all his kindness, compassion and empathy have led to bridge community gaps and helped community leaders understand each other in a more meaningful way.
Finally, Michael’s motto is, “to understand the present and move toward the future, you must first know and accept your past.
WEBSITE Tastee Treats SC
ABOUT KIMBERLYN DAVIS
Kimberlyn has lived in Charleston for the past 10 years. She has over 25 years of marketing experience in the financial services and consumer packaged goods industries and most recently running a local nonprofit.
In 1999, she joined Coca-Cola and ran their local grassroots multicultural marketing program in Nashville and Jackson (TN). She increased sales for the Coca-Cola portfolio by 75% her first year and increased Coca-Cola brand perception (measured via focus groups) with an emphasis on the flagship brand Coca-Cola Classic.
Always looking for her next challenge, Kimberlyn left Nashville in June 2001 for Charlotte, NC as promotions manager with Coca-Cola. While in this role, she learned more about product and package development, while continuing to support the multicultural marketing efforts. Some of the exciting launches she worked on included: FridgePack, Diet coke with Lemon, Diet Coke with Lime, Vanilla Coke, Coke Zero, Full Throttle, and Sprite Remix. For each launch, she supported the sales team by providing relevant in-store collateral, developing sampling programs as well as partnering with field managers to help execute launches flawlessly.
In November 2005, she left the carbonated beverage industry and joined Bank of America as VP of Small Business Marketing where she created and managed end to end marketing campaigns for small business products and services using traditional and digital media. In 2009, she joined the Home Loans team to develop various marketing strategies, including the strategic vision to help distressed homebuyers get the assistance needed during the housing crisis. In 2012, she was promoted to Senior Vice President of Marketing Programs for Home Loans ensuring Bank of America met its Community Reinvestment Act objectives with low-
to moderate-income homebuyers. Furthermore, she developed financial education tools to help potential homeowners understand credit and the process of getting a mortgage. And lastly, she created effective demand generation email strategies for the auto and home equity loan teams to maximize clicks and online product applications.
In September 2019, she started K Davis Marketing Group and has worked with the Beach Company, the Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation, the Medical University of South Carolina and the Charleston Men’s Chorus handling various marketing and fundraising initiatives including message framework development, direct response and social media marketing and community outreach.
In August 2020, Davis was named the executive director of the Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation. In this role, she is overseeing the entire effort to build a national memorial, called the Emanuel Nine Memorial, which will honor the five survivors and remember the nine slain at Mother Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015.
WEBSITE emanuelnine.org
ABOUT DAMON FORDHAM
Damon Lamar Fordham was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on December 23, 1964, to Anne Montgomery and was adopted by Pearl and Abraham Fordham of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the following year. He received his master’s degree in history from the College of Charleston and the Citadel and his undergraduate degrees from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He is currently an adjunct professor of World Civilizations, United States History, and African American History at Charleston Southern University and The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and he has taught American History and African American Studies at the College of Charleston. He was a weekly columnist for the Charleston Coastal Times from 1994 to 1998, and he is the author of The 1895 Segregation Fight in South Carolina, Mr. Potts and Me, Voices of Black South Carolina: Legend and Legacy, and True Stories of Black South Carolina. In 2006, he co-authored Born to Serve: The Story of the Woman’s Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina.
Research and articles by Fordham appear in the books Sweetgrass Baskets and the Gullah Tradition by Joyce Coakley, South of Main by Beatrice Hill and Brenda Lee, Orangeburg 1968 by Cecil Williams and Sonny DuBose, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African-American Folklore for the University of Missouri Press, and The Malcolm X Encyclopedia for the University of Southern Mississippi Press.
He has also commented on history and storytelling for numerous radio and television programs in the United States, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. In May 2022, he accompanied fellow educators on a ten-day educational fact-finding tour of Senegal and Gambia, West Africa, where he toured the Slave Port at Gorre Island and spoke to students at the University of The Gambia. He also appeared on the NBC LX News and CBS Sunday Morning in 2022.
Fordham conducts a walking tour called “The Lost Stories of Black Charleston.” He has been recognized by the South Carolina House of Representatives for his work in education, historical research, and social justice.
His motto is: ”Educate yourself to lead yourself, for if you wait on others to show you the way, you will wait for a long time.”
TOUR WEBSITE The Lost Stories of Black Charleston
BOOK True Stories of Black South Carolina
BOOK Voices of Black South Carolina: Legend & Legacy
BOOK The 1895 Segregation Fight in South Carolina
ABOUT TESSA SPENCER
A Charleston native, Tessa graduated from Bishop England High School and received her B.A. degree in Mass Communications from Baptist College at Charleston (now Charleston Southern University). Following college, Tessa served in the U.S. Army Reserves and is a veteran of the first Gulf War.
Her broadcasting career spans over 30 years with stops in Greenville, SC; Providence, RI; and Nashville, TN, where she also earned a spot as a cheerleader for the NFL's Tennessee Titans in 1999.
Tessa returned home to Charleston in 1999 and worked as one-half of Z93's "Breakfuss Club" until 2011. Tessa and her co-host earned numerous awards, state recognitions and local honors including a proclamation from Charleston Mayor Joe Riley naming June 21st "Tessa and Baby J Day."
Tessa’s personal honors highlight her community service, the empowerment of women, and leadership. She is an EMMY nominated anchor and RTDNAC winner for her work on ABC News 4.
As a television voice-over artist, Tessa can be heard nationally as the announcer for the syndicated "Gospel Stellar Awards," “Mentoring Kings,” and “America’s Black Forum.”
Tessa began a television career in 2010 and joined the ABC News 4 Team fulltime as a reporter in 2011. She rose through the ranks and is now the main evening anchor.
She can also be heard weekdays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) on Cumulus Broadcasting radio station Magic 107.3 FM.
PODCAST Testimonies with Tessa Spencer
CUMULUS RADIO Magic 107.3 and Z93 Jamz!
ABC 4 Profile
ABOUT THE CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER
A leader in the performing arts in the Southeast, the Charleston Gaillard Center commissions, supports, and presents ambitious, multidisciplinary cultural programming and provides access to the best local, national, and global artists and companies on its stage. Deeply rooted in the community, the Gaillard Center committed to elevating local and regional voices and partnering with Charleston
institutions to reflect the city’s diversity, both on stage and off. Through programming on its public campus and extensive arts education initiatives, the Gaillard Center serves as a platform to participate in community building and essential dialogue.
Established as a nonprofit in 2015, its campus includes the 1,818-seat Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall, a 16,000 square-foot exhibition hall that is home to artistic activations, community and corporate events, and celebrations, and an adjacent park space that was recently activated for artistic presentations. Behind the scenes the Gaillard Center also fosters a culture of excellence and inclusion, employing a robust and talented staff, and providing opportunities for growth and engagement across the arts sector. Find more information and upcoming programming at gaillardcenter.org.