Dr. Don Sawyer, HipHop Educator / Activist, Devon Glover “Sonnet Man” Educator, Hip Hip Poet Artist, Josh Brown “An Urban Nerd” Educator/Poet Artist speak on the effect of racism in amerikka on their creativity and lives.

Guest 1: Dr. Don C. Sawyer III is the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He is a tenured associate professor in the department of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences and an assistant clinical professor in the Frank H. Netter, MD, School of Medicine. He teaches courses on Race, Education, Popular Culture, and Social Research Methods, including the university’s first course dedicated to the sociological study of hip-hop culture. His scholarly focus is on race, social justice, urban education, hip-hop culture, and formerly incarcerated citizens’ reentry experiences. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology and M.S. in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University and a B.A. in Psychology from Hartwick College.

Dr. Sawyer has served in various capacities as a university administrator. With over 20 years of higher education experience, he has held positions in residence life, admissions, multicultural affairs, fraternity and sorority affairs, student activities, experiential learning, student leadership, and STEM retention. Throughout his career, he has worked diligently to nurture healthy relationships between academic and student affairs. He understands that collaborative partnerships create an environment conducive to the successful recruitment, retention, education, and graduation of civically engaged students.

Guest 2: Devon Glover - Devon Glover is a teacher, rapper, poet, playwright and actor from Brooklyn, New York. He performs Shakespeare's Sonnets through Hip-Hop as The Sonnet Man in schools and theatres worldwide. Devon has appeared on NBC, BBC, and at Conferences and Festivals worldwide, including Stratford, Ontario, and Stratford-upon-Avon. He has taught with Stratford Shakespeare, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and Shakespeare Behind Bars. Devon has written adaptations of Shakespeare for various companies. In the Spring 2019, Devon was commissioned by the University of Warwick and Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to write a hip-hop adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” For more information, visit www.SonnetMan.com

Guest 3: Josh Brown - AnUrbanNerd has been writing and performing for the past 10 years. The purpose of his art is to show that "your gift is not your own". He used to rap as a joke with his friends but he keep it low key. Now he is comfortable sharing his passion for music and remains his goofy self. He took up the name AnUrbanNerd to embrace what he used to try to hide. At the end of the day everyone has a gift that they need to share with the world.

Guest 4: Frederick Douglass-Knowles II - is an Educator and Activist fervent in achieving community augmentation through literary arts. He is the inaugural Poet Laureate for the City of Hartford. His works have been selected as a finalist for the New England Frederick-Douglass Knowles II is an Educator and Activist fervent in achieving community augmentation through literary arts. He is the inaugural Poet Laureate for the City of Hartford. His works have been selected as a finalist for the New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE) Poet of the Year Award, as well as a nominee for a Pushcart Prize. He is a recipient of the Nutmeg Poetry Award, and the 2020 Connecticut of The Arts Fellow in Artist Excellence for Poetry/ Creative Non-Fiction. Frederick-Douglass is the author of BlackRoseCity, and an Associate Professor of English at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, CT.