I have a couple of degrees in Journalism from the University of Memphis and spent most of my career in broadcasting -- production, promotion and community affairs -- after receiving my undergraduate degree.  After a 20-year career with a local Memphis TV station, I opened my own PR firm (www.sscommpr.com).  I've also done free-lance writing for the Tri-State Defender, one of the oldest black newspapers in the country, since 2006.  My public relations and marketing clients include playwrights, artists, politicians, nonprofit agencies, community organizations and small businesses.  I spent 15 years as secretary of the local NAACP and I believe I became involved because of my mother's influence.  She marched with my stepfather in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike and attended the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta.  She was someone who would standup for the rights of others and had deep convictions about right and wrong.  She died unexpectedly in 1982.  Today, my brothers and sisters still abide by most of her teachings.  The illustrator for my first, non-thesis, book is Emery Franklin, the fine artist who hired me to promote his month-long Black History Month exhibit at the main library in Memphis.  Emery liked my work and asked me if I would create a book showcasing the series of paintings in his exhibit. He got a little impatient with the process which lasted from June 2011 to March 2012 but I loved it.  I always wanted to get into publishing. Somewhere along my life, I discovered that I loved writing truth, nonfiction, and not the great American novel.  My work with the Tri-State Defender sealed the deal.  I also love research -- fact-finding and data-mining.  My writing contains lots of historical references and my mother possibly thought I should have become a teacher. No way.  Someone who intuitively connects the dots, I would rather teach through my writings. I am the divorced mother of another writer, my adult son Derrick.  He was injured while riding his bike when he was 10 years old.  He collided with a car and was comatose for four months. The result was multiple physical challenges, including his speech. I discovered those challenges were only physical:  I took him to the TV station one Saturday and put him at my office typewriter while I worked at the computer.   I was thrilled when I read what he typed on that single sheet of white bond paper:  "My life hasn't been a bowl of cherries since my accident."  Derrick and I are best friends.

-- B.A. M.A. Journalism - University of Memphis/ Presenter, 1996 Mid-Atlantic Graduate Communications Conference, Rutgers University.
-- Recipient of Florence M. Howard Leadership Award from Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Memphis.
--10th Mid-South Regional Emmy Award for Outstanding Information/Instruction ("Kids Count: Special Kids, Special Parents" - WREG-TV) from Nashville Chapter of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
--2004 Political Action Award, Tennessee State Conference NAACP.