CAU Now Lifting Every Voice for September aired on Saturday morning at 8:30 on Atlanta's Jazz Station 91.9 WCLK  and featured a conversation about the upcoming NAMI Walks Georgia taking place on Saturday, October 6. NAMI is the National Alliance On Mental Illness. This event begins at Panther Stadium with check in at 8am, with the 5k walk to the State Capitol and back beginning at 9:30am. This year's walk features co-chairs Brenda Wood and GBI Director Vernon Keenan.

This week's UPFRONT features my one-on-one interviews with Michele Shay, director of the True Colors Production of Nina Simone: Four Women + Grammy Winning Songwriter Makeba Riddick-Woods. 

Nina Simone: Four Women is inspired by the classic Simone tune and follows four women as they pick up the pieces of their lives after the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. The play with music is taking place now through October 21 at the Southwest Arts Center. 

This week on The Local Take I speak with Jaisaan Lovett, the 2018 Valedictorian at University Preperatory Charter School for Young Men in Rochester, New York, who was denied an opportunity to deliver his speech at high school graduation by the school's founding Administrator, who never saw Jaisaan's speech(the administrator subsequently retired under pressure). As the first African-American valedictorian at the school Jaisaan was disappointed. He had interned with the mayor's office and they provided a platform for Jaisaan to deliver his address. 

This week on The Local Take I speak with Toni Henson founder and executive director of The Atlanta Black Theatre Festival.  The Festival is scheduled from October 3 - 6 at the Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center.   Toni shares with us how she came to establish the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival, her love of theatre and how the festival continues to grow. When asked which is the not to be missed production, Toni explains that "you should pick a day, not a play."