“Family Court or Family Fragmentation?” — Alicia Crowe on Why the System Is Failing Black Fathers When attorney and author Alicia Crowe sat down with Richard Ryles on The Ryles Report this week, she didn’t soften her diagnosis. The family court system, she argues, doesn’t just resolve disputes — it actively fragments Black families. The…
No Dreams Deferred Productions announces the premiere production of the groundbreaking sci-fi Afro-futurism play, “Waiting for Burial” written by Alice T. Crowe at The Dreambox, 40 St. John McCarroll Way, Greenville, South Carolina, March 20-22, 2026. “Waiting for Burial” centers around a 72 year old tetchy shut-in who, when authorities declare a mandatory evacuation for…
I loved this cast. These talented actors brought my script to life. I’m awestruck, shocked, but I’m not surprised. They’ve dedicated themselves to their craft. The saddest part about doing a staged reading of a play is when the performance is over and the actors disperse. For the moment, these actors made one believe that the world they portrayed was real.
More than a dozen families in Brooklyn fell behind on their mortgage payments. They sought help from a lawyer who promised to facilitate a short sale —a transaction in which the bank allows the delinquent homeowner to sell the home for less than what is owed. These families soon found out that the lawyer now…
Michael Renard White takes on the role of Mr. Booker T. Slotts, bringing television experience from appearances in “Mr. Right” on BET and “ATL Homicide” on TV One, where he portrayed Delvonte Gordon.
This is the untold story of Cynthia D. Hesdra a Black woman from Rockland County, New York and the battle over her fortune in the 1800s. Hesdra was one of the richest people in Rockland County, Black or white. We may have never learned about Cynthia D. Hesdra were it not for the battle over her fortune.
I’ve been a student of Africana Studies for many years. One might say my parents planted this notion in me and my twin sister at birth. Years ago, I shared my love of Black culture by opening a retail store in Nyack, New York called Zola Africentric Gallery that served as a community hub for culture, connection, and education. You might say I am an examiner of Jim Crow and its legacy.
Grassroots boycotts are proving their power on Target’s Balance Sheet. On a March 4 quarterly earnings call, Target reported that quarterly net sales declined 3.1 percent. Target sales are declining, and so is its reputation. The company’s stock has slipped over 50 percent from its three-year high. While some experts will argue that grassroots consumer…
Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz 22nd Anniversary Celebration and Benefit will take place on June 30th at Theater for the New City. The evening will feature a celebration concert and party with a line up of special guest artists performing and some surprises” to toast the success of Banana Puddin’ Jazz and share the vision for what’s ahead. It will be a night of joy, performances, and community spirit.
Theater owner and director Clarke Nesbitt of No Dreams Deferred is producing and directing The Color Purple a musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (and the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film) at the Simponville Arts Center June 13-June 15. Tickets are on sale now.
“Father’s make families stronger when they play an active role in their children’s lives. They enhance communities when they are present to organize and offer solutions for improvement.”
Alicia M. Crowe, a notable Attorney and Author, stresses fathers’ critical role in their children’s lives, even amidst the difficulties often encountered in strained relationships with the other parent. In her insightful book, Real Dads Stand Up! What Every Single Father Should Know About Child Support, Rights, and Custody, Crowe discusses not only the legal aspects fathers need to understand but also the emotional and social importance of maintaining a strong paternal presence in their children’s lives.
I’m excited to announce that my newest play, Train Reckoning, has been selected for the 14th Annual Atlanta Black Theatre Festival’s Staged Readings Series. The 14th Annual Atlanta Black Theatre Festival will take place from August 29 to 31, 2025.
Rome Neal, award winning actor, director, producer and Jazz vocalist, created Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz Productions to fill the need for a platform to showcase the musical and creative talents of artists, singers, and musicians. After 22 years of curating and producing Banana Puddin’ Jazz, he continues to greet his audience as if they were guests at his private party, and all shows feature complimentary homemade banana pudding. This warm gesture indeed reeled me in.
Naomi’s walk away is about more than mental health. However, the powers would like to reduce her actions to just mental health issues and erase racism as a factor. Osaka took a strong stance against injustice in America. Instead, some interests would prefer she shut up about injustice and racism, take the media punches, and keep swinging the racket. Osaka chose another option, the walkway. She removed herself from the immediate source of her discomfort. Osaka set an example for people of African descent of what to do when the stresses of racism get too much to bear–walk away and protect your mental fitness.
Evanston’s Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program is potentially is a good deal if it allows disenfranchised members of the black community to profit from an economic ecosystem that has deliberately shut them out. The money coming down the pike must circulate in the black community among black businesses, professionals, and tradespeople. At a minimum, reparative justice requires that the black community profit from this initiative for Evanston’s prior wrongdoing.
You can’t get something for nothing. Everything has a price—even racism. Black people are the targets and intended victims of racism in America. We know what racism costs Black people, but do we know what it costs America? A lot.
Nina Simone told us, “get up from the table when love is no longer being served.” The strange fruit vocalist tried to warn us to know when it’s time to leave. Some Blacks had intuitively known when some places were just too unsafe; it was time to flee. That’s what the Great Migration was all about.
ALICIA CROWE Jazz Artist & Cultural Cabaret Storyteller Blue Notes & Sunny Skies A Journey of the Heart The Bright Light District Saturday, April 11, 2026 7:00 PM Englewood Public Library 31 Engle Street, Englewood, NJ Free and Open to the Public RSVP HERE
by Alice T. Crowe Imagine trying to take out $40 from an ATM, but the machine won’t give you cash. Instead, it’s a cryptocurrency ATM that only lets you buy bitcoin, and it charges a high fee. These machines allow you to buy or sell cryptocurrency using cash or a debit card. You have no…
This not-for-profit financial institution, started by the African Diaspora Council in St. Louis, Mo., aims to help African-American and African immigrant communities build wealth and support their families. This unique collaboration offers an alternative for the “unbanked,” people who don’t have bank accounts because of a distrust of large financial institutions, given banks’ long-established history of systemic racism. Cultural collaboration is the type of group unity we need, one that includes members of the African Diaspora.
By Alice T. Crowe Black Americans have struggled to build wealth in America through property ownership. Owning land meant freedom. Government policies like redlining and restrictive covenants cheated Black families and communities out of wealth. Jim Crow’s color-coded paper maps were just one ruse in a trick bag of tactics used to normalize segregation and…