Ayodele Nzinga is an arts and culture theoretician/practitioner working at the intersections of cultural production, community development, and community well being to foster transformation in marginalized communities. Nzinga holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Writing and Consciousness and Doctorate of Philosophy in Transformative Education & Change; she resides in Oakland, CA. Described as a renaissance woman, Ayodele is a producing director, playwright, poet, dramaturg, actress, performance consultant, arts educator, community advocate, and a culture bearing anchor. Ayodele is the first poet laureate of Oakland.
Editor’s Note: BlacArted is a front-row view into the maze-like mind of a multi-hyphenated artist pondering on art and the nature of reality as it intersects the creative and the imagined. On a balmy Friday
Editor’s Note: Oakland Voices is launching a column written by our alum and the City of Oakland’s first Poet Laureate, Ayodele Nzinga. BlacArted is a front-row view into the maze-like mind of a multi-hyphenated artist
Glenn Bailey has served 52 years inside the California carceral system. The last 42 were part of a life sentence for a double homicide he readily admits he committed. When he was arrested, authorities arrested