What project has brought you the most joy and why?
All of them on some level because of their impacts. My joy comes from going into communities and speaking with folks and hearing their stories as whole human beings, where they have not ever been recognized and viewed as limited in living. For example, I have enjoyed working with youth in a program called Access to Theater and hosting an inclusion conference for migrant and families of color. I cling to those moments because this work can be soul-crushing or soul-draining. You are constantly putting projects or things together so people's humanity can be either kept intact or recognized.
And you write poetry, right? I happen to write poetry as well. But tell me about your poetry.
I've always written rhymes, hip hop, R&B songs. But in terms of spoken word poetry, I stumbled into it when I went to open mic poetry night. I went home and wrote a poem called "Fresh New Cut" and read it on open mic night. People liked it. They did not ever really see a vulnerable person of color with a disability writing poetry. For me poetry is a tool of revolution.
You are a self-described African-American activist, entrepreneur, and father living with cerebral palsy. How do these different, intersecting identities impact the way you approach your activism and work in general?
When I started SoulTouchin’ Experiences LLC in 1997, the phraseology and the terminology that people were using for intersecting identities was “multiculturalism,” “cross-disability,” “cross-cultural,” because it was about the totality of who you are versus the slices of who you are.
Being a black disabled man in the United States, a descendant of people who were stolen and brought here, and the first generation of my family with civil rights, voting rights and the right to attend mainstreamed and integrated schools have shaped my activism. I have to fight for opportunities because of how someone perceives my humanity. I fight for parental rights, including those of single fathers, as well as equitable health care.
You founded and are the President and CEO of SoulTouchin’ Experiences LLC. What is its origin and how has it evolved?
Its origin story… I feel like I need a Marvel theme song. Its origin was an evolution of what I saw in college before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and post-graduation when the ADA was enacted as law. I was that generation born to do civil rights activism. Its origin was also shaped by my growing up in St. Louis, the northernmost slave and very segregated state.
Busing did not kick in for me in terms of school integration until 1981 when I moved to Boston with its notorious busing history. And then attending school in New Jersey right around the time Rudy Giuliani was mayor and there were racial tensions, followed by the Gulf War. I wanted to see a safer and better community.
SoulTouchin’ Experiences was about taking a holistic approach to humanity without fracturing it into slices of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation.
According to the organization’s website, SoulTouchin’ Experiences aims to build stronger communities through “collaborative partnerships and progressive advocacy efforts, aimed at community empowerment along with systemic policy change for persons with and without disabilities at a local and national level.” Some of these efforts relate to the arts, Medicaid, and voter rights and access. Can you share an example of a specific project your organization has worked on?
Some of the projects are things that have shaped federal policies. In 1997 and 1998 to 1999, we were part of the coalition around Mass Health for All, which people now know as the Affordable Care Act. Also, with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1139, we unionized so care workers and personal care attendants are entitled to workman's compensation, get paid for overtime hours, have healthcare coverage, and are entitled to unemployment benefits. We also were working on reinventing Medicaid and Medicare through the new Freedom Initiative grants and systems change to provide community-based services instead of institutionalized individuals.
More recently, we have been collaborating with the Disability History and Culture Collaborative develop a disability history and culture museum. Additionally, our current project—Accessible Sports in Society (ASIS) Leadership Academy—involves teaching 10 individuals with disabilities ages 14 to 24 to use technology. In order to reach your dreams, you need to develop technology and leadership skills.
You are the co-founder with Leroy Moore, Jr. and Rob Temple of Krip Hop Nation, a worldwide association of artists with disabilities that “campaigns for equality for people with disabilities worldwide with concerts, tours, workshops, and much more.” The organization is currently celebrating 14 years with the recent Emmy Award-winning success of the critically acclaimed soundtrack for Rising Phoenix, the Netflix documentary of the Paralympic Games. Can you tell me more about “Krip-Hop”?
In late 1997, early 1998, Leroy Moore, Jr. and Rob “Da Noize” Temple discussed that there was no active representation of artists with disabilities in hip hop or simply just in general. Leroy reached out to a bunch of artists and found me on MySpace. We wanted to redefine what it meant to be an artist with a disability in the public eye. We built this network of talented artists with disabilities. Krip Hop Nation, at its peak, had 11 chapters on five continents, and about 400 to 500 different artists.
When Krip Hop Nation began, people complained that we were calling ourselves “cripple.” I replied, “You'll call us cripple. So why are you clutching your pearls at me using the same term?”
In 2020, Netflix hired Daniel Pemberton, a musical director, to do the score for the documentary Rising Phoenix. His idea was to work with all disabled artists on the soundtrack. They reached out to me at the last minute. That's how you got George Devon, Tony Hickman, and myself.
Our hope was to get artists with disabilities in high-profile places. We were fortunate to have it be submitted for potential Oscar contention. Although we didn't make the cut, we won an Emmy for Best Sports Documentary and Best Music.
Our legacy is undeniable in terms of impact. Now there is definitely more awareness of and more organizations promoting artists with disabilities. You have Eastern Seals and ReelAbilities.
What are SoulTouchin’ Experiences’ priorities for 2025?
Launching the ASIS Leadership Academy, as well as collaborating with disabled artists and poets. Going into 2026, we will be prepping for the World Cup and wrestling Los Angeles to let us perform Rising Phoenix at either the opening or the closing ceremony of the 2028 Games.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Given the current realities of what America is going through and will go through, perseverance and strength always has been and will continue to be required. That people who don't look like you will find a way to eliminate you is a tale as old as time in the United States and around the world. But hold on, chase, catch, and live your dreams.
