Awele (ah WAY lay) is an award winning and internationally known actor, emerging playwright, storyteller, recording artist and educator.
She is a
"truth-teller" and an artist for social change. She researches,
writes, and performs hidden African American history. She invites
audiences to wrestle with complex and emotionally laden issues that teach us
about our common humanity, potential, and our purpose for “being” in the
world. She provides opportunities for audiences to grapple with the meaning of
their own lives as they make meaning of past lives. Ms. Makeba has
mesmerized audiences from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, DC to the University of Alaska at Anchorage and she has appeared
in Russia, Australia, Taiwan, France, and Canada. Her performances have
been featured at national conferences such as: The Association of Supervision
and Curriculum Development, The National Association of Multicultural
Educators, and The Coalition of Essential Schools and The Oral History
Association. The United States
Department of State has invited Awele to tour Rage Is Not A 1-Day Thing!
in Paramaribo, Suriname South America. She is a
featured storyteller in Scaretactics, a national PSA in the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
sponsored by The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Awele’s
story, “The Story of Claudette Colvin” is featured on the Music for
Little People benefit recording, This
Land Is Your Land for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Featured artists
include: Danny Glover, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Taj Mahal, Willie
Nelson, The Neville Brothers, Raffi, Awele and others.
To hear sound samples of each track visit:
http://store.yahoo.com/melody/78142.htm
Education
M.A. Elementary Education
San Francisco State University 2002
Advanced Reading/Language Arts Specialists Credential San
Francisco State University
Multiple Subject Teaching Credential San Francisco State
University
B.F.A. Theatre Arts Conservatory of Theatre Arts
Webster University
Awards
Excellence in Arts Leadership Award,
Alameda County Arts Commission
ABC Channel 7 African American Heritage Salutes
Master Storyteller Award Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival
Bay Area Writing Project Fellowship
Franam Scholarship for Black Women
California Reading Association Scholarship
San Francisco State University Graduate Equity Fellowship
Oakland Redevelopment Agency Cultural Arts Grant
Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges
