 This may seem like a really silly question, but where did the audacity come from to create a new comics universe? So I work for Lion Forge comics and the owner of the company David Stewart II and the chief creative officer Carl Reed came up with the notion of doing another superhero universe. They were quite inspired by Milestone and in particular static shock and so when the company You know really went through a major evolution and wanted to take things to the next level with its business They came to me because of my time working at Milestone working on Batman I've been an advocate for diversity in comics behind the scenes with the characters with the creators for years and They told me what they wanted to do and you know a number of people would say well, you're just committing suicide You're gonna create another superhero universe and there's Marvel in DC and I was like bringing me in I'm excited because people will tell you it's impossible and I'm like no we're going to do the impossible and so their audacity really activated my super audacity and That's how we got it started that was the very beginning and there were different stages to it once We really got it together then what I felt was necessary was to get the right writers on board because everything starts with story once you can Establish the overarching story then you can start bringing in the other creators the artists the letters of color is so I took a nod from television and Created the catalyst prime writers rooms So if you think about your favorite television shows all of them have writers rooms They have a showrunner you sit down round a table for days and weeks and you figure out a season and So I brought together a team of writers that included Brandon and David here We also had Christopher Priest one of the original founders of Milestone in the mix. So I felt that that was quite thematically poetic we had Joe Casey We had Amy Chu. We had Dr. Sheena Howard and then Ramon Govea who co-created one of the titles and Alex DeCampi Was the last writer that came on board and we sat down for two days and we figured out the first year of Catalyst Prime and we created the Catalyst Prime Bible Which at that time was a 50-page document about all the characters and the world in the universe and it's now probably about a hundred and ten pages Yeah, so um, how did you latch on this vision and wanted to be a part of it? I mean because I can think a new venture can be really super scary, right? You're like, you know, there's a lot of media There's a lot of stuff out there, so I mean let me get more it was crazy for me because uh He came to me and he asked me if I wanted to write the first book out The book that comes out on uh because the universe kind of launched on free comic book day So it was um this one shot that I think Joe's gonna give away at the end And the first issue of the title I write a noble So it was a little uh, it was very exciting It was pretty easy to say yes to and then after that it was like, oh man. I got the first book Oh Man what I'm gonna do, but it was uh, it was exciting. I mean it's it's always Whenever you start a new book There's always that period of time where you're kind of terrified about what it's gonna My my concern is always when am I gonna figure it out because you know the the honest truth Is that sometimes you don't figure the book out like on the first script sometimes it It takes to the second or the third 25th Yeah, well, I mean sometimes you You may feel like you never you know quite figure it out. So my my goal with noble was to um Deliver something that was for me, you know something that uh that had the kind of kind of widescreen High stakes action that I loved in comics But putting brown people in it because when I look at books like that when I look at books like You know the authority planet planetary is a little better because you know, we have Chiquita Wagner Chiquita Wagner is in it But a lot of these you know if you look at kind of the the kind of great The comics that are considered to be the greatest that have ever been produced There's not a lot of brown people in them. So my goal was to Produce a comic like that that operated on that kind of epic level But it had people of color, you know featured prominently. So it was uh, you know, I think we did a pretty I think we did a pretty good job. I'm proud of the the work that we've done with noble But it was a little uh terrifying to go out first Yeah, I kind of gave you some rough marching orders. I was like bitch slap Superman and use Mark Millar and Brian Hitch is the ultimate says your starting point. Yeah, and then go further than that. Yes. Yep That's not like that tall of an order. Yeah, I know I know right Uh, you know for me it was Joe Joe reached out to me and You know there was part of me was like, uh, you know another superhero line like Is it not only does the world need this does the um is the market going to embrace this? So I was a little You know, I was I wasn't like I was like, okay, this will be cool. Maybe um Then Joe said well, you know, I if you're interested we I'd like you to co-write it We've got sheena howard on board and I was like, oh, okay. Well, that was superb, right? Yeah, that was unsuperb um, I was like, well, we definitely need more Uh women and women of color writing in the industry and we need to get help them break out of the the indie DIY world which is where most of them exist right now And so I was like, okay Well, that's your scoring points there and then he said the the team is about two superheroes And one of them has down syndrome and I said, okay, I'm on board and and the reason I said, okay I'm on board was because I felt like I did not want to see a comic with a character who had down syndrome Done wrong And it was going to be done wrong. Let it be done by me trying my hardest to do it, right And you work with the national down syndrome foundation on the book, right? Yes, we they they came on board and partnered up but even before that had happened I I had agreed to do it and and because to me not only was that a challenge But it was like I started thinking about when I talk about The importance of representation and inclusion to me in comics A lot of times as I'm talking about that I'm talking specifically about Black folks and it's like it needs to be more than that Because we can't if if all we're doing is just black folks There's a whole lot of other people we're leaving out and and again the challenge of writing The character like Jonah. That's the name of the character in superb Was so intimidating and so daunting to me that I couldn't say no And he's become one of my favorite characters to write period of all the characters I've I've written at this point in my career. So he's really and and the the best part is I've done some events with in conjunction with the national down syndrome society Help teach a comic book writing class for a group of kids with down syndrome And met all these families and kids and it's it's like well, this is what it's all about Like it's not so much about you know Getting rich because you don't get rich writing comics. Sorry. Sorry to burst everyone's bubble out there Everyone's yeah, everyone gets up and leaves the room. What we don't get rich What where's these don't all start leaving now that you've heard that terrible truth? But yeah, it just I wanted to be part of something that Not to say it hasn't been done before but that hasn't been done on this level with this level of representation and and really feel like like you're you're Putting your money where your mouth is because you can pound your fist and on the table and say diversity and representation and inclusion mean so much to me and then if you don't do anything about it then It doesn't actually mean anything to you. You're just you're just paying lip service Oh me too So I mean from the get go when I first got the pitch from joe. It was just an exciting prospect You know no didn't really cross my mind um I don't really operate in the superhero comics world too much. Uh, it's So, you know like superhero comics As we covered they're not very diverse, you know, there's really not a space there for black women um Or black girls and there's not a very huge space for kids and teens which is kind of where I operate you know, I'm a children's book author and illustrator and Back in the day most comics were all ages, you know, they were geared toward kids But that's not so much the case anymore. So You know while I grew up on titles like x-men and batman and I still have a lot of love for them That's not really what informs my work now But when joe reached out to me told me about superb, which you know, I did a few covers for Dope covers I might add damn right You know it was it was something new it was a story Focused on diversity from the ground up these were characters that the world has not seen before and they were teens and You know, all of that is just totally within my wheelhouse It was intimidating because I really haven't done comic covers and especially not superhero comic covers before but It was an exciting opportunity to do something new so yeah, and for me it was important to As david said bring more black women into the mainstream North American comic book space with this line and Like nyla and I have a secret origin that goes back to a few years when she was The first award winner of the dwayne mcduffey award dwayne mcduffey Was one of the founders of milestone a friend and a mentor to me so um I really felt like her work with mfk spoke to where he wanted comics to go and Her artwork is really exquisite and with the second season of the catalyst prime titles We decided to bring on guest cover artist So when we were thinking about people I was like, okay This is a perfect sync up And I asked her and she said yes, and we were off to the races and the thing about Especially the next cover like superb number seven when you see this cover um I'll kind of describe it to you because it won't still won't be as cool as when you see it but it's basically like The two kids so kayla is a black girl And jonah the kid would down syndrome is white and they're basically standing in front of This wall and you know one of them is like listening to like Their iphone another one's just like looking through a comic book and they're standing in front of a poster That has them in their superhero Um identities and they're like wanted So it's kind of like this double layer concept, right? And so you actually get the superhero um Vision and you get the vision of real teenagers At the same time and I think there is a dichotomy of how teenagers feel in real life right where There's the part of you that you show the world and then there's a part of you that is Your secret identity, which is kind of like where your pain and your fears lie Right in just the multiple contexts exactly. So like when you see this cover It's hot and it's thematic and it's the kind of cover you're not going to see from these other companies because They're not dealing with these social issues and dichotomies That we as people of color have to deal with every waking minute of our lives And there's one thing about the idea of diversity and um catalyst prime lion forge. It's that it was never the Negro woman queer of the week like marvel and dc was doing right? It was always just like look we are being diverse right now Can't you tell? And yours is I don't know what you're talking about And I resemble that remark I mean because it's for you it seems like in the working that you're doing that diversity is an is It's not an event. It's not a a somersault through flames. It's an is it's just how the world actually looks We're going to actually make this world the world that we we live in and so but with all of the um trolley pushback Of of called even I even hate the word diverse. It's like the real world Um, how do you negotiate and navigate some of the um our Uh baser comic friends who may be out there on twitter and facebook and the rest railing against you damn social justice warriors You know, what's the opposite of a social justice war here? Social injustice We live in a world where friends and Seinfeld is the default but living single as a black show Right, right and so how do you I mean so but you are creating a new default and how do you do it? So a you're not pandering right and then also still having to you know, bob and we even defend yourself against the Tiki torch khaki brigade. Yeah, you know Wow, wow, David has some personal experience Just wondering if you ever want to see Misery in action look at the people who comment on david walker's twitter feed. Wow. I mean Yeah, with catalyst prime, you know, I did this interview in which I basically said Diversity is easy Racism is hard right because it takes effort to Leave out all of the creators who are not white heterosexual males with all working limbs That takes work It doesn't take work to say I want to get together a group of creators And then just look at the best creators in comics Because a number of them are women a number of them Are people of color a number of them Are not cisgender or Heterosexual and not american exactly. So, you know, it was like putting together the team was actually easy and In terms of dealing with the trolls Like there's this amazing thing. It's called a block option Mute is better Mute because they don't know they don't know you muted them and then they're just screaming into them I don't I don't mind them knowing that i'm blocking them. It's kind of like that episode of black mirror Where like, you know, I can no longer see your features anymore. You're now just a silhouette in society Yeah, it's like it's like archangels. So I don't mind them knowing because Honestly, like we're not going to move this world forward engaging in meaningless Conversations Full of bile. Yeah, I don't have the time for it. We do not have the time for it For one of the things for me and I've said this multiple times over the years There's there's diversity with a lowercase d And that is the catchphrase that has been used a lot and it's really just it's it's um It's another word for marketing, right? It's it's another word for how do we sell this? How do we how do we sell? Something other than the the white heteronormative male Concept in pop culture, right? But then there's diversity with a capital d Diversity with a capital d is this room right now Diversity with a capital d is this city that we're in it's the it's it's Lots of parts of this country not all parts of this country But it's also the ideology by which some of us choose to live and it's which it's that ideology that says You know my friends are my friends and i'm not going to go out of my way like you were talking about like to just Only surround myself with one type of person who thinks one sort of way And and that's what I've tried to commit Myself to the work that I do And and it's not easy. We were having this conversation last night. Just about You know, i'm Old right, you know, so I grew up in an era where you know, you would I would watch movies as a kid That when I go back and watch now i'm like, yo, there's There's no women in this movie like or there is but she gets killed and she's The whole reason charles bronson goes on the killing rampage. You know what i'm saying there They they have no agency and no humanity about them And and sometimes i'll be working on a script and i'll catch myself and i'll see oh you've done This and the reason you've done this is because this is what you were weaned on This is how you this is what you know You have to turn it around and i've gotten much better at it But i'm still we're all still guilty of these of these isms that get ingrained in us subconsciously Through our through society through the world we live in and reinforced So what are you gonna do about it? And and if somebody calls you on it and it all the and i tell people all the time You feel free to call me on it Just try to be as polite as humanly possible because i'm not nice and i will I'm bitter and i'll start yelling and then i'll usually go home and mope and be like They were right Yeah, i am but not a very good writer and so but yeah But it's just it's it you can engage like a rational human being and that's a then that's a beautiful thing I mean like you're talking about diversity and like prison yards are diverse They just don't connect and talk. Yeah. I mean the prison yards are mighty for these little islands here And so when you're i mean y'all i mean over this past week I've been going to most comic shops in the bay talking about b-calf talking people in the in shops telling about this And the look on their faces Black comics arts festival And even the shop which i should i won't name them never mind, but even um shop owners were just like um, but but that's not very inclusive I'm like did you see your entire shelves? You know, but then having to understand like why a festival like this is necessary Why at the schaumburg this weekend is necessary why the latino arts explosion is necessary? Why the queer comic festival is necessary, but having to fight against that and i've realized my own Biases and how times i'm then i'm like questioning myself like wait a minute. We aren't inclusive But yeah, we are i mean having to struggle with these with these things So how do you negotiate that stuff when your stuff comes up during the process of you know doing a cover? Like i don't know You're experienced with somebody with with the disability with Down syndrome But then you have to draw this person like how much of the stuff your stuff do you confront while you're producing? um So my tactic is just listen and listen very closely to people who know better about those subjects than i do um I am not the authority on what? Like disabled characters look like or what their experience is like so i need to get feedback from people who are who live that Who live that experience and you know It part of the reason i signed on to this was because you know the character of jenna was just it his uh Down syndrome was not just an added, you know characteristic like They were getting feedback from uh from experts and so you know i knew that they That lion forage had Uh You know they had experts on the line that i could trust with this um even You know as an artist and writer like My experiences my experience as an individual you know i can't even speak for every black woman's experience So when it comes to you can't What i've tried But no no i can't and so you know for me it's just it's just about listening um And you know with you know with regards to diversity Uh, you know, I still use that word because it's easy shorthand and people usually understand what you mean, but lately i've i've been um Kind of getting more in tune with the eye of the idea of don't diverse it up don't divers uh diversify Decolonize and so yeah, you know right now Some of these bigger companies they get really focused on uh, you know diversity on the page and what we really need more of is More voices behind the page, you know, that's matt daemon. No, you didn't lion forge whoa I also uh every time marvel announces that they Found like a new black writer and that they're writing black panther I want to break every window in my house And it happens i'm like this is this is gonna be the last time This is gonna be the last time and these are great writers people that I know people who's worked that I respect greatly And I'm by all of it obviously, but it it really Grimes it really grinds me that you know marvel will go and they will find You know the tanihisi goats and we're gonna go find poets. We're gonna go find screenwriters We're gonna go find bloggers and every single one of them is writing black panther And that's the only thing that black people are allowed to write And marvel well, he's got a movie coming so we gotta get that got a marketing machine Yeah, we got to get that uh that ancillary material out there, but You know that kind of lack of imagination is uh lack of editorial imagination is why catalyst prime is necessary And why it exists and the fact that they don't see that you know, I mean why Why do I have to Scream about that on twitter like why can't marvel realize like oh, so what are we saying? We finally go out and find you know five or six black writers and they're all writing black panther mini series like how does that work so You know It's one of the reasons why we need catalyst like you're gonna get wolverine blade you jive turkey You know right no, no, no, but that that's what it is a lot of these uh these editor, you know and jokin speak to it on that idea I mean I work with uh, you know, I work with a editor at uh at another company a company called uh skybound And uh, I tell him that you know it's like I am joking a little bit with this But I'm not but he is the first White editor that I've worked with that hasn't been afraid of me and like the story that I might tell And I don't mean like afraid of me. I mean like you know like what's he gonna say? What's gonna be in the book? They're afraid of me Well, they should well they should be But you know it's gentle as a yeah sometimes as a razor blade. Yes, right, right But uh, but this is one of the reasons why callus prime is is so important and why it's so important to get People of color and women working behind the scenes because they can find you know They can find every black writer in america and put them on black panther books And it's not going to that's not what the issue is the issue is not that You know white people write black panther and they shouldn't be allowed to it's the fact that They can't find a black screenwriter and give them, you know the non-black character Yeah, why weren't you writing iron fist after power man and iron fist ended? To me that would have been a lot more clever than just because i'm not a white guy who's an expert in martial arts That's why right so I feel like that's not the problem. Oh, is that not it? and the thing is you know like catalyst prime is An example of the philosophy of lion forage is a publisher You know lion forage believes in comics for everyone if you look at the staff of lion forage There are more women than there are men the Highest editorial authority in the company the vice president executive editor of lion forage is a woman I can't think of any other comic book publisher in the north american market That you can say that about So 2018 yeah, you know, so even media companies in general Right, so the philosophy of this superhero science fiction line is a representation of the philosophy of the publisher and You know with diversity. There's this crazy misnomer. There's this Misconception that diversity means anti-white Diversity is everybody We have white creators at catalyst prime You know writers letters colors. Yes, of course And because not The point is that all of the lines don't have to be straight. It's not white writer white character woman writer woman character We have a character astonishing um male character kind of like our cross between um bruce wane Tony stark and dr. Strange Written by a woman Why specifically because I was tired of seeing characters like that from the male gaze And I was like I want to see how How a woman would tackle Tony stark or bruce wane or dr. Strange You know, and it's as simple as just making that decision like The status quo is not satisfactory Make the opposite decision And enough of those opposite decisions will change the status quo in time And it's also about cat with my forge in general. It's pretty interesting because you have cub house section, which is for the little kids And then you have roar, which is what guess teen right level ya line And then you have the catalyst primal which is like a superhero line, right? And then we also have the magnetic collection Which are beautifully illustrated graphic novels from talent overseas. So that brings the global um perspective To the north american space and You know another reason nile and I connected was because of the mfk webcomic That you did which just got put into a beautiful hardcover volume Which you can find at barns and noble Right Right and that book is so Dough that's the next step the next step is being able to find the books Where all of you go because all of you may not have the map of the comic book stores But you certainly know where to find bnn you certainly know where to find bnn.com and so That greater expansion and the opportunity to get our stories to the larger audience is important So being able to take like the comic books and have them is great And then collect the comic books in volumes and have them in the bookstores is even better And so catalyst prime isn't just an imprint. It's actually a universe Right, it is it is it's a universe. There are seven monthly titles. Um, we launched last year. We started with um a free comic book The first saturday of every may in the comic book um industry there's something called free comic book day And what lion forge wanted to do as a publisher is to say, okay Why don't we allow people to enter this world for free? No strings attached and if you like it come back and then pay for it And if you pay for it, you'll get your money's worth. So, um, chris. So use the use the dope dealer Uh thing didn't you that's so that's that that okay. Just check that is one potential analogy. Yes Never even thought about it just now Very good very good Except this is the drug that Actually is nourishing. Yes a smart drug. Yes. Yes. And so We work together with um Two artists one who lives in brooklyn one who lives in italy Um, jessica colin an amazing colorist She's in indonesia um, the main character of the story is a mexican female billionaire named lorraine apion And so just by the first book You read this and you're like Oh, this is not what i've seen before. It's like a billionaire somtas in chiapas, right? Yeah. Yeah, like we this the story started in chiapas mexico right because you know Think global produce global Right and a lot of the comic books in the north american space only take place within our shores And it's like the world is huge And you know i came in on a plane this morning and i was watching a few episodes of queen of the south And first of all i love alice braga and secondly queen of the south was actually a little bit of the origin for lorraine apion because um david steward the second the ceo and owner of the company and i were talking and we were talking about okay Who's the going to be the wealthy influencer of this world and we were like Not a white man Not gonna do that got enough of that We were like, okay, let's figure it out and he was like mexican i was like woman he was like go i was like, okay And we'll be giving out copies of that for everyone afterwards and you can read and you can let us know what you think And it seems like it's not that hard like you were saying earlier Just if you just get the people who are doing the hottest work Together in the room that you can create You can brand this brand is like i've been here how long it's probably happening So i mean so for any creators are there any creators in the room? So for cancer room, what would you give them advice? What would you what would you also stacy? What would you do um to tell them like just if they wanted to go from the ground up to start their own vision To actually put their vision their story in the world because we are story people and stories necessary But most of us are huh. I tackle that one. All right, go ahead. You're a professor now, right? Yes um Well first the first and foremost is as I would say is You know try to find find that story that you want But you're not finding And and by that I don't mean the spider-man story that you're not finding or the aquaman story You're not fine I'm just talking about a story that you're not finding themes that aren't being tackled the way you want them tackled Or characters that you are not seeing and then to be begin to build it from there and and you don't have to be tied into Just super it doesn't just have to be superheroes Because the beautiful thing about comics or graphic novels whatever you want to call it Is there's no limits to the to the genres and the sort of stories that you can tackle It could be your own life, you know in the in the other room over there They have uh the the exhibit of first seconds with some of the most amazing graphic novels being produced right now In most of it. I don't think any of it's actual traditional superhero stuff, but it's a it's it's all amazing um And and the thing is is the the threshold the entry level Threshold for comics is actually Really really low all you need is a piece of paper And some sort of writing implement and it can be a pencil or a pen or a marker or like a piece of charcoal or chalk And you draw on the paper some sort of stick figure with some words saying hello and boom you have just created your first comic It's really that simple and you you don't need permission from anybody. You don't need Um, there there's no secret tool. That's one of the things my students are always like well Well, what sort of software do you use to write and I tell them well? I use my brain and my fingers and then whatever tool I can get my hands on whether it's the computer or a pad of paper That's what I write on but I I don't need final draft or word or any of that sort of stuff Um You know and people say well I can't draw and I'm like yeah neither can I but I can draw stick figures And that's all you need to know how to do But the thing is is is you you have to have a story to tell And there has to be something inside of you that you want to get out And it really does need to be more than a recycling of Well, I can do harry potter better than harry potter So i'm going to write my own harry potter book a harry potter book has already been written You don't do that give us what you think is is Something that you would absolutely want to read and if all you want to read is this particular flash story Then I would say that you probably and this harsh there's going to be a harsh thing Then what you have to say is not that important if the only way you can tell your story is through aquaman Are there kids in the audience? Okay one, okay, if the only way I'm like right here, son The only way you can tell your story is through aquaman You are a shitty writer Boom, I said it. That's it. You can leave the room right now But if you can find a way to tell your story through, you know Aquafina the underwater lady, you know what i'm saying there you find a way to make it work So Oh aquafina is a company, isn't it? Yeah, damn. I thought that was the water and an asian one rapper And so David has just led you to a lawsuit Right, I thought that was such a dope name All the lawyers you know all the lawyers in the audience like we're about to get paid right now To use aquafina where you contact the company and get sponsorship Ah, there you go Yeah So we're about to wrap up and have audience questions But one I would do want to I mean because like I work with a lot of young people and I've I did 20 years of Adrenaline and mental health and juvenile justice work And I always use speculative fiction and comic books in my work with students because Young black and brown queer age people are always vilified in ways And so there's a lot of imposter syndrome when it comes to come out of their of their negative deficit based context, right? So how do you As creators who've been you know marginalized every possible? Whether it's gender color the intersection of gender and color sexuality whatever it is How do you Defeat your imposter syndrome and then also Invite people who may look like you and have a certain ethnic or cultural affinity But how do you bring them in to let them know that what everybody else said about you doesn't matter what matters As you belong here right now Wow, wow. Yeah, I'm I'm not smart enough to answer that Come on niley kick it off. No, I was actually hoping david would take that I can you want it? Okay, I'll jump into it, which is that First off all any of us every single person in this room all we are are the stories that we tell And when and beyond that we are the stories that are told about us Okay, that's all we are and everybody has a right to tell their story And everybody has a right for their story to be told now how you tell it or who tells it that's up to you But you begin to work from there. We all deserve to be seen We all deserve to be seen as human beings, which is what we are and There's nothing I always go back to this There's nothing worse than the feeling that I had when I was 10 years old And I went and saw Superman the movie with Christopher Reeve and I was like totally into the movie And I was feeling it and then the only black character in the entire movie showed up And he was a pimp and it was in all of metropolis There was only one black person and he was a pimp And I'm 10 years old and I remember thinking well, shit I would rather have an all-white metropolis than have this And and and so one of my goals one day is to Convince DC to let me write the story of that pimp from Superman the movie And be like yeah, this is what it's really about, right? But but I But it's but but the thing is is um, I believe that you know Day after day week after week century after century Many of us are our humanity has been Has been taken away and they attempt to take away our humanity. They attempt to dehumanize us It's not up to them to give us back our humanity the people who who try to Take it from us It's up to us to assert it and to claim it and that's what we're doing And that's what I encourage young people to do I'm like stand up for yourself and show that you're a human being What does that mean tell us who you are find a way to because all comic books are their myth And myth is is humanity's way of expressing our place within existence And we all have a right to have our own myth We all have the right to have our own story and that thing that speaks for us And if it's universal enough if there's enough true humanity in that People from all walks of life will be able to relate to it. It's why we were talking about I think this morning Sherman Alexi's book the absolutely true diary part-time Indian is the is the single best book I've read in 20 years and it's like I've never I didn't live on a reservation I didn't experience any things that character experience, but it was the most human book I've ever read it's the only book I've read that I've cried out loud and laughed out loud and Given copies to every single person. I know and that's what we should be striving for is to reclaim that humanity Because it's not theirs to take It's ours to give up And they will they will fight you and try to kill you to take it from you But that's it if you want my humanity you are going to physically Have to kill me because you can't emotionally or spiritually kill me. I won't let you do it So I'll say that and walk out and someone's gonna shoot me out there in the street, but yo, what's up? I don't care I'm here right now The last David Walker panel Nila will protect me So, um I think all of that was excellent and hard to follow up. So I'm I'm going to follow up with a story So when I was four, I think one morning I walked into my pre kindergarten class and I was like the first student and The teacher and the teacher's assistant had put up this new display And it was two kids. It was this white boy and this white girl And the teachers were talking about it and they were saying, oh, yeah This white boy looks like this little boy in class His name was Steven and this little white girl looks just like my friend Amanda And I and my you know four-year-old innocence said You know Where's me? Um Where's someone who looks like me and so like the teachers went quiet for a second and then one of them said Yeah, you know, we could maybe staple you up on the wall and You know, again, I'm four and so like my first thought is I don't want to be stapled to the wall And my second thought is you know, even at that young age I kind of process like It was and it was kind of my first Realization of this was that I was different. You know, there was something different about me That meant that I couldn't be you know, a part of this picture on this wall and You know, I I didn't really understand what I was learning in that moment, but I've had years to contextualize it and so fast forward I went back home to the same elementary school to do a Book reading of my picture book how to find a fox and so A part of it part of my presentation. I always draw for the kids and so I've got this pre kindergarten class and I'm taking requests and one girl asks me to draw a princess and I start to draw the head in Already like in my mind. I'm picturing, you know, a disney princess, you know pale blonde perfect and I stopped myself And I realized I don't have to do that anymore and so I make a little brown princess with You know dark hair tight frizzy curls And one of the teachers, you know looks at this little black girl that's in the middle of the class and says she looks just like you and all that to say that if I do nothing else in this world, but Give a few brown kids the capacity to envision themselves in stories that traditionally we have not been a part of Then I will die happy And make me cry Thank you everybody for coming out Nala McGruder David Walker Brandon Thomas Joseph P. Ellidge I'm Sean Taylor for the black comets arts festival 2018 our fourth year. I think we went a little bit long today We have a panel at two o'clock which you don't want to miss. You have five more minutes. Great. So if we have no way Wow In five minutes at a panel, so I guess um We're a little bit over there are some free catalyst prime books to give out and please stick around for the next panel We have matt huff nitty orca for victor laval We'll be on that panel and then the panel at three o'clock this afternoon Will be uh for iml ponzo jones. Please stick around for that and thank you for our second day of bcap Thank you very much for coming out and tomorrow tomorrow Is the expo at the I have cityville metron metron. Hope to see some of you there. We'll have books for sale we will and I'll spout wisdom and bitter cynicism for free how I like you And in the room um latin american book room which out there on the corner We have a showcase. We have some artists. We have borderland books. The only san francisco speculative bookstore That's in there to have some of their books up there. We have free books. Thank you very much Thank you for coming