Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. Let's move away from analyzing the status quo. Let's move toward discussing hope, healing, and substantive change. Our world is deceitful and wicked ... but life is still for the living. There are still purposeful pursuits that are worth our time and energy. Purpose fuels my fire ... not sharing inconvenient truth. Inconvenient truth does show how to navigate treacherous, choppy waters, though. And still I rise ...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. A friend analyzed our school environment many years ago. They asked me to vet their data-driven findings ... for accountability. I did. I found that they told no lies. They told a sobering, inconvenient truth ...

Dear Hannah- I aspire to be a five-tool+ "standup storyteller" (AKA "griot") - poet, rapper, singer, teacher, orator, writer, producer, director. I am still learning how to use my tools, but I am getting there. LEarn to use your gifts. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah - As the name suggests, The People In My Neighborhood (TPIMN) is a project that helps me learn more about where I live. It began as an effort to organize the neighbors in our subdivision, then grew into an effort to learn about our adjacent communities - then their adjacent communities, etc. It has grown into a powerful storytelling tool. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah - Nine Men's Morris is an ancient board game combining the speed of checkers, the strategy of chess and the simplicity of tic-tac-toe. It is easy to play, but difficult to master. Become a master. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah - Vision, Mission, and Steps provide a path that helps you to walk in your life's purpose. Vision describes what your efforts will produce / create - it describes your "end". Mission describes the concrete path to your vision - it describes your "means". Steps describe specific projects and tasks required to navigate that path - your "who", "what", "when", "where", "why", and "how". Write these - so that whomever reads it may run with it. Love, Daddy

Dear Hannah - The NOW YOU KNOW History Quiz Bowl is a gameshow that tells the story of 25 ordinary people who did extraordinary things. This game is a walk through history, and the embracing of what our world calls diversity, sensitivity, and inclusion ...

Dear Hannah - My name is Derrick. I have one purpose today. I want to tell people who I am, and what I do, hope, and dream about ... let me share my journey's progress over the last year ... Love, Daddy