The July Gothic Funk Salon will feature readings and presentations by L. L. Ama, Marcus Brown, Donald Harbin, Lucine Jarrah, Nayyirah Shariff, and Dale Weighill.
$10 recommended donation includes entry in a raffle. Offer a “call to action” — a single, concrete step to make the world better — to win a gift certificate to Queens’ Provisions.
GUEST BIOS:
L. L. Ama is inspired by one thing and one thing only: that illustrious and most impressive creation and confection known to many around the world as bread.
It turns out that bread is a miracle among miracles, both saving lives and establishing when something is toast.
Brie-lieve or or not, in a world where pigs fly and planes don’t, where we donut succumb to the horrors that are yeast likely to inflame us with emotion, Ama chews on food for thought, and spits out that which is less than savory.
Please do NOT find L.L. Ama’s work wherever you listen to podcasts, or wherever music is distributed. Instead, find it in any given cornfield by light of the full moon, chewing on a stalk of wheat, singing soliloquies to birds who don’t bother to caw-mplicate their recipes for rye-ming with Poe-tentially obnoxious poetry.
Donald was born in Flint in 1950, the middle child of five. Catholic Mass every Sunday. He didn’t like high school very much. He worked several jobs after graduation in 1968. Was drafted into the Army in August of 1969 where he learned how to be an Infantryman, heading to Vietnam before his birthday in January 1970.
After returning home Donald earned an associate in arts degree from Mott College where he learned that he liked to write. He had a forty-year career delivering mail in Flint.
Now retired, Donald loves spending time with his wife and two cats.
Lucine Jarrah is a Lebanese American from the Flint area serving as Executive Director since January 2022. Lucine has risen through the ranks of the Arab American Heritage Council over three years including serving as Communications Coordinator and Fellow. She has a wealth of experience in community organizing, strategic decision making, leadership, and team building. Lucine earned a Master’s of Social Work and a Bachelor’s in Political Science both from the University of Michigan. While a student, Lucine founded and served as the first president of the student organization “Cinemas Finest,” a club dedicated to youth empowerment through the arts, which won the “Outstanding Student Organization” award for 2019. Additionally, Lucine formerly served as Vice President of Student Government.
Nayyirah Shariff is a grassroots organizer based in Flint, Michigan. Nayyirah was one of the co-founders of the Flint Democracy Defense League, a grassroots group formed to confront Flint’s emergency manager in 2011. They have more than ten years of experience organizing around local, state, and national electoral and issue campaigns. They have been featured on Democracy Now!, Move to Amend podcast, Al-Jazeera, and Netroots National speaking out about the problems with Flint’s water and with Michigan’s emergency management of local governments. They are currently the director of Flint Rising, a coalition of Flint residents and community groups, labor, and progressive allies that formed in response to Flint’s emergency declaration.
Dale Weighill is the Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Mott Community College (MCC). Separately, he was elected to the Genesee County Board of Commissioners at the November 2022 election. Dale serves the 8th District, which is made up of Clayton Township, the City of Flushing, Flushing Township, the City of Swartz Creek, and a portion of Flint Township.
Prior to serving as Associate Vice President, Dale was the Executive Dean for Professional Development & Experiential Learning at MCC and was the President & CEO of Resource Genesee for eleven years. He is a former member of the Flint City Council, where he served as Vice President for three years.
Dale’s volunteer commitments include membership on the boards of directors of the Flint Institute of Arts, the Education Foundation for Flint Community Schools, and the Sybyl Award Committee.
Dale has a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree – both in Political Science — from American University in Washington, DC and The University of Michigan in Dearborn, respectively.
