“The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and …Destroyed a Generation“ HIP HOP IS READ [ WHEN RAP – Hip Hop turned VIOLENT ] RESEARCH: DALE RICARDO SHIELDS What is the secret meeting that …
FREDERICK CHARLES BENJAMIN by Dale Ricardo Shields Page 1 – 8 Dancer – Choreographer { September 8, 1944 – December 14, 2013 } Page 1 – 8 Fred Benjamin, an internationally known teacher of jazz dance …
Media Depictions of the Mammy Archetype by Dale Ricardo Shields “Women of Color were often kept from the polls through a variety of tactics. They faced racial and ethnic discrimination and were often discouraged from …
ARTHUR THEODORE WILSON July 2, 1945 – June 6, 2024 “What color is a friend when you need one?” by Dale Ricardo Shields Published Poet; Playwright; Teacher; and Co-Editor/Publisher of over thirty years of Attitude …
ROBERT HOOKS Robert (Bobby Dean) Hooks by Dale Ricardo Shields Actor, Producer, and Activist. Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, the Negro Ensemble Company was founded. “The …
_________________FAITH _____________________RINGGOLD Internationally Celebrated Artist Mixed Media Sculptor, Writer, Lecturer, and Activist. Born: October 8, 1930, Harlem, New York, NY Died: April 13, 2024 (age 93 years) “I guess I had fun doing …
THE SHIELDS BROTHERS The Shields Brothers, a mainstay of Cleveland’s gospel music scene for more than seventy years. by Dale Ricardo Shields “There is a silence into which the world can not intrude. There is …
VINIE BURROWS by DALE RICARDO SHIELDS Born – Vinie Harrison November 15, 1924 – December 27, 2023 [ “I guess it’s like a DNA. Hard to describe, and identify, but I feel …
The Civil Radical Wars of the Black American Soldier by DALE RICARDO SHIELDS “Throughout America’s history, from the Battle of Lexington to the Battle of Fallujah, Black Soldiers have honorably answered the call to duty, serving …
THE DEVIL’S PUNCHBOWL by Dale Ricardo Shields “The Devil’s Punchbowl is a place located in Natchez, Mississippi where during the Civil War; authorities forced tens of thousands of freed slaves to live in concentration camps. …
The TOUGALOO NINE by Dale Ricardo Shields [Research] Page 1 – 6 Nine students from Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss. staged a “read-in” at a Whites-only library in March of …
ARTIST / ARCHIVIST / ARTISTIC ACTIVIST / HISTORIAN
As America reckons with generations of racial injustice and destroyed hidden history, the stories that we will preserve, present, and honor are the very things that will hopefully foster world empathy, change lives, and ensure that our next generations of Americans have a different and positive view of themselves and their neighbors.
I must be a motivating catalyst, an actor for justice, a director of change, and an artist of choice.
Art is my weapon…
TURN YOUR PAIN INTO PURPOSE*
The next generation deserves to have the opportunity to gain the wisdom and strength of ALL these LIFE stories
I understand our history – I have experienced, witnessed and research it… both celebrated and mourn it… It has made me stronger!
“I LOVE ART” Andrew Nichols (Artist)
ABOUT DALE RICARDO SHIELDS
Dale walked past and repeated, “Write what is in your heart.” I took a deep breath and poured out my heart – all of the thoughts and emotions that I had been holding onto so tightly because I was afraid to share them with anyone. I finished… I stared at the words. I had no idea this was in me. It was cathartic to put it all on paper. And then Dale asked us to read our monologues… Now when I hesitate to say something, I think of Dale and know that my voice matters.
DR. NICOLE BRINKMANN REEVES -[FORMER COLLEGE STUDENT]
I have known Professor Shields’ work in the area of theatre productions and have visited his excellent classes. I have attended his thought-provoking productions. He is incredibly passionate, understanding, compassionate, intelligent, engaging, truthful, and persistent. His “real-world experience” is a major positive component of working with him. He leads by example, actively striving to cut down barriers and serve as a role model for students.
DR. MIRIAM HARRIS (PROFESSOR – MACALESTER COLLEGE)
Shields did not expressly set out to become an educator-activist. However, his belief in the artist’s responsibility to society resulted in an overwhelming need to represent, serve, and uplift the next generation of theatre professionals by actively sharing his extensive artistic knowledge with multiple and diverse audiences. Shields has dedicated his life to preparing, raising up, and celebrating the countless young theatrical artists who were fortunate to have been taught and led by him.”
JULIO AGUSTIN (BROADWAY THEATRE ARTIST)
Over the past two decades, I have witnessed Dale’s research across the Internet, information that he freely shares with all who are interested. In an in-depth factual format, he enlightens the public with the history of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous American art forms. I share his drive to educate people on the history and cultural contributions of communities of color. This shared passion exemplifies just one more reason Dale and I have remained friends all these years.
EDAN EVANS DEROZIERE (ALUMNI – Theatre Artist)
I have known Dale Shields since 1987, when I directed the Arts and Education Department for legendary producer Joseph Papp at The New York Shakespeare Festival in New York. Even though he was highly recommended by key artists, directors, and choreographers of the New York establishment, it was my observation of his theater and teaching abilities during the Arts and Education Department’s Teacher Training that impressed me and endeared me to his style, ease of collaboration, and depth of experience.
ARTHUR WILSON (NYSF)
Professor Shields is a tough love, no bs, theatre professor who, with his experience and history in theatre, uses his knowledge to help you not only better yourself but also gives you advice to better your future college education. He gives a ton of information in each class, and participation is key.”
The Civil Radical Battles of Black American Soldiers
The Devils Punchbowl
The Tougaloo Nine
Media Depictions of the Mammy Archetype
The Shields Brothers Gospel Singers
Kevin A. Williams/WAK (Artist)
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
~*~
“Art is a weapon in the struggle of ideas…
The artist’s role is to raise the consciousness of the people.
To make them understand life, the world, and themselves more completely.”
Imamu Amiri Baraka
~*~
“We are a people. A people do not throw their geniuses away. And if they are thrown away, it is our duty as artists and as witnesses for the future to collect them again for the sake of our children, and, if necessary, bone by bone.”
Alice Walker
“The Colour of Black” Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (Artist)
“The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and …Destroyed a Generation“ HIP HOP IS READ [ WHEN RAP – Hip Hop turned VIOLENT ] RESEARCH: DALE RICARDO SHIELDS What is the secret meeting that changed rap music? More than two decades ago, the notion of the alleged meeting described as a “Secret Meeting …
FREDERICK CHARLES BENJAMIN by Dale Ricardo Shields Page 1 – 8 Dancer – Choreographer { September 8, 1944 – December 14, 2013 } Page 1 – 8 Fred Benjamin, an internationally known teacher of jazz dance who was also part of the creative wave of young Black modern-dance choreographers who came to prominence in the 1970s. …
Media Depictions of the Mammy Archetype by Dale Ricardo Shields “Women of Color were often kept from the polls through a variety of tactics. They faced racial and ethnic discrimination and were often discouraged from voting … These women not only faced discrimination and violence on the basis of their race, but they faced discrimination …
ARTHUR THEODORE WILSON July 2, 1945 – June 6, 2024 “What color is a friend when you need one?” by Dale Ricardo Shields Published Poet; Playwright; Teacher; and Co-Editor/Publisher of over thirty years of Attitude Magazine. Mr. Wilson was born in Newark, New Jersey at the end of World War II. His early fascination and …
ROBERT HOOKS Robert (Bobby Dean) Hooks by Dale Ricardo Shields Actor, Producer, and Activist. Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, the Negro Ensemble Company was founded. “The main thing I want people to remember about me is that my career and my success are more than myself, …
_________________FAITH _____________________RINGGOLD Internationally Celebrated Artist Mixed Media Sculptor, Writer, Lecturer, and Activist. Born: October 8, 1930, Harlem, New York, NY Died: April 13, 2024 (age 93 years) “I guess I had fun doing it but it has hard memories for me.“ – Faith Ringgold by Kailee Elizabeth Cross Edited and Revised by Dale …