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DALE RICARDO SHIELDS 

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.”
FORMER STUDENT (RATE MY PROFESSOR)

 

 

Terrance Ballard – “Bamboozled

(No copyright infringement intended) ©2022 

PROFILES

Abdel Salaam✨ Alde Lewis✨ Adelle Gautier✨ Arthur Theodore Wilson

B’nard Lewis✨Carla Earle✨Carol Sutton✨Chapman Roberts✨Chuck Cooper

Cicely Louise Tyson✨Duchess Harris, Ph.D., JD✨Dale Ricardo Shields✨Debra Byrd

Dooley Wilson✨Nefretete Rasheed✨Dyane Harvey-Salaam✨Eugene Lee

Faith Ringgold✨Fannie Lou Hammer / FelaFrank Espada✨Fred Benjamin✨John Hope Franklin

Jonelle Allen✨Johnny NashKathy A. Perkins✨Lady Peachena

Lorraine Vivian HansberryLouis Johnson✨Mary Seymour

Martin Espada✨Niles Fitch✨Pura Fé

Robert FlemingRobert Hooks✨Ruben Santiago-Hudson✨Sandra Reaves-Phillips✨Slim Mello

Stan Brown✨Samuel Légitimus✨Shirley Taylor✨Stanley Wayne Mathis

Thurgood Marshall✨Stephen WiltshireVictor Love✨Venida Evans

Vickilyn Reynolds✨Vinnette Carroll✨Vinnie Bagwell✨ Vinie Burrows

William Edmondson 

 

HISTORICAL PROFILES

 

The Little Rock Nine

The Scottsboro Boys 

Benjamin Banneker

Leigh Whipper

Marcus Gravey

The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music

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)

 

 

Iforcolor.org© DRS 2025

The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation

“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 …

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FRED BENJAMIN

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. …

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The Mammy Archetype‏: A Black Maiden Syndrome

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 …

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Arthur Theodore Wilson – Actor, Playwright, Poet, Educator

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 …

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Robert Hooks

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, …

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Faith Ringgold: The Power of Silence

_________________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 …

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