Creator.

I design, create, and bring ideas into reality. Be it through music, encouraging the use of urban green spaces, or creating opportunities for Black people to generate wealth and wellness, my priorities are grounded in “going at it” together and creating space for people to shine. 

Throughout my life, I’ve created all sorts of things, spaces, and experiences. These include businesses, such Derute Consulting Cooperative, a firm I co-founded in 2013; Visioning Black Spaces LLC, a collective of families that pool and invest our resources to improve Chicago’s Black neighborhoods; and Deaky Bug Creative Works LLC, a firm I use to curate and finance my personal creative endeavors and collaborations. 

I’m most committed to creating spaces that bring people together in community, such as my neighborhood garden’s first Juneteenth celebration. For Bronzeville Chicago’s Lillian Armstrong Park, where I serve as park advisory council treasurer, I spearheaded our effort to bring youth baseball and softball to our neighborhood’s children and advocated for numerous capital improvements, such as new sidewalks, water fountains, and park beautification. 

I also create original music compositions, performances, and recordings; I’ve written plays, short stories, and even stand-up comedy sketches (that my wife tells me are hilarious). I wrote and co-edited books, including Stuck Improving: Racial Equity and School Leadership (Harvard Education Press) and a children’s book Magical Black Tears: A Protest Story (Derute Consulting Cooperative), which I’m turning into an interactive children’s museum exhibit that will open in 2023. 

I’ve only recently started to call myself a creator. It’s a new identity for me. And honestly, it feels liberating to acknowledge that yes, I create.