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THE WORLD IN THEIR HANDS: The Center for Puppetry Arts’ creative African-American ensemble are sharing art and inclusion with international audiences

ATLANTA VOICE — Their hands morph into talking, singing, dancing mop heads. Using recycled materials, African-American puppeteers Greg Hunter and Jimmica Collins know how to command a performance stage, capturing kids’ and their parents’ hearts with each gesture. It’s literally all in the hands, too.

Published

7 years ago

August 19, 2019

Oakland Post

Atlanta-based artists Greg Hunter and Jimmica Collins on set for the Center for Puppetry Arts’ 2019 production of ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ (Photo: Reginald Duncan / The Atlanta Voice)

By Candace Dantes

Their hands morph into talking, singing, dancing mop heads.

Using recycled materials, African-American puppeteers Greg Hunter and Jimmica Collins know how to command a performance stage, capturing kids’ and their parents’ hearts with each gesture.
It’s literally all in the hands, too.

“The process starts with the puppet,” said Collins, 27, who is starring as Beauty in Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts’ rendition of “Beauty and the Beast.” “I find my voice, which this puppet’s voice is fun with sass. Then, I work on movements.”

Beauty’s groovy Mama is played by Hunter, who naturally draws from everyone’s Southern hairdresser, aunts, cousins and friends, to develop the urban-dwelling character.

The two puppetry artists’ leading presence in this 2019 summertime love tale signifies a cultural shift in who exactly is telling the world of puppetry’s stories.

African-Americans playing prominent roles both on the stage and behind the scenes isn’t taken lightly at the center — America’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the art of puppetry. It puts diversity and inclusion at the forefront of its productions and museum exhibits yearlong.

“What we do is universal,” said Hunter, also 27. “It’s not about us. It’s about bringing our puppets to life in a way that’s relatable to different cultures and people coming from different places.”

The Actors

The center’s main stage is where the magic happens.

For the past month, Hunter and Collins have given the popular musical a hip-hop spin in a puppetry style known as Czech black theater. The actors are clothed in all-black attire with a tight light only curtaining the puppets.

The two collaborate with a nearly 15-member crew of other puppeteers and stage/ musical/ lighting/ sound/ scenic designers to pull off the cleverly crafted, well-illuminated performance.

A real “quitting time” horn blows in one scene. In another, leaves actually look and sound like they’re rustling in the wind.

“From the sound to light effects, everything we perform is in sync,” said Collins, an experimental theater artist who also shows off her Baptist church singing vocals as Beauty. “Working together, we’re able to bring the puppets’ world to life.”

In fact, Beauty is so in tune with Mama that young audience members instantly laugh, turn to their own mothers and whisper, “That’s you, momma. That’s you!”

While Collins is in her fifth production at the center, this production is Hunter’s debut regarding his acting and singing chops. They both earn standing ovations and often random fist-led jumps from kid viewers.

“I play a character who says everything our moms say,” Hunter said.

Hunter said he learned of the center’s acting opportunities after participating in a Pinewood Atlanta Studios puppet-animated show called “Moon and Me.” Pinewood, located in Fayetteville, Georgia, is the second-largest purpose-built film and entertainment studio in North America and where many of the Marvel films have been filmed.

“I learned so much about how technical puppetry is,” Hunter said, “and that was something I wanted to continue. That’s how I ended up working here with such a great group of creative people.”

(Left to right) Education coordinator Liz Fagbile, teaching artist Paulette Richards and collections manager Yanique Leonard are a few creative staff members helping to tell puppetry stories in Atlanta. (Photo: Reginald Duncan / The Atlanta Voice)

The Architect

While Hunter and Collins headline the main stage, Yanique Leonard ensures Big Bird and Miss Piggy are fluffed and fancy for public showcasing.

The collections manager is responsible for the care of more than 5,000 artifacts — including 500 Jim Henson puppets.

“I’m all about preventative conservation,” said the 27-year-old, afro-wearing museum professional. “I have to make sure the puppets are comfortable in their cases and in the right environment for long-term preservation.”

With a background in public history and museum studies, Leonard also conducts in-depth research to give museum visitors documented stories connected to the puppets’ creation.

She works between the archives and center’s Worlds of Puppetry Museum, which includes Jim Henson and global collections.

Visit the global collection today and view marionettes from American masterpiece and opera, “Porgy and Bess.” The 1935 Broadway production featured classically trained, African-American singers.

“It’s a cool story who we acquired marionettes Sportin’ Life, Mingo and Peter the Honey Man from the New England Marionette Opera (NEMO),” Leonard said. “NEMO was America’s only opera company performed entirely with marionettes and that staged a full puppetry production of ‘Porgy and Bess’ in 1994. Five years later, the opera burned and more than 200 handcrafted marionettes were destroyed. Fortunately, frozen weather preserved these three puppets.”

Their new home: Center for Puppetry Arts.

Sammy Davis Jr. fans will appreciate marionette Sportin’ Life, who is sculpted after the legendary entertainer and star of the 1959 film.

“I get to care for and experience puppets the average person will never see,” said Leonard. “I encourage anyone to come into this field of study if they’re passionate about culture, history and stories we need to share with our communities.”

The Authorities

Three floors up from Leonard’s puppetry archive and library, Liz Fagbile teaches youth how to build their very own puppet.

“Depending on the show style the puppetry artists are performing throughout the year, I help create puppet projects around each theme,” said the 30-year-old education coordinator. “Some of these kids are experiencing a puppet for the first time in their lives. I’m contributing to an important memory in their childhood.”

After kids finish constructing their puppets, Fagbile provides a colorful curtain for family role-playing and photo ops.
What she’s realized in this position: Puppetry has no age limit.

“For 45 minutes to an hour, the kids aren’t the only ones getting into our learning activities,” Fagbile said. “At first, adults are kind of stand-offish. I encourage their curiosity, and that helps them get involved. They instantly get in touch with their creativity — sometimes reconnecting with talents they lost along the way.”

Outside the classroom, Fagbile orchestrates outreach programming, staff scheduling and the inventory for puppetry supplies.

“I started out as a volunteer five years ago,” she said. “I fell in love with this magical place. I’ve been able to expand my knowledge of puppetry, arts and entertainment.”

Education extends further with teaching artist and docent Paulette Richards. She has served as a docent in the Worlds of Puppetry Museum since 2015. Her introduction to Jim Henson’s animatronic puppets inspired the former English professor to create her own rudimentary robots as learning tools.

“It’s funny,” Richards, 56, said. “I’m really engaged in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — known as STEAM education — in a way I would have never imagined. It’s taken me in so many directions.”
Richards’ work has traveled the nation. She has taught animatronic puppetry workshops at the center, Georgia Tech’s Hollis Innovation Academy and Puppeteers of America’s National Puppetry Festival.

This past year she served as co-curator of the “Living Objects African-American Puppetry” exhibit at the University of Connecticut’s Ballard Institute and Museum. The exhibit analyzed the uncomfortable legacy of blackface minstrelsy in American puppetry.

It also highlighted the work of contemporary African-American artists who use puppetry to reflect a more authentic African-American heritage.

“The research I conduct is crucial to the types of stories we tell or have others tell about our culture,” Richards said. “I want to make sure the stories that came from Africa to our porches and are now part of theater productions are accurate and representative of us.

The Center for Puppetry Arts understands this notion and has put people of color in a position to continue to contribute to puppetry as a whole.”

This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

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Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

5 days ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy

ROLLING OUT — Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport.
The post Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

The seven-time major champion read frustration, not a real goodbye, in the world No. 1’s words

By David Kesiena | Rolling Out

When the world’s top-ranked player said she wanted to walk away from the sport, Venus Williams chose empathy over alarm.

Aryna Sabalenka’s blunt remark after her French Open quarterfinal collapse rattled plenty of fans, but Williams heard something different in it. The seven-time Grand Slam champion treated the comment as the raw reaction of a hurting athlete rather than a serious signal about her future.

The collapse that triggered the comment

Sabalenka looked headed for a routine win over Diana Shnaider. She took the opening set 6-3 and built a commanding lead in the second, climbing to 4-1 and later serving for the match at 5-4 while sitting just two points from victory.

Then everything unraveled. Shnaider stormed back to steal the second set 7-5 and bageled the world No. 1 in the third, with Sabalenka dropping 12 of the final 13 games in gusty conditions that reached around 26 mph. The 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 result sent Shnaider into her first Grand Slam semifinal and extended Sabalenka’s long wait for a maiden Roland Garros title.

In the aftermath, Sabalenka did not soften her feelings. She told reporters she had no thoughts and no emotions left and felt like quitting on the spot. She described being stuck in a deep, dark mental hole during the match, unable to find her way back.

What Venus Williams said about Sabalenka

Williams reacted with understanding. She admitted the moment made her sad and said she had been swept up in Sabalenka’s emotions, feeling a surge of empathy for her. She praised the Belarusian for laying everything bare on court, where every feeling shows.

Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport. Rather than scold her, Williams offered a gentle observation about the rhythm of professional tennis. She suggested players might benefit from a little more time to gather themselves before stepping in front of the cameras, a quiet acknowledgment that athletes are routinely asked to dissect painful defeats before the sting has faded.

Sabalenka walks it back

The story did not end on that bleak note. Within days, Sabalenka signaled she was not actually quitting, framing the press-conference outburst as heat-of-the-moment honesty rather than a plan. At the time of the loss she had also left the door open, saying she would see how she felt in a few days and hoped to get back on track mentally. The walk-back lined up with how Williams had read the situation from the start.

It is not the first time a Paris quarterfinal has pushed Sabalenka to her limit. In 2024 she exited at the same stage and skipped her press conference entirely because of illness, with the tour later releasing her quotes on her behalf. The pattern underscores how heavily this particular tournament has weighed on her despite deep runs in recent years.

For now, attention shifts to the grass. Wimbledon offers Sabalenka a quick chance to reset, and a strong showing there would turn this French Open meltdown into a footnote rather than a turning point.

Originally published by Rolling Out — https://rollingout.com.

The post Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue

THE CAROLINIAN — Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.
The post COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

By Judaea Ingram | Special to The Carolinian

RALEIGH, N.C. – Music filled the air as families danced through the crowd, children gathered around activity stations, and community members explored wellness resources from local organizations. Black-owned businesses lined the streets while people stopped for chair massages, conversations, and moments of connection inside the wellness suite.

At the center of the event stood a simple but powerful reminder:

“You Matter.”

For Darkness RISING, those words represent far more than a slogan. They reflect the organization’s mission to break the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community while creating spaces centered on healing, honesty, and hope.

Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.

The organization hosts a variety of programs and events throughout the year, including block parties, wellness workshops, mixers, kickoff events, community classes, and Darkness RISING: Live — a free annual arts and wellness festival now celebrating its ninth year.

The festival combines entertainment with healing-centered resources, featuring live music, dancing, singing, food trucks, Black vendors, children’s activities, mental health resources, wellness spaces, and opportunities for open conversations about mental health.

While the events may feel celebratory on the surface, organizers say the deeper purpose is creating safe spaces where people can feel comfortable discussing mental health without fear of judgment.

Darkness RISING also provides free nationwide resources, including a Black Mental Health Resource Packet, a Black Mental Health Provider Database, and its “Find Me a Therapist” initiative, which helps connect individuals with culturally competent care.

The organization’s work is rooted in addressing longstanding inequities that continue impacting mental health access within Black communities.

Historically, segregation, redlining, racial discrimination, incarceration, poverty, and unequal healthcare access have contributed to higher rates of behavioral health challenges while simultaneously limiting access to proper treatment and support. Darkness RISING approaches those issues through what organizers describe as a transformative justice lens, focusing on healing rather than punishment and creating equitable wellness opportunities for marginalized communities.

Its REBUILD program specifically supports justice-involved and formerly incarcerated people of color through free therapy and wellness support, while the REBUILD Youth program focuses on young people impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences, also known as ACEs.

For Rudolph, therapy became life-changing after decades of incarceration and years of rejection after returning home.

“Came home in 2015, started my own computer company, investing in real estate, did the normal thing and got some jobs here and there and was met with rejection after rejection and people telling me I am not a good person,” Rudolph shared. “Even had a rejection in church.”

He said one of the hardest battles became overcoming the mental barriers created during incarceration.

“I got in touch with a couple of friends, and they explained to me how I had to get over the mental hurdles and get rid of the way my prison mindset was in order to survive and become successful,” he said.

Rudolph later moved to North Carolina hoping for a fresh start, but the struggle continued.

“Things were looking bad,” he said. “Could not get a job. The struggle was real.”

Eventually, therapy and support through organizations like Darkness RISING helped begin his healing process. He said working alongside other justice-involved men through therapy gave him the ability to rebuild mentally while finding community with people who understood his experiences.

Stories like Rudolph’s reflect the foundation behind Darkness RISING’s mission: ensuring people feel seen, supported, and worthy of healing regardless of their background or circumstances.

Community members who attend the organization’s events often describe them as emotionally transformative.

Some participants say Darkness RISING encouraged them to seek therapy for the first time, while others say the organization gave them a safe space to openly discuss struggles they previously kept hidden.

“I have been encouraged by the beautiful, generous, brave and open individuals who come together and use their talents to create art, share personal experiences and provide hope to those who may be struggling with mental health,” one participant shared.

By combining art, wellness, education, and community outreach, Darkness RISING continues changing how mental health conversations happen within the Black community.

Not through silence.

But through healing, honesty, connection, and joy.

Originally published by The Carolinian — https://caro.news.

The post COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue appeared first on BlackPressUSA.