The Marissa Mitchell Show: November 06, 2026

I'm in Bethesda, and I can see some clearing skies and some sunshine off in the distance here behind us, and that will be the story later this afternoon. We'll get some clearing before sunset tonight, about 70, and we'll get a chance to dry it out, and then we will turn cool, dry, but beautiful for the weekend, Makia, with great conditions for the Commanders game weather-wise. Now the Commanders have to deliver equal sunshine. That's right. We did our part. Now they have to do their part. All right, guys, thank you so much for joining us on Good Day D.C. Marissa, over to you. All right, thank you so much. And look who's joining us, one of the most talented singer-songwriters out there, Ms. Dawn Richard. Thank you. And you're back, part of your home here, too, Maryland. Yes, I'm in Maryland now. It's been 10 years, my home. Ooh, you're going to teach me a line dance, too, to one of your songs. Yes, yes. You're going to have so much fun. Thanks for coming. Always. All right, keep it locked right here. It starts now, The Marissa Mitchell Show. It's Friday, fam, and we have quite the hour for you today on the Marissa Mitchell Show. It is jam-packed from a music superstar with new music and also teaching me some moves to an exhibit dedicated to unsung sheroes. We have what you need to end this week strong. Get away, let's go somewhere. Baby, can we keep this thing on low now? Nobody has to know now. You know that voice. She rose to national stardom through Danity Kane and Dirty Money. Now singer-songwriter Dawn Richard continues her solo takeover. All over the world, the music royalty is live on our couch with new music and details about her album release party in D.C. Plus, she's going to teach me how to do a line dance to her new single. So scan the QR code M-Squad. You are always a part of the conversation. If you want to send her a question or comment, we'll read those in just about 30 minutes. Also in the hot sheet, does your boo, you know your significant other. Seem a little bit distant as we get closer to Thanksgiving. Find out if you are at risk of the viral breakup trend called the turkey drop. It's always something. And later in Motivation with Marissa, we've seen several movies and documentaries based on the Tuskegee Airmen. The legends, they certainly deserve it all. But do you know about the women who helped train the pilots? We're going to transform our studio here into an immersive walkthrough celebrating their contributions. And also, get your creative juices flowing with today's Revamp. We've had fashion shows all week, but today you're going to learn how to make your own clothing with an in-studio sewing demo. Let's get to our first guest now. Singer-songwriter Dawn Richard is a multi-platinum artist. She first became a household name on MTV's Making the Band with Danity Kane, then later the hit group Dirty Money. But since she has proven to be a star in her own right and light. You're probably not my only friend. I wonder if that's part of the line dance. That's Dawn's new video, OnlyFans, which dropped along with her new album, Creole Culture, songs featuring heavyweights like Duran Bernard and Big Freedia. And she's in D.C. to celebrate her new music, but we just had to give her flowers here first. So, Dawn, get out here. I've been a fan for a long time. It's so good to see you. What I did not do was plan to dress like you today. But I'm glad we did. We're on trend. We're on trend. We're getting ready for fall. We are. And we're actually listening now to your new single, Baby, Can We? And you're going to show me a line dance to that in just a few minutes. But first, for those of you watching, quick reminder here. Scan the QR code to send her a question or comment. We're going to read those in just a bit. Let me begin with congratulations. Thank you. You've done it again. Thank you. How does it... How does it feel to, like, release this new music? Because I know it's so close to you. You want fans to experience it, but you're kind of giving some of yourself away, too. Yeah, and I've been doing it for a long time. I've been independent for, this is nine albums now. 21 total. Yeah. And it's always, it's never, it never feels, it gets old, it never gets old. It's still, I'm very grateful, and I'm very humbled that... Twenty years later, fans still support, they understand, you know, me giving my culture, New Orleans, being present in my music is something that's very important to me, and this album is no, like, no surprise to New Orleans. It is very much influenced by the Creole culture of New Orleans, and I'm really leaning into my instrumental and songwriting bag on this album, so I'm very proud of it. If you have not gotten it, get it. It is amazing. I have to also give you your flowers when it comes to alternative dance, electronic music. You were one of the first to dip into that. We've seen other artists, I'm not going to name any, since, but you were really a trailblazer in that way, even doing a trilogy years ago. Talk about your ties to Maryland. Yes, so when Katrina happened, my brother was going to Johns Hopkins University. So we had nowhere else to go. Everyone lost everything. So we wound up coming up here, and one year turned into ten. And my parents taught at Southwest Academy. My dad taught at Dundalk, in Dundalk and a few others. Yeah. Yeah, I also went to UMBC, majored in dance while I was on the hiatus. Because I was still in school when Making the Band happened. He sent us home, 12 girls home before he picked the final. And then Katrina hit, so I went back with nothing. So my end of my career, like the end of Katrina and then the start of Danity Kane was Maryland. Very interesting. And music is also literally in your veins, in your DNA. Yes. Both parents. Both parents. My mom's a dancer. My father's a musician. It was inevitable. Yeah. Now, we came to know you from Danity Kane. And I got to ask you this because they recently reunited. You were not a part of that. No, I wasn't. Where do things stand now with you and the ladies? I remain hopeful. Like, I really want us to have a beautiful legacy. So in whatever configuration, I want success for everyone. But it would be beautiful to see us all together once again. Oh, my gosh. If you all ever got together and did a tour, you will shut it down. The way your shoulders went, I'll be there. Listen, multiple tour stops, I'll be there. We're celebrating 20 years, so, yeah. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully everybody can't say they've been around for more than 20 years. Yeah, I want to now learn this line dance dance. The other side of the studio. Before we get into it though, tell me about the song. Yes and the vibe so baby can we is featured with Duran Bernard I don't know if anyone knows Duran Bernard, but he is yes. Love him dearly He's the best and we got this together to create something that felt like a social club New Orleans is known for their social and pleasure clubs. You see them in Mardi Gras and parades these communities Communities of social clubs that pour into the city, whether it's their neighborhoods. But the fun part is they know how to have picnics. They know how to have fun. Come on. So I wanted a record that felt like a picnic. Ooh, and I love the New Orleans bounce. Yeah. Okay, shout out to Frida. Yeah, Frida loves Vic Frida. So I'm going to make it really easy for you. Okay, so can we play? Can we drop the track, producer V? Okay. All right. Okay. People who watch this show, they know I love a good line dance. Okay. Here we go. You already studied it? No, I have not. I wanted to be fresh for you. You're going to cross in your step. You're going to cross. Cross, step, cross, step. Now, this is a New Orleans thing. You go beanie weenie, and then you tap, tap. Tap, tap, okay. Let's do it again. Five, six, seven, cross step. Oh, wrong way. Cross step. Again, do it again. Cross step. Okay. Cross step, cross step. Beanie weenie, tap tap. Now you're gonna turn. You just do it one time, tap tap. It's a beanie weenie. Tap tap. Beanie weenie, ah, tap tap. Now you're gonna turn on them. Turn on them, turn on them. And then you're gonna do your shoulders to the right first. Okay. Shoulders, shoulders. So it's just like a bop. Okay. Bop on them. Bop on them. Then you're going to step again. Step on that roach. You're going to step on the roach. Oh, this is a different move. Yeah, so step on the roach. Step on the roach. You're going to go like this. Uh, uh, turn. Okay. Step on that roach. Turn and then roll the dice. To the right. Roll the dice. That's the whole thing. Okay, okay. So you're going to cross and step. Cross, step, beanie weenie. They're beanie weenie, I tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, beanie weenie, I tap, tap, tap. Now turn on them. Shoulders to the right. Here we go. Shoulders to the right. Shoulders, step on that roach. Step on that roach. Roll that dice to the right. Roll that dice. That's it. Uh-huh. You ready? So cross, step, cross, step, that beanie weenie, ah, tap, Tap, tap. turn on them, turn on them, shoulders gonna come next. And now shoulders, uh-huh, now step on that roach, step on that roach, turn, and you're stepping on it, step on that roach. Oh, both feet, step on that roach, then turn. And then roll that dice, roll that dice. That's it, hey, you wanna try that with the music? Got this, just in time for the weekend. Let's do the music. One more time. One. Two, here we go, and five, six, seven, eight, cross, step, cross, beanie weenie, beanie weenie, let's turn, turn, and turn, now shoulders, shoulders, ooh, step on that roach, step, step, and turn, roll that dice, roll, now do it again, cross and you step, cross, step, cross, do the beanie weenie, I got to turn on it, tap, tap, and turn, turn, shoulders, shoulders. Step on that roach, step on that roach, now turn, roll that dice. And. You got something on YouTube? I do, and Duran is doing it, Big Freedia is doing it, everybody. We even got Ellie the Elephant from the New York Liberty to do it. Ellie's been everywhere. It's so good to see you. Thank you so much. How are you doing as well now that the disgraced media mogul is behind bars and incarcerated? I'm doing well because my narrative is mine. No one else, no one would define who I am as an artist. So I'm beautiful because God has always been with me. How can we go get that music? It comes to our album release party tonight. Yes, so I'm going to be at Thirst Lounge to do an album release, just to have people come in and listen to the album. So come to Thirst Lounge. DC, I always show you guys love. You can find me at dawnrichard.io, and I have so much merch and really cool things to offer you guys. I just want to pour into you and also thank Marilyn for being such a great second home to me, especially in a time that I really needed a home. You were the first one to know what was coming. I didn't know you were coming. If you're our co-host, send Don a comment or a question. She is so beautiful inside and out. We're going to read those in 20 minutes. And she's going to stick around for the hot sheet. Just waiting to hear why fellow superstar Justin Timberlake was sold his sexy back song, Would Not Be Ahead. I love that song. Would Not Be Ahead. And later in Motivation with Marissa, we're going to go back in time with women who trained the Tuskegee Airmen. And later in the revamp, learn how to sew. We're going to get our hands dirty. I told you it was going to be a hot sheet. This is one of the hottest we've had. We're back with multi-platinum artist, singer, songwriter. You say you sew too. I do. I do. Don Richard is here. Media personality, Jay Carter back as well. And the owner of Maryland Stitch with Style, Jamila Majan is here. And we all want to learn from you. Of course. I'm just happy to learn that Dawn is sewing too, so that's great. Oh my gosh, and you have a segment. And before we get started, I have a little surprise for you. Oh, I love it. Look what I grabbed it with this hand. On the engagement, the last time I was here, she was not engaged. I was not. And it was really empowering what you said, that it's your time. Yeah. You give women like me hope. So I thank you for what you said, that at the end of the day, when it's your time, it's your time. So it's your time. I've been hearing, it's your turn. I think that's a Diana Ross song, it's your turn. This all happened last week, Monday. So I wanted to make sure to give you some flowers. My team had me crying on TV, eating red velvet cake and everything else. I was crying watching it. It was for her. Thank you. Don't give up on God and don't give up on love. That's what I said. So I appreciate that. No problem. All right, let's get to today's topic. A lesson in trusting your gut from Grammy Award winner Justin Timberlake. While talking to Complex Magazine, the singer revealed his record label did not believe that his hit song, Sexy Back, would work at first. I'm bringing sexy back. The mother balls don't know how to What's behind your back? I think the only bone to pick that Prince had was that sexy never left. Remember when he said that sexy never left? He didn't have to bring it back. But Justin Timberlake recalls how executives told him it didn't sound like himself in the beginning when he first played it for them in the early 2000s. But he trusted his instincts and the song went on to be a top hit on Billboard for seven weeks. So I don't have to ask you if the song is hot or not. I think time proved that part. Have you ever dealt with this with excess or maybe underestimating your songs yourself? Yeah. Fun fact, since we're celebrating 20 years of Danny DeCain, they told us we wouldn't sell more than 100,000 copies, so they didn't print enough on our first album, and we sold out in a day. So we actually, we go on to be number one, but we could have easily. Did more numbers than we normally did, but they didn't think we would sell more than $100. What was the reasoning behind not believing you all would top it? I don't know, but I just think they didn't have faith with what the fans said. Yes, fans fancied it. Because I feel like they're different. Come on. Yeah, so it was really cool to see That in one day, they were scrounging to try to get more copies out in time. So I think we sold like 200,000, but I think we easily could have went to the 200,000. Oh, yeah. With a hit show, too. And back then, you had to go to the record store and buy the album. The show market, I'm just surprised. Because now that's why people actually do reality TV, to sell their music. So I'm surprised they underestimated it, but it was way off. What are any songs that just came to me that maybe you've heard, and this is for any artist, at first and didn't like it and it grew on you? Because I'm that way with Single Ladies by Beyoncé and Beehive don't come for me. I've been to several Beyoncé shows, but when I first heard it, I was like, but then I heard it so many times, it's now one of my favorite songs. Right, right. So yeah, sometimes music can just... Grow, but I think, as Dawn was saying, sometimes just as an artist, you just have to know. Yeah. You just know that it's being downloaded from somewhere else, and you just have to go with it. That's the industry, too. I've known so many, like, as an artist, they told me that I wasn't going to make it because of the music that I was doing as a black girl going when I went independent. And, you know, nine albums later. So I think you're seeing a resurgence of a lot of artists who labels told them, and now they're having the comeback. Or they're having the time of their life in the industry right now because people are discovering them. And it feels like they're new artists, but they've been here for years. But it's because they stay true to the sound of who they are. And as an artist, you're a chameleon. You'll keep changing, you'll keep evolving, and we're getting a new portion of you each and every time. You can't even put her in a genre because she does it all. I was going to say, she does it all. You're really genre-less. She does. I try. Well, if you want to hear some brand new music from from the Fugees, all you have to do is pick up the phone. Miss Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean are teaming up for a little nostalgia. I love this. Strumming my pain with his fingers. One time. Singing my words. Killing me softly with this song. Don't, don't, don't, don't. Michael and John have partnered with art platform Circa to launch a global hope line. It features an exclusive new Fuji song narrated by Hill's daughter, Selah. I love that. Fans can call in to record their own stories of hope through December 31st. The Hope Line recordings will also be played in Miami Beach next month during an exhibit that will be curated by Hill. So this Hope Line. Hot or not? I haven't heard it yet, but anytime they come together, it's hot. As soon as her name comes out, I'm like, yeah, I don't know what it is. Each and every time. I saw her perform at the BET Awards. What did it do to change your life? And it just, we stood the whole time. You were there? I was there at the awards. And we stood the whole time. And I think actually someone was supposed to be a part of the tribute, couldn't make it. She ended up getting on the stage and joining the whole tribute. But it was so great. And then our kids joined. I mean, I was just like, oh, my God. Like I said, it's just, I mean, outside of the Fugees, she just put out one album, and it just, it's just forever. People don't, you don't even realize that because the album was so huge. There was only one body of work that she ever released. It speaks to her talent. Absolutely. All right, is that someone you want to work with? Perhaps one day. Oh man, I would love to work with Lauren. And it's not just, I think people sleep on not only her music, but what she does for fashion as a brown woman. Like, I think people forget, like, I think she's up there specifically with Erykah Badu as well as Afrofuturism and fashion. The way she puts together her pieces, she's... It's stunning, and it always feels sexy and beautiful, and she never shows anything. And it's romantic. It's so fly the way she, to me, she is one of the few fashionistas when we were coming up as a dark-skinned, black, brown woman that really exemplifies sexy in a way that we hadn't seen. Yes, sexiness and authenticity. Yeah, I think she gets to get her flowers as a fashionista. All right, well, it's time now for Tucker's take. We've got to make sure we get the weather together for your album release party. Come on in here, Tucker. I want to start by saying, clearly, my hair is not good. I need to step it up, my game a little bit. I need some more flow, a little more life to it. Okay, actually we'll get some drying this afternoon. We're going to get some sunshine later. And we're going to have a beautiful weekend, but a cooler weekend. Cooler and dry is the name of the game, low to mid-60s. But dry for the Commander's game on Sunday. Cooler and dry is good when you're dressed for that. Yeah, we're good? We're happy with you. I'll get a tip, John, I'm out. I'm out. Up next, Don is going to hang around and read some of your messages after break, so scan the QR code to send those in. Also, here from the big screen to appear on your screen, movie star Kara Kilmer. She's live in studio with a new film exploring the life of legendary actor Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy Stewart, the movie on his life, is out today. We'll be right back. M-Squad, thank you so much for sending in your questions and comments. For Don Richard here, this is from Sir Harvey Fitz out of Capitol Heights. Don, as an artist who has consistently challenged conventional expectations of genre and sound, I'm curious, what did creating Creole culture reveal about you creatively that even you had not discovered yet? I think leaning into my archive, my ancestral stories was something that I knew I wanted to do, but I didn't realize how important it would be to me to not only talk about the musicality of my ancestral background, but the language, the Creole language, Kuriwini. It is less than 5,000 people speak the language now. And shout out to Cliff St. Laurent, who helped, who was on the album on the interludes. It meant something to me to put something that had been a part of our culture for a very long time on the album. Wow, great question. Let's get to some more coming in. Dee, she's writing in from D.C. You are stunning, an incredible symbol of strength, dignity. I'm so sorry you had to survive what you did, but please know you are so important to women like me. Who hear your story and know it gets better. It means everything to me. Sometimes you get scared to talk about things because of how people will perceive you. Specifically women, because people think you have a timeline on when you feel safe enough to talk about the things you go through. But the overwhelming reception of women like that who say it was worth it means everything to me. Finally here, that we have time for, the last one you're getting a lot, Henrietta of Bowie. You're stunning. Best believe I will be bumping that album. Yes, get Creole Culture immediately. Thank you. One more time, where can people come and hear it? At your album release party. Yeah, go to Thirst Lounge. It's tonight. Come see me. We're going to play the album, have people put ears on it. And then next year, top of the year, we're going to come back and do a tour over here because we love you guys over here in Maryland. And I'm just really grateful that you guys have been supporting me for this long. We love you more. Go to DawnRachard.io. Get that merch. Thank you, Dawn. You can stay if you want to. I'm going to have so much fun with her. I'm hanging my hat. I'm hanging my hat. Coming up, we're going to continue to get even fancier because we have Jamila. She's going to come back to show us how easy it is to create our own looks. We're back now, and it's time for our... Revamps! I've revamped and I'm here on the other side of our studio. You can skip that trip to the mall or your e-cart because we have the owner of Stitch With Style Sewing Studio. Jamila Majin is here. I discovered you on social media. I know, I was so excited. This looks so cool! Tell me about your studio and what you do, because it's more than just sewing. It's definitely more than just sewing. We are creating community within our space. So I own a sewing studio called Stitch With Style. We are located in Capitol Heights, Maryland, and we are teaching everybody how to sew. We are bringing this skill back to the forefront. Why do you think it is seeing a resurgence overall? I think I think that we've been engaging on those cell phones, and people are in a position now where they want to feel, they want to touch, and they want to create. It is pure magic to take a piece of fabric and to be able to create an item that you can use, you can wear time and time again. I never get tired of it. I can hear my mom going, amen, because she's super crafty and she can sew as well. As far as I got was making a pillow in home ec in high school, but I should have learned more. from her, so I'm sure we'll chat about this later. When did you first get into sewing? Well, I've been sewing consistently over 30 years. I started when I was a little girl, just like any other hobby, and really just fell in love with it. So I've been doing it nonstop. What did you first begin with, and what would you recommend to a novice? Well, typically they make you begin with a pillow. However, in my sewing studio, we take it up a notch and I make people begin with a zippered bag. So zippers are something people tend to be intimidated by, but not at our studio. I walk you through it. I'm all about building. I'm confident, so. And people are also hosting all type of like sorority parties, friend nights, couple nights. You do all of it. All of it. All of it. So I'm actually going to put you onto the sewing machine. This is for you because I actually watched this segment where you said yourself that your mom had you sewing and making pillows and all of the things. Yeah, helping her. She did the majority of it, but yes, I did help my mom a lot. We're going to make you work a little bit today. Just do something. A little bit, I can't let you leave without that. So. Okay, Shirley Mitchell, come through, come through. So this is for you. Oh my God, it's like a little Mitchell show. But it's your job to finish it. Oh, finish it. Yes. It's not done yet? No, it's not. I left something special just for you to do. Oh, I see now. Yeah, so this bag is fully reversible. This is one of the projects that we do at the Stitch With Style sewing studio. So you can wear it on either side. That is awesome. But you need to close the hole that the bag came from. Okay, I can manage that. All right, it has to be nice and straight. Okay. Okay. Can you put this in the slow-motion mode? Because sometimes it goes too fast. It actually does have speed control right here, so we will slow it. I'm not going to slow it all the way down, but we'll put it, like, right here for you. Okay, is that okay? It's the fastest. The fastest is fast, fast. Is that five or? Okay, let's do. It's like a speed demon. Okay, let's do a quarter of the fastest. A quarter of the fastest. How about this? I'm going to start you out and then I'll let you take it over. Sounds good. I'm here for it, Jamila. So we're going to put this in the machine. We want the extra to hang to the left because you don't want that bag hanging in this space. What color thread did you, oh, this white, white thread. That matters, too. Yes, actually, it's lavender, because we want it to match. It is lavender. So we're going to sew a little bit. I'm going to hit my pedal. We're going to do a couple of stitches. And then we got to do a couple of back stitches, because we want to make sure that it definitely does not fall apart, and it's nice and secure for you. So you're going to hold it in place. And keep it going. I'm going to go halfway for you, and I want you to go the rest of the way. And for you all who are watching, it's an Olympic sport to do what she's doing with those nails on. I'm just saying. So I want you to keep going, and then I want you to hold that button right there once you get to the end. To the end. Okay? I'm going to let you take it. I'm right here beside you. All right. She's right here. I got my pedal. I don't want to be heavy-footed here. You got it. You got it. And just let the sewing machine take it. Go ahead and feed it in. Keep going with it. You got it. And you want to make sure you keep your, it's a little heavy, your fingers away from the needle, obviously. And we work with children as young as six years old. Really? And they operate these machines. Okay, so I'm almost at the end. I'm going to stop. So we're going to hold that middle button. That's what's going to lock in your stitch and hit your pedal at the same exact time. Okay, same time. Don't let it go and hit your pedal. That is perfect. Oh, the reverse stitch to make sure you lock it in. So we're going to cut it. Oh. We're going to take it out. And now you have your reversible bag. You can wear it on either side. You know we had to put your logo on it. Oh, prepare to be sick of me because I'm wearing this every day. So we're going to stuff it inside. Oh, I love this. And you got your nice bag. It's so cute. I have show mugs, but not a show bag. Oh, see, look, it came right on time. Yeah, this is the first. Thank you so much. So for people who want to come out to one of your sessions, how long are they? How many people can come at once? What does it look like? So we can hold up to 20 people, but we do things off-site. We've done workshops at Sycamore and Oak and Southeast where we've hosted a lot of people. So we're definitely able to do pop-ups all throughout the city. For the holidays, we do have a sew-giving workshop that's coming up where we make a pillow. I actually have it on display right there at the end. I was going to ask you about what's down here, too. Yes, and this is for all sewing levels. This is for people who have never sewn before and for people who just want a refresher or just want community. Yeah, I actually enjoy the pillows, too, because once you do three of the sides, you stuff it, and then you close it up. Exactly. And sometimes you just need those projects that are instant gratification. Yeah. Now, tell me about this. This is advanced, at advanced level, so. I mean, yes, if it's intermediate. Intermediate? Yes, so this is a piece that I made. I was actually going to a gala in D.C. And it was a sneaker ball, so I actually made sneakers to go with it and everything, but this is a gown that I have on display at the studio, and I wanted to make sure that I brought it in. You were definitely Belle of the ball that night. And listen, when you make your own clothes, you don't have to worry about someone having on the same dress. Exactly, exactly. Oh, and the pink and black goes so well. So for women and men out there who have been sitting on an idea, maybe a hobby that they've had for many years, what advice do you have if they want to start their own business like you have? I definitely encourage them to gain community. I'm all about community and being in the spaces where you can engage with people who are like-minded. So even within our studio, when people take our classes, they are ecstatic when they meet other people who feel the same exact way, who are a geek about sewing, fabric shopping. We're actually doing a fabric shopping trip tomorrow. We're headed to New York. We're going to the garment district. So fashion museums, dinner in Times Square, that's something that we do annually. You want to show? You didn't invite me to the show. I know you were booked and busy. Look, I might have been. I might have been a little bit. But I'll be in New York soon, so I have to be sure to go by the district. Yes, definitely. Especially with so many stores, clothing and fabric stores closing these days. Exactly. We are still devastated by Joann Fabrics leaving us. Yeah, me too. Yes, but we've been making do. We've been making do. One more time for people who want to make do and come out and see you at your studio. Yes, please come and see us in Capitol Heights, the Stitch with Style sewing studio. We teach people of all ages, kids, teens, and adults. And we would love to have you so you can make fabulous things. Yes, thank you for my swag bag, Jamila. I really appreciate it. Well, it's 11.37. That means it's almost time to reveal our TV studio that has been turned into an art studio. Next up, we're going to dive into an immersive exhibit honoring a special group of pilots. Welcome back. We just had to start with an overhead shot of our studio to show you the transformation. It's basically an art studio at this point, and it's all so we can give you a sneak peek at Aviatrix, an immersive visual walkthrough history spotlighting unsung black female pilots who trained the Tuskegee Airmen. I did not know about these women. I'm so glad you're here. The exhibit combines prints, acrylics, and augmented reality to tell their stories, and it debuts November 12th at the Historic Workhouse Arts Center. We're in Lorton, Virginia. So we're here to tell us more is founder and gallerist C.T. Denby. Hi. And we have artist Ken Shep in the house as well. Stunning. All of it. Thank you. Let's be honest. Thank you. It's powerful. It's bold, just like these stories. So we're actually highlighting four of the black aviatrix. We're talking about Bessie Coleman, Willa Brown, Janet Harmon Bragg, and Mildred Hemmings Carter. All of these names that we've kind of heard in passing, except for one that we know the most, Bessie Coleman. In this, the artist came to me when we were putting together a project for another state that asked us to put a proposal together. We ended up deciding to go ahead and take it on as our own. In this creation, well, I'll let you... And I'm going to pull him in a minute. I want to stay right here because I want to talk about why it was so important to even do this work. What was it about their stories that made you go, you know what, they deserve more? The fact that we don't know their names, it's so important. One, I always say that history is only lost when we stop telling it. In this day and time, it's important not only for us to champion our own stories, have our own voices, but as well as the women. Women's history is always put to the back of the line, even more so black women's history. So when you put all four of that together, history, art, we're not only documenting, but we're also pushing what it means to visually see. Art history come to life. I mean, it's a whole word. When I reacted that way, that was very real because coming up, and I'm sure you all can relate, we always heard about the Tuskegee Airmen. Of course. And they deserve their flowers, too, you know, with the documentaries and all of the films. You don't hear about the black women who were there standing in the gap and helping to train and get them ready for the work. So, Ken, what brought you to it where you say, you know what? Ken Shep, gotta have his hands on this, quite literally. Well, it's multi-layered. One of the funniest elements that led me to it was my niece didn't know who Michael Jackson was. And so me having conversations where I realized someone who is so recent and relevant. If my niece doesn't know who he is, how can she be inspired by women who came further before, you know, Michael Jackson was even born? Yeah, so that, and I grew up watching my grandfather make airplanes, and he had a red tail that he couldn't find the kit for, so he would design the airplanes from scratch, but he would then go and get the, I guess it's the taping that would go over. the airplanes and he couldn't find it so this is partial a dedication to him but also as CT mentioned we were commissioned by a city to do a project that you know specialized in aviation and for me I like bringing historical references to the home and so within institution you can go in a museum and see it but does it actually come home with you whereas I wanted to be able to Have it multi-layered where you could Not only have exciting artwork in your home, but there's a story behind it that starts a conversation and carries on the narratives of the history. It has found its wings. No pun intended. Let's walk over here. Where do you all want to start? Well, let's start left to right. Let's start with Dear Bessie. She is the OG of all four of them. Everybody knows who Bessie Coleman is. So Dear Bessie is a homage and a love letter to Bessie Coleman, outlining everything that she's done, everything that she's pioneered in her time. There are two different variations in mediums. We have our UV resin acrylics and then we also have our traditional canvases. So with Dear Bessie, you can actually scan the QR code with your phone and you'll see this entire series come to life. Now, with that being said, we want to make sure that in telling this story, especially at the gallery, that it's the chronological timeline that comes to life. So out of Dear Bessie, we move down the line and focus on the rest of the story. But Dear Bessie was the first aviator, first black female aviator to go and get her pilot's license. Not in the United States because she was barred from it due to her gender and her skin color. So she learned how to learn French and then went ahead and went and got her license overseas in France. Then came back to the United States and well set the tone and set the pace from then on out. So now we know he has none other than Queen Bess. In that it kind of flows into the rest of the story where we have Ecclesiastes 4:12 now I feel like when it comes to this one, it's always about back. the three-stranded cord is always stronger than one, right? So in that, we honor and homage to the three that come after Queen Bess. We have our Janet Harmon Bragg, Mildred Hemings Carter, and Willa Brown. The three are always represented here, but... In caring and being inspired by Bessie Coleman, because they never met her, but they were born around shortly around the time of her death. They were highly inspired by her, wanted to go ahead and start taking on the mantle of what it means in black aviation. So these three together have created what we now kind of know of the Tuskegee Airmen. We're going to move on now. Did you do all of these, or do you have one in particular? I did all of them, yeah. I want you to talk about it. I mean, you did this. Yeah, I painted all of them. I thought it was like, well, maybe he did the other two. No, I painted all of them. You also had to think about colors and what you were going through. What kind of informed what we see here? So a lot of times, like, where the modern art is currently in terms of color palette and representation of black people, I get bored. No disrespect to any artist, but I love color and I feel like us being black people are vibrant. And so for me, I wanted to choose colors that were live, vibrant, but also within the eyes, there's the emotion. So while they're disenfranchised, I think a lot of times we bring, what is it, suffrage into the home in terms of the artwork. And so it doubles down on the narrative The negative connotation behind it. Whereas most people, if you were to just see the work, it's like, wow, that's pretty. And that's it. But if you actually engage it, as CT mentioned within the QR codes and the augmented reality, You peel back the layers of, why are the facial expressions the way that they look? Yeah, you can still see the determination in their eyes, for sure. CT, let me have you come down this way, and as we get into this work of art, when it comes to the QR code, you mentioned it kind of like as an immersive experience. Absolutely. What does it look like or feel like? What are people hearing, you know, seeing when they scan it? Each one has a different... This one doesn't have sound. Actually, this one does have sound. I think we kind of mixed them up. But just know that some of them have sound, some of them don't. And what you see is either the actual artworks come to life or you see the women themselves. Wow. Come to life and tell you about their stories, their experience, everything that you could possibly think of. So we're blending not only augmented reality, but we're blending animation, illustration, all the different aspects when it comes to the digital media world. Because a lot of people tend to separate those two mediums. Here, this is a full-blown. You could think of three-layered cake when it comes to it. You could think of, obviously, three-layered cake. Would you like to see? Yes, if I could. I just need a phone. We'll see if we can grab a phone later. We'll do that, but I'll stay here in the meantime. Now, this looks even more elaborate. Yes. How long did it take? About four months. Not as long as my initial piece that has crystals on it. When people ask me that question, I ask, have you ever seen every episode of Seinfeld? That's how long it took. Wow. This one took about four months, not as lengthy, but still as dedicated. Each crystal, there's Swarovski crystals, it's dedicated to all of the different memories and also all of the soul's touch that she may have never gotten to experience or come in contact with. A lot of times pilots will put a, I like to call it like a tattoo on the side of their plane. She never had that experience. So bringing it to a modern day experience of what her pilot plane or personal plane would have looked like, I chose to put her on the side of it. And you could have used any gem or glass or anything. Why crystals? You see how it looks. Not to mention, not to mention, she also is named Queen Bess, Queen Bess. So when you see a queen, she's normally dressed in royalty, shining jewelry, a crown. Crème de la crème. Yes. Wow. Okay, last but certainly not least here. Now, I know you're... A woman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, but we had to represent one time for our deltas. I love all D9. I do, I do, I do. Now, we do have a piece titled AKA, but in highlighting the deltas for a second, this piece actually honors the women that come after the big four that are deltas. A lot of them come later in life around the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and some even... Today, as of this year, and there are a lot of firsts being made in the military, in aviation as a whole, so a lot of them come from the Delta region, but we wanted to make sure that we highlighted every aspect of any newbie within the military and aviation sector. So Delta One is an homage to the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, just a slight honoring in terms of the animation that comes to life, as well as the sound. So when you see anything that's of... The Kinship work that has anything to do with the D9 is always going to be a sound behind it, which could be their song. There's always going to be a song that's going to be representational of the culture, of what it means to have sisterhood. And a lot of these women, especially Willa Brown in particular, who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, or was a member, used that sisterhood to help them cross that bridge, whatever tribulation that they faced in that sector that they were entering. That is just beautiful. Kinship, how did you create this masterpiece? So, I have a... An initial process that starts digitally rather than a lot of times the terminology poor artist. So I will draw digitally on an iPad and sometimes it comes out. Where I don't have to paint it. And so certain mediums, again, giving different options based on my collectors and those that, you know, collect my artwork. I like to give a variety of options, whether it be canvas or acrylic. And so the process of going from digital to then printing it on acrylic, that's the painstaking part. Transcription Transferring that and making sure that it looks the same way that it does. Digitally. Gosh, well, if you all are setting out and you have to tell these women's stories and to inspire, you've already succeeded. Thank you. Big time. I almost want to cry because you can feel it is so long overdue. by CastingWords Absolutely. Absolutely. Especially with the changing of the Smithsonian African-American Museum. Some of these names you may never see and some of them you might see in a small blurb somewhere. Mm-hmm. If this is the proper time and the right time to do it, the best way is to do it in the visual format because most people, let's be honest, don't find history fun. This is true. So if we can present it and package it in a way that not only is it memorable but bold, you're going to... Remember the names with it. Remember the faces. Even if it is just a blue face, you're going to be like, I remember that blue face piece that was about the three women that did the aviation, Tuskegee Airmen. At least we know you remember something. It makes it stick more when you're doing a part of the story and the story gathering. How many pieces did you do total? Ten. So it's a ten piece collection. I don't know that I'll do more every now and then I drop a, you know, you got to do some extras, you know, once once the collection does this thing and travels about. But I wanted a solid ten to tell their story and then allow the historical references to speak for itself because they did a lot of work. I mean, you take her going all the way to France while being disenfranchised. You should be. That's very, extremely proud that it came through you, that we're able to do this. So where can people go? How soon to experience this for themselves? They can easily come down to the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia, where we are currently on view, and we close all the way up until November 12th. So November 12th is the last day that we're going to. That's next week. That's next week. You've got to get out there. This will be perfect for the weekend, the whole family. It's very fun, all age appropriate. We've had people come from all walks of town to come see this. All right. Thank you, thank you, and thank you for all of the women and the work that they've done, the ground that they laid for us all. We'll be right back with today's Burst of Joy. That's you for today's Burst of Joy, the King of Pops. Greatest hits are getting a timeless classical makeover right here in the district. The Candlelight Concert Series brings Michael Jackson's catalog to life under the glow of thousands of candles. A string quartet will perform arrangements of Billie Jean, Thriller, and so many of his other hits. The tickets for that are available online on Fever Up with concerts scheduled now through January 2nd. It's all happening at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Northwest D.C. And yours truly has tickets to an upcoming show, and I cannot wait to see his music in that light. I've never heard it classically done, so it should be fun. And it's happening right here in our area, so if you go, let me know, M-Squad, so we can share notes. I'll be right back with a preview of Monday's show. I hope you enjoyed today's show and thank you to all of our guests who came through. Coming up Monday on the Marissa Mitchell Show, nationally renowned political commentator Dr. David J. Johns will be live in studio from your health care to housing to civil rights. He's going to share what's next after the historic midterm elections. And politics may be one of those topics you're trying to avoid. Come Thanksgiving, podcast host Venus Freeman, she has some tools to create healthy boundaries