Speaking on Our Thoughts...

1 Year and 3 Months

15 Months

60 Weeks

449 Days

10,776 hours

This equation equals the patience quotient of every major Religion in the world. this is how long i've patiently held back telling a fascinating--and sad--story of use, abuse, and refuse that involves a small community agency in Nashville, and the people that have preyed upon them, in the name of The Lord.

Before i share this story, i have to explain why it has taken me so long to talk about what many of my supporters, friends, relatives, co-workers, legal pundits, and media-makers have prodded me to expose many months ago. As people became aware of some of the details, they were enraged, and demanded that justice be done--and done swiftly. However, i begged patience and gave the parties in question enough exhaustive opportunities to right the wrongdoing to assuage any feeling i may have had inside that i was being, in any way, unfair myself. In other words, i was trying to do the right thing.

Yet now, these many, many months past one of the most hurtful professional situations i've encountered as a grown man, i find myself looking within to the righteous spirit that exists within us all that calls to us to share our truths so that others may be saved from like circumstances--yea even at the hands of the same perpetrating parties. In layman's terms:

We got screwed, and i don't want anyone else to go through what i've been through.

At first, i was going to say that "i" got screwed, but in reality, it was a huge group of WE that got wronged, because it was a WE that dared to dream and make a dream a reality with our collective sweat, blood, and labor that resulted in building the Amun Ra Theatre Playhouse, a shining beacon of goodwill that stands today over on Clifton Ave in North Nashville.

This is a story about goodwill, good people, promises made and broken, and a resolution that rests squarely upon the many people out there who believe in doing the right thing, also.

THE BACKGROUND

Amun Ra Theatre is, frankly, my baby. i traveled the country as a young black actor and playwright, seeking out opportunities to tell stories of relevance to the world from my own cultural perspective. i turned those experiences into an idea for a community-based, professional theatre that would tell those much-needed stories in my hometown. Moving back from New York, i attached myself to a group of genius artists and some great supporters, and we incorporated and went to work, dreaming that one day, we would possess our own facility to work in.

7 years later, the chance came.

We found an old, abandoned mosque up on Clifton Avenue that was perfect for our needs. We identified the owners (the church next door), made some deals, and soon, we were looking at opening a dream--only, where would we find the money and resources? The answer came in the personage of Michael Tucker of Sunago Builders, who had grown up in the neighborhood, heard about what we were trying to do, and offered his services to coordinate the project. Here this brother was, a professional builder with all sorts of projects under his belt, and he wanted to help us make magic happen. It had to be a sign.

We sat down and started making plans. Dwayne Jones of Memphis, TN drew out a floor plan; Kevin Johnson of Cadpro put together an architectural drawing. We were off and running. Never mind that we barely had 300 dollars to devote to the initial project that was going to budget at over $150,000 to complete. We had a team of professionals who were seeing the vision. Then came a bright idea that would be a game-changer: since we had to do the impossible, why not add an even more impossible element to the construction...

Let's build it all in 3 days, working around the clock.

Yeah, for those who don't know the story, that's how it began. More importantly, you know that is exactly how we did it, too. It took a gargantuan effort from skilled workers, sub-contracted craftsmen, and a legion of volunteers from every corner of the city, but we did it because of a collective effort from people with good hearts who could contribute what they could.

Many of you reading this were a part of the project. i know this because i've seen you at the intermission of performances, pointing to a spot in a corner, and i've overheard you saying "See this wall here? I scraped paint off here for 6 hours. See how smooth it is? That's me right there." i've talked to others who drove by and reminded me of where they were standing and how long the roller brushes were they used to lay on the exterior paint on the building. Countless voices still ring in my ears:

"Remember when I broke out that main wall?"

"You didn't know I knew how to drywall did you?"

"Aren't you glad my brother is a plumber?"

"My family fought me, but I brought ya'll this poundcake. Take a break and eat some."

"I know an electrician. Let me get him on the phone so we don't have to be in the dark."

All of these, you, and many more helped us make this happen.

Then, we were approached by one apparently well-meaning party who is the subject of my blog today:

The Francois Team.

IN KIND-NESS

(One thing i will say about waiting so long to discuss something: it leaves you void of emotion. So i write these details not in bitterness, with no slant toward anything but the truth and hard fact, with the hope that by sharing, something can be done to complete a chapter in the history of a movement of creativity in Nashville that has resulted--in most other ways--in achieving completion.)

i used to see Alvin and Mignon Francois in Starbucks' Metrocenter location all the time, and in the Fall of 2008, it seemed as if i saw them on a more regular basis than usual. Going there in the mornings at that time, i would diagram on napkins, the dreams i had for the theater space i was in the process of planning to build. i would speak to them and they were so friendly and admirable: Alvin had a joyful demeanor and welcoming presence, and when Mignon looked at you with those big brown eyes and that angelic smile, you couldn't help but to want to be around them. i enjoyed encountering them, however and whenever it was.

Eventually, Alvin began to share with me his profession. He was a worker of wood, who carried with him his portfolio of custom designed kitchens, counters, wine cellars and the like. He told me he knew i knew some important people, and since they were relatively new to the area, he would appreciate an introduction. i told him i would gladly spread the word and kept him updated--whenever i saw him--about people i had mentioned him to. i'm a firm believer in small business, but more importantly, in people living their dreams. So it was no big deal for me to be excited to hear about ideas that came out of people. It made sense then, when he proposed something special: custom woodwork for the Amun Ra Theatre Playhouse.

i was blown away when it was first proposed. this had to be God's will. The Universe was really working in our favor now: we had a contractor who helped build Nissan running our project, the architect who designed a massive museum laying our plans, one of the largest roofing companies in the South covering us, and the biggest heating and cooling equipment company connecting a brand new unit. the fact that i saw God in the equation was not just because i'm a minister; it wasn't just because we had so many heavy-hitters involved; it was because all of these people were donating their services in-kind.

Yes, i was witnessing the construction of not just a building, but of a miracle.

So when Alvin Francois came and looked at the gutted-out space, turned to me, and said, "This place deserves the best; i want to build some custom cabinets for ya'll," i was floored. This was too good to be true. He said that he'd need to make some drawings, but invited my soon-to-be-wife and me to come visit him at home to work out the details. And that's exactly what we did. That's where we learned something valuable:

The Devil is, indeed, in the details...

TRANSITIONS

Kenetha and i approached the small, but quaint house in Germantown with wonder. We both had been down the street, but had never noticed the house before. Before we made it to the door, Alvin bounded out of the glass door--sort of odd for a home--and welcomed us to he and his wife's home/business. We entered and found ourselves in the midst of a min-bakery-in-progress. Mignon was moving about arranging things with her normal cheerful spirit. They spent the next few minutes giving us a tour of the facility and the home, telling us a fascinating story of how, when they secured the property, it was a crack house, and they had single-handedly renovated it into both a home and a new business. They were going to be selling cupcakes. Affordable, delicious cupcakes. They had a few people in the neighborhood already coming through purchasing small orders, and they were poised to take it to the next level, if they could get some smaller obstacles overcome: passing codes, plumbing/electric and the like. Not to mention having some help in personnel. Kenetha volunteered to help out in the kitchen, in between working on the theater, just so that Mignon would not be overloaded. The energy was good as we all moved through the baking kitchen.

Francois led us into a den and we sat before a complex state of the art sound system. He explained that it was custom-made and it couldn't be found anywhere locally, but it was hooked into a projection TV system that made you feel as if you were actually in a movie theater. Kenetha and i spoke it aloud, "We gotta have it like this one day in our house!" We shared a laugh as Francois pulled the paperwork for the woodworking project. He'd worked through a design with our interior designer Fabian Jollivette, another creative cat who was donating his time to the project. We were all excited.

Francois began by saying that the work we were doing was so important, so historic, that to do anything that was cheap or simply functional would be an insult to the concept. (Heretofore, we were talking about getting an office supply place to donate some cabinets for us to store box office supplies in, as well as a couple of bookshelves and desks for the administrative office). So he offered his skills as a woodworker, to create a custom design for our box office and administrative office that would give us storage for scripts, videos, books, filing cabinets, work stations, lockable security doors, and even grand columns for our lobby that would make it look like you were entering into an Egyptian temple when you came through ART's doors. We were so excited we were wild-eyed. The universe was surely working for us. The Francois' would do this for us, a top-notch job...

For a nominal fee, that is.

That should have been the first red-flag. Looking back, i should have seen it coming, but here i was, caught up in the friendly spirit of the Francois family and their approach to helping. Couple that with the other construction aspects that were coming together, and i figured, well, let's just hear this out.

Almost $3,400.00. That was the nominal fee. It was explained by Alvin, with seconding by Mignon's assuring smile, that this was inexpensive in relation to what it would normally cost. i explained how we just didn't have the funds to direct to an expense we hadn't planned on--especially since we were leaning heavily on in-kind donations to make our miracle happen. Francois explained that we really needed to have faith in this part of the project, and that it was the way to go, and the reason why he couldn't do it all as a donation was a stark business reality: he was retiring from woodworking and rolling all of his last assets into a new venture that needed to get off the ground:

The Cupcake Collection.

They were almost where they needed to be to get fully open: they just needed the funds to cover electrical and plumbing issues, as well as supplies. This would be a way for him to devote two to three days to us and it end up being mutually beneficial for everyone: ART would have some custom woodwork to open its doors with, and The Cupcake Collection would blast out of the gate with a bang.

We didn't have the funds. Not all of it. But we made a decision to find the money, feeling it was a good thing to do, for good people, who were going to help out, so we agreed to do half as a deposit, and we did, giving the money directly to Mignon Francois (it was explained to us that she was the Financial Officer of all their enterprises). We left with a contract, a charge to raise the money to cover this additional expense, and dreams of blowing our patrons away when we opened our doors with impressive, custom woodwork throughout our facility of dreams.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY

We built a theater in 3 days in October of 2008. Sure, all the trimmings weren't there, but it was functional, with walls and stages and seats and lights, ready to go. We needed some paint here and there, as well as a security system--bells and whistles really. The Princely Players had agreed to donate our stage lights, a word they came through on while donating a great Benefit Performance. Eddie George came and did a Benefit as well, and many of the funds raised over the next few weeks went toward the second payment to the Francois' for the woodwork (It was explained that they needed the funds up front to cover everything, so we--once again--made the check delivery to Mignon and awaited the installation). The Cupcake Collection provided those delicious cupcakes for our reception and gained a whole new following from our supporters, who are legendary in their loyalty to good causes.

Several days passed and Alvin had not shown up to do the work. We made a concession, because we knew they were getting the Cupcake Collection open. Kenetha was going over to the Francois' bakery every morning to help Mignon--she carefully stayed away from baking and washed dishes and cleaned (Although Mignon had gotten the basic recipe from the Internet for the cupcakes, Kenetha wanted to help preserve the "secret recipe" mystique); We connected them with our PR Director to help them get some early publicity for the business; We made references to several of our corporate partners to give them some connections in the corporate community for business. For a minute, it was about the cupcakes, but we knew that in a few days, we'd have the woodwork up and running. It was explained that the wood had to be special ordered, along with the hardware for the shelves, the specialty-cut desktop and cabinet doors, glass, etc. Many days were passing, but we were okay because we were assured that work was progressing. After all, Alvin had taken one of our board members to his 5,000 square foot warehouse and shown them all of machinery he was using to cut out the wood for our project. He even suggested we all celebrate with a trip on his tour bus. He told us he owned a custom-designed, $200,000 tour bus that he made cross country trips in. As a post-project celebration, he was going to call the driver he kept on retainer and have him bring up the bus for a ride-around with our staff and even our Performing ARTs Academy kids--a good time for all.

Then things got strange.

After coming over and attaching some wooden posts to the walls around December of 2008, it became increasingly harder to get a finishing date for the project. We got a little concerned because, technically, it was supposed to be done by Christmas for use in our first show, "Nativity At The Playhouse," featuring The Princely Players. We were in rehearsals and setting up for the show, working around the open spaces where our woodwork was surely arriving in time for us to utilize it efficiently. It didn't arrive, and it became increasingly harder to get in touch with the Francois'.

That was the next red flag, and i totally missed it. We started calling and asking for a due date. We were hamstrung, because now we were still paying rent on a previous office space just to store the items that were supposed to be loaded into our box office and administrative office back in October, and we were now a couple of months into 2009. We tried every way to get in touch, and when we did hear from the Francois, it was Alvin who reeled off what we would come to know as The Litany Of Excuses. They include:

1. "I'm getting the desktop custom cut."
2. "The hardware company sent me the wrong fixtures."
3. "It's raining outside. I'm ready to install, just don't want the wood to be warped."
4. "I cut the doors too short, so I'll have to re-measure."
5. "The wood the supplier sent me was the wrong shade, so they are re-sending."

And, of course, all of these were followed by the next set of Excuse-Enders:

1. "I'll be there in the morning."
2. "I'll finish it this weekend."
3. "I'll finish it early next week."
4. "I'll have it done by the end of next week."

And this has been the revolving door. One year and three months later, the work is yet undone, numbers have been changed, and a small, not-for-profit theater that believed in the goodness of people has been burned, severely, by it's own belief in the goodwill of human beings who come bearing gifts they charge you for.

Sure, there are legal avenues that will be pursued. We do have a contract after all, and no one could argue that we haven't been fair in giving the Francois team enough time to do what they said they were going to do. So why blog now? Because a blog is a reflection, a personal reflection on things that happen to oneself and in the world, and i am reminded--by myself and others--of all that has happened over the last 15 months or so. Good things all around, for sure. But my personal concern is for others who may encounter the 1-2 Tandem i write of today, because, looking back over the year, i also have witnessed things that cause my emotions to teeter between awe and disgust.

FROM RAGS TO RICHES

For the length of our ordeal to close out this mis-use, i find it curious that there are several popular stories floating out there surrounding the origins of The Cupcake Collection that have become the stuff of folklore. As you have read above, you can imagine the shock and awe that must have filled my spirit when i have perused articles in the local press, on television, Youtube, Facebook and the like that reveal a different origin for one of the most popular "community" businesses in Nashville.

At first, i must admit, it was entertaining to turn to a news story and hear that the Francois' opened their business with "five dollars," or that they lived baking cupcakes with a generator. Or that the entire family was living on Ramen Noodles and God delivered them, showering them with blessings. My wife and i, and several other people who had interacted with them, found all this humorous at first, reflecting back on the tour bus, the high-tech home, the 5,000 square foot warehouse, the trucks and equipment, and all the offers to come over for gourmet dinners we received around that time from The Francois'. I know that we all love a good Horatio Alger Story, but i'll be honest--and very human--after a few weeks of stepping over construction, and preventing my young people from walking into certain areas in our small space for fear of them hurting themselves in mid-construction clutter...

i was offended.

With every new story that came through the papers or the radio, or from eyewitnesses (i mean they were getting bigger and bolder with the stories, even testifying at churches and public events) i grew more offended.

i was offended because i was a part of an amazing act of God and the Universe that took place 1 year and 3 months ago. People from all over this city gave their time, hearts, and hands to build a facility dedicated to uplifting a community. People who had no money cut their hands on rusted nails they pulled out of the concrete floor, scraped mud from corners and slung sledgehammers; Others who had small funds bought food, trash bags and toilet paper; Donors reached deep when we needed them to and put what they could--in a recessive economic environment--into a special dream.

So i speak out now for all of them, all of you, who did the right thing, and continue to do the right thing. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Frankly, i cannot sit by in silence anymore and not tell my story. As a man who tries to teach my children the value of right and wrong; who learned, through lectures, lessons, and even whippings from my parents that a man's word is his bond, i know that your word that is the only thing you have control over in this world.

My father was not an outwardly spoken man, but he was the strongest man i've ever known, mostly because of cold french fries. That's right, cold french fries. Some of my earliest memories involve my father going through the drive through window of a fast food restaurant and realizing, often later than sooner, that someone got our order wrong. i don't care if that place was on the other side of town, once my father discovered the wrongdoing, he turned around and went back to the source to right the wrong. As i grew, i learned to respect that in him, because he and my mother shared that trait, exercising it in business, at our schools, and anywhere else. They possessed--and demonstrated--and integrity that is missing in this world.

i am my parents' son.

i am not perfect. No one is. And we all make mistakes. However, after 1 year and 3 months, i feel like i have a right to let people know about what happened to the really good institution i serve gratefully, at the hands of a couple of people who history will judge as they continue to grow as a modern day "success story." i don't fault anyone who supports their business. as a matter of fact, all year i've been hoping that as it grows--by hook or by crook--perhaps they will look back at their blessings and devote some of their growing resources to either re-paying what, in essence, appears to have been a small business loan, or completing the work agreed upon.

AN APPEAL

For those that know me, you know that i believe in action and not just talk, so i'm going to do something that is radical. No, i'm not going to go live on roof until The Francois' complete our work (i can't risk being away from my family for a year and 3 more months); i'm not going to ask you to boycott their business enterprises (now you understand, though, the reason why i don't comment back when people suggest i pick up some cupcakes for my sweet tooth); i'm going to ask you, especially if you have ever contributed time or other resources toward any of the good things i've been blessed to be involved with to consider these issues for yourselves.

i'm going to ask you, if you read this, to do the following:

1. Pause and say a prayer for Alvin and Mignon Francois. Don't judge them, just say an earnest prayer for them. Gain the peace that comes in sincere prayer.

2. Support their business, but when you encounter them, gently encourage them to allocate some of the blessings you are providing to their livelihood toward completing what they agreed upon doing 1 year and 3 months ago.

3. i've been made aware of a new "Benefit" that is being conducted by The Francois' for Haitian Relief Victims. The Red Cross is supposed to be on-site. i'm not going to tell you what to do with your money, but The Red Cross is a highly-reputed organization. if i were to go by there, i would make sure i gave the money directly to them.

It is my hope that i will one day soon be able to have a normal office to work in, that our kids will have space to move around in the theater, and that our box office staff will be able to have the most efficient space to open up in a few weeks at the start of our season. i'm going to keep this ideal in mind. Maybe now, the Universe will bring about a resolution in the way that it always does--through people sharing whatever they can, however they can.

As for me, i'm going to go and move some things around at the office. For some reason, i've been told the work will be done "this weekend."

Keep your fingers crossed.

"Assuredly, I say unto you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."- Matt 25:40