Worth Rises

Dwayne is a poet and memoirist, whose work often reflects back on the eight years he spent in prison, starting at just 16 years old. Dwayne has authored four books: Felon (2019), winner of the 2019 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry; Bastards of the Reagan Era (2015); A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and... Coming of Age in Prison (2010), winner of the 2010 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Autobiography; and Shahid Reads His Own Palm. Dwayne has also published in the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and Washington Post, and exhibited in collaboration with Titus Kaphar at MoMA PS1. Dwayne has been honored as a Guggenheim Fellow, NEA Fellow, Art for Justice Fellow, Soros Justice Fellow, Radcliffe Fellow, Ruth Lily Fellow, and New American Fellow. Dwayne is currently a doctoral candidate in Law program at Yale Law School. Dwayne earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.F.A. from Warren Wilson Colleges, and a B.A. from the University of Maryland. Danielle is the founder of Shes a Gent, a blog that celebrates and explores personal style while also using it as a tool to bring awareness to non-binary fashion and style. Through her blog, Danielle has created a space that magnifies the visibility of LGBTQ+ and QTPOC communities through self-expression as visual activism. As a queer woman of color, Danielle is committed to empowering others to freely explore and celebrate their individuality. Her work has been recognized in Forbes, The New York Times, Huffington Pose, OUT Magazine, THEM.com, Vogue, and Nike.com. Danielle has also recently made her acting debut on the groundbreaking seven-time Emmy nominated FX series POSE as the recurring character Wanda. Through her blog and acting career, Danielle endeavors to help open doors for Black and Brown Queer People of Color across all media platforms. She also proudly uses her platform to amplify racial justice and criminal justice. Danielle earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland ...Read More