There will be excitement in the air on the night of April 5th when The Chesapeake Forum welcomes to its podium a speaker who is not only an internationally beloved best-selling writer but also a Chesapeake native.

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and the bestselling author of 36 books, including "Swing," "Becoming Muhammad Ali," "Rebound," the Newbery Honor-winning picture book "The Undefeated," and the Newbery Medal-winning novel "The Crossover." A regular contributor to NPR's "Morning Edition," Kwame is the recipient of The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. He also wrote and, with NBA star LeBron James, executive produced the new TV series "The Crossover," based on his best-selling novel and premiering on Disney+ in April. The son of renowned local historian Dr. E. Curtis Alexander, Kwame grew up in Chesapeake and graduated from Great Bridge High School and Virginia Tech.

Despite the range of his accomplishments, Kwame describes himself as a lover of words whose life work is "to change the world one word at a time."

"I love words," he declares. "That's what I do. That's my avocation and my vocation; it's my hobby; it's my love; it's my life-long passion."

Kwame credits his parents for igniting that passion. "I grew up in this household where it was all about instruction, how to become a better person and how to make the world better," he recalls. "For a kid, who cares? I just wanted to play Atari video games and play with my friends."

Kwame's attitude changed when he read Muhammed Ali's biography and discovered that books could be "cool" and exciting. "I grew up immersed in this literature that was page-turning, but it was teaching me," he explains. "Because of that, coupled with my parents, I was destined for a life of trying to inform and instruct through inspiration."

Kwame's commitment to making the world better extends beyond writing: he's led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded in 2012. A regular speaker and workshop presenter at conferences across the U.S., he has also traveled the world, planting the love of literature in such places as Brazil, Italy, France, and Turkey.

Kwame believes, heart and soul, that poetry is the basic building block of all writing and has the power to change the world. He uses it to inspire and empower young people through his Book-in-a-Day literacy program, which has created more than 3,000 student authors at 69 schools across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.  
 

"Poetry is like the entire human soul distilled into very few words," he says with a smile, "and they're power-packed. You can get a middle, beginning, and end in ten lines. We can make the readers feel something pretty powerful in just those few words." Kwame speaks with such joyous enthusiasm that even non-fans of poetry are bound to smile when listening to him.

Kwame's ability to tap into his deeply personal sense of joy and use it to connect with others makes him an ideal speaker for the Chesapeake Forum-an organization founded in 2019 to promote unity.
During the winter of 2018-2019, a small group of Chesapeake citizens from across the city gathered to consider one question: In a world of diverse opinions, at a time when public discussions are often bitterly divisive, what does it take to bring a community together?

Dr. Becky Adams, a career educator and Chesapeake's 2016 First Citizen, was at that meeting. "We wanted to create a space where people could experience community together-despite their political differences," she recalls. "We wanted to explore ways in which we could expand the cultural offerings in our city."

This dedicated group founded The Chesapeake Forum as a non-profit organization that would bring high-quality speakers to Chesapeake to speak on a wide range of topics. Those speakers would include scientists, artists, historians, financiers, humorists, philosophers, journalists, and leaders from all fields. At the same time, when selecting speakers, the organization would not promote politicians, positions, candidates, or parties.

This last point was crucial for Becky, who serves as the Forum's president. "We want the Chesapeake Forum to be completely non-partisan," she insists. "We are offering the citizens of Chesapeake opportunities to hear people from all walks of life speak."

The Chesapeake Conference Center has been the Forum's home venue since its first speaker, Journalist/TV Host Jane Pauley, appeared in January 2020. "From the very beginning, this beautiful conference center has stepped up to the plate," Becky says. "In fact, when we approached them, they told us they had been hoping someone in the area would do something like this."

"Our goal has been to bring diverse people here who reflect our community values," says Glenn Koonce, the Forum's First Vice President in Charge of Programming. "We want to bring the community together-not pull it apart. The three speakers we brought in for our inaugural season-Jane Pauley, Astronaut Mae Jemison, and Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan-were each unique personalities who faced challenges in their careers and personal lives and had the power to cut across all differences and divisions."

The Forum's speakers for 2022 included Humorist and Award-winning Author Dave Barry, Educator and Motivational Speaker Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, and Journalist/TV Host Joan Lunden.
Kwame Alexander, whose books, magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and love of writing have made him an international favorite with audiences of all ages, will be the first speaker of the Forum's 2023 season. Tickets for his April 5th appearance are available through the Forum's website.