In this episode of "Hub City Now with Tyrone Tony Reed Jr.", the host interviews Emmy award-winning TV news journalist Shayla Michelle Reaves, nearly a week before her Sept. 30 book signing in Jackson, Tennessee.
Floral Cakes, 210 East Lafayette Street, in Jackson, Tennessee, will host Reaves' book signing event from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, September 30, 2023. This event is FREE. You can purchase your copy or copies of “Echo in the Distance“, get them autographed, take pictures and enjoy light refreshments.
Reaves spoke about her new book “Echo in the Distance” and the journey she took from enjoying creative writing as a child to winning a writing competition as a freshman in college to publishing her first book.
Sixty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech Wednesday, Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
Forty years later, Northwestern University freshman Shayla Michelle Reaves, entered the Written Expression Competition, which was held in honor of Dr. King. Shayla the competition with “Do You Hear the Echo in the Distance,” first performing the piece during the university’s Martin Luther King Jr. program before an audience which included keynote speaker Dr. Cornel West. Dr. West was so impressed that he asked Shayla if he could use the line “People are people, not color-coated crimes” in his future speeches.
Twenty years later, Emmy-award-winning TV news journalist Shayla Michelle Reaves turned that piece, which wouldn’t remain silent, into a children’s book named “Echo in the Distance”, written by Shayla Michelle Reaves and illustrated by Kprecia Ambers.
“Echo in the Distance” written by Shayla Michelle and illustrated by Kprecia Ambers, is a moving tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream shared from the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.
Millions watched as the civil rights leader delivered his hope for the future, his dream for what America could be.
Decades later, the iconic “I Have A Dream” speech has continued to transcend time.
“Echo in the Distance” reflects on the speech, the history that followed and serves as a reminder that each individual can play a role in realizing the dream first shared in 1963.
In the words of author Shayla Michelle, “It’s not too late. Dreams can come true. It starts with you.”
Learn more about Echo In The Distance at www.echointhedistance.com.
Hub City Now: Interview with Shayla Michelle Reaves