Voyage ATL Article: Meet T. Marie King
Published June 18th 2020
Today we’d like to introduce you to T. Marie King.
T. Marie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?My passion has always been film and video production and I actually lived in Atlanta for eight years working on projects around the city. However, it was an experience in 2015 that changed the direction of my life and work. I was chosen to be a marcher in the 50th Commemorative Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March, also known as the Voter Rights March. Every year thousands travel to Selma Alabama to participate in Jubilee and cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge but this was a special event that was produced by the National Park Services.
There were 300 participants and over the course of five days, we walked the path of the marchers, starting and stopping where they did, met foot soldiers from the sixties, learned seldom shared facts and even Amelia Boyton’s family drove her by to wave at us. That experience was so spiritual and impactful that I could not leave it on the steps of the Montgomery Capital. I knew that I had to do something with it. After a year of wrestling between my passion and what I was realizing was my purpose, I had a very difficult decision to make. In 2016 I started hosting panels and public talks about race around the city of Birmingham and over the years added workshops about bias, empathy and community engagement into the mix. From conversations on Race & Music Videos to teaching at a nonviolence institute in South Dakota to being on the core team that brought Dr. Angela Davis back to Birmingham, I am enjoying the work that I do for the greater community.
Has it been a smooth road?
The hard part was making the decision to dedicate my life to being a voice for the people.
Please tell us more about your work.
I’m an activist and a community consultant. Leading workshops on bias, empathy and community engagement for organizations, groups and colleges. I am known for being able to lead difficult conversations with care in a way that includes all participants. I am also known for “keepin’ it real” too. We can only change our communities when we lead with truth.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As long as there are people in the world, there will be a need for conversations and training that guide us in proper relations with one another. I believe that my work will always be needed but I am looking more into what does it mean to make my work accessible through the use of webinars that are engaging in the same way that they would be in person.