Travis Knights was born to dance.  He is a native of Quebec.  His father is from Trinidad and his mother from Nova Scotia.  Everything began for Knights in Montreal.  He started tap dancing in 1993 at the age of ten at the Ethel Bruneau Dance Studio in Montreal.  It is important to note that Mrs.  Bruneau, called the «Tap Queen of Montreal » by the late Gregory Hines, is the pioneer of tap dancing in Quebec.  Knights was inspired as a child to become a tap dancer after seeing the legendary Gregory Hines pay tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. and he hasn’t never looked back.  He danced with the great Gregory Hines at the reputable Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1996.  Knights studied the film « Tap » and on stage he did a couple steps from that picture in the Jazz Festival.  In this respect, his talent was recognized and he appeared later with Hines and Savion Glover (one of the youngest males to be nominated for a Tony Award) in the biopic movie Bojangles (2000) which portrayed the life of the late performer Bill Robinson, considered the greatest tap dancer of all time.  In 2000, Knights was featured in a CFCF TV documentary about dance Variations on a New Generation in which he represented the realm of tap across Canada.  In 2006, Travis Knights was chosen to dance in the Warner Brothers animated movie « Happy Feet ».  In 2007, he became a tap consultant for the Cirque du Soleil’s first dance research project and performed at the Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival.  The same year, he was involved in the Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival.  In 2008, he appeared in the TV Commercial for the popular show So You Think You Can Dance.  The same year, he was cast as a soloist in a touring show called « Wonderland:  A Tap Tribute to Stevie Wonder », and he realized a dream by performing at The Apollo Theatre in Ayodele’s Diary of a Tap Dancer with Jason Janas.  On February 12th 2010, Knights along with Justin Jackson, another native from Montreal had the honor of tap dancing at the Opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics Games in Vancouver.  As of last spring, Knights joined the famous international Australian troupe Tap Dogs  (for a North American tour) which had a great impression on him since his childhood.  He danced with this troupe in 2010 at the Just for Laugh Festival (the third time that Knights participated at this great event) in Montreal where he started the tour. Moreover, he appeared in popular Quebec shows such as « Bons Baisers de France » and on Christiane Charette’s radio program on Radio-Canada.  Knights also collaborated with a myriad of great Canadian artists such as Grégory Charles, René Simard, Patrick Huard and others.

Alvin “Dwayne” Ross is known in the U.S. and internationally as an expert cosmetologist. During his 18 years as a stylist, his passion for hair color has fueled him to accomplish many notable goals.  In September 2000, Dwayne’s reputation attained national status when the American Board of Certified Hair colorists appointed him a “Master Haircolorist”.  To achieve this goal, one must be a licensed hairstylist and pass an extensive exam that covers chemistry, physiology and psychological aspects of hair color. While maintaining his clientele in both Manhattan and Los Angeles, Dwayne took on the challenge of teaching hair color in New York City. He instructed the core basics of the science of hair color, color correction, troubleshooting, and the advance techniques to licensed professionals all over the country.

Dwayne’s commitment to mastering the art of hair color reached its height in March 2001 when the Los Angeles County Cosmetology Apprenticeship Council named him “Master Cosmetology Trainer” which means he is qualified to privately teach students to become hairstylists in the state of California. These students benefit from working side by side with a “Master Trainer”, receiving personalized attention as well as being introduced to a unique and exciting approach to the craft of cosmetology.

This new approach to teaching is in tune with Dwayne’s philosophy of giving back to the community. He enjoys spending his time working with others by lending his talents to several charity events and causes such as celebrity fashion shows and mentoring youth. As a mentor, Dwayne’s enthusiasm inspires those around him to set high standards of excellence.

 In May 2006, Dwayne Ross opened his own salon “Verve Lounge Hair Salon” in Beverly Hills. Team work is an integral part of this salon’s ethos and success.  It is also important to mention that Ross’ business has a social aspect.  For instance, in the past the Salon raised money for cancer.  Mr.  Ross currently works with celebrities and fashion models in the film and television industries. He has created amazing hair styles for prominent people, such as Heather Locklear, Kate Beckinsale and Jennifer Lopez.  He recently joined the prestigious Cloutier Agency.  Also, lately he was recently featured in the March 2011 issue of the well-known Sophisticate’s Hairstyle Guide Magazine.  Mr.  Ross has an easy but confident approach and demeanour which have ensured a faithful clientele in the entertainment industry. We spoke to Mr.  Ross the 7th of February 2011.

Black America was plunged into mourning on April 4th in 1968, the day that Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was felled by an assassin's bullet. Afterall, Dr. King, as the eloquent spokesman for the Civil Rights Movement, had embraced non-violent resistance to embarrass The South into ending its state-mandated, Jim Crow system of segregation. If not for his genius and selfless leadership, this country, most likely, would yet, to this day, have a strictly-enforced social code relegating African-Americans to second-class status, with separate seating on buses, separate water fountains, and so forth.

Freedom of Information Act documents prove that freeing his people from such an effective system of subjugation and exploitation was absolutely infuriating to many people in positions of power. So, Martin was wise enough to understand that he would probably have to pay with his life for so effectively speaking the truth. And the excerpt above from his final speech indicates that he knew when the end was imminent. And as awful as his loss was for his followers, it still paled in comparison to the grief visited upon his widow, Coretta Scott King, and their four very young children.  One of his sons, Dexter, has just published Growing Up King, An Intimate Memoir and he was gracious enough to spend some time with me, talking about his life, his mother, his siblings, and, of course, his martyred father.  [This interview was conducted in 2004].

Deval Laurdine Patrick was born on July 31, 1956 in Chicago where he and his elder sister, Rhonda, were raised by their mother, Emily “Mae” Wintersmith, in the home of their maternal grandparents after she was abandoned by her husband. Their absentee father, the late Pat Patrick, was a legendary jazz saxophonist who recorded and performed with everybody from Duke Ellington to Miles Davis to Thelonious Monk to Sun Ra.

Deval exhibited enough promise in junior high to land a scholarship to Milton Academy, a prestigious boarding school located in Massachusetts outside Boston. From there, he went on to earn both undergraduate and law degrees at Harvard University.

He subsequently worked with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and then as an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under President Clinton. He also enjoyed stints as general counsel at Texaco and Coca-Cola before deciding to run for Governor of Massachusetts, a position he has held since 2007.  Last fall, he made history by becoming the first African-American in the United States ever to be re-elected as a governor.  On a more personal level, Gov.  Patrick and his wife Diane, who is also a lawyer, have a couple of college-age daughters, Sarah and Katherine. 

Here, he talks about his autobiography, “A Reason to Believe.”

Kam Williams, J.D. talks to Governor Deval Patrick, J.D: 

Kam Williams: Hi Governor Patrick, thanks for the interview.

Deval Patrick: You bet. Thank you.

KW: I really enjoyed your autobiography on several different levels. But I should tell you right off the bat that I played in a group with your dad back in the day during my very brief jazz career. 

DV: Come on?

KW: It’s true. And I even got to record on an album with him once with the Sound Awareness Ensemble led by Robert Northern, aka Brother Ahh. Your father was a very positive influence on my life.

DP:  Oh, wow! I might have guessed that, because he paid a lot of attention to younger musicians. 

KW: Absolutely! And not just in terms of music, but as far as diet and nutrition, too. And that was also a pivotal period in my personal development when I took my African name, Kamau.