Today we’d like to introduce you to Janice L. Liddell, PhD.
Hi Janice, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am Janice Liddell, professionally, Dr. Janice Liddell, but I really only use the title when I’m in a professional setting. I guess I can say that becoming a mother seemed to be the start of who I am today. Being that mother and wanting to set the best example for my son and to show him that anything is possible likely became my first motivator to strive. At the time, I wasn’t really sure what the success would look like, but I believed it would happen with my firstborn and little “road dog,” Joseph “Trae” Cooke, beside me. As a divorced single mother, I had so much family support that I certainly cannot ignore that as a true motivator for what I have become. I earned a PhD from the University of Michigan with those primary motivators and in the midst of that came the addition of my second son, Jelani, who served as even further motivation.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We had some rough times getting through our journey, but it was all in God’s hands just as my move to Atlanta was. Coming down to Atlanta looking for a college teaching job in mid-October (1977) could only lead to an opportunity for the next semester or the next year, or so I thought. But God had something more in mind. I came in October and started my nearly 40-year career at Clark Atlanta University that very October. It was, indeed, a gift to wake up every morning and have the opportunity to teach beautiful Black young people who truly wanted to learn what I had to give them. I LOVED it! I was in heaven raising my two sons and enjoying a career that took me to and through my positions as full professor and chairperson in the Department of English and even to college administrator.
I am now nearly 73 years old and I doubt that very many people of this established age can say they have encountered a smooth road to get here. Some of my struggles along the way were, of course, of my own making and some were not–especially those which were financial. I was on welfare when I was in undergraduate school. In fact, I was the first person on welfare in Toledo, Ohio to receive child care assistance to attend college. I remember they had to get special permission for me to do so. I guess they never thought a “welfare queen” would be interested in higher education. But I came from a family who, not only supported education, but several in my family were also educators. They just had not stumbled, fallen and had to pick themselves up as I had done. Even after I started my job at CAU, I recall not realizing that my pay was for nine months rather than 12 (duh). What a shock it was in June to find I had no income and two children to support til September. But I’m a survivor, so I found a side hustle to teach a course at Atlanta Area Tech and applied for food stamps. We made it, but it wasn’t easy.
I have also encountered a host of struggles as a writer and I believe that’s because I started this career so late and as an older Black woman had not taken the traditional playwright’s path to success–that is earning a Master of Fine Arts ( MFA ) and chumming it up with teachers, mentors and colleagues in the field. I had taught myself to write plays by reading and teaching drama to college students. I continue to write because it’s in me to do so, but unfortunately not many of my plays have yet made it to major stages.
So, what do you consider to be some of your achievements?
Well, getting the position at CAU was certainly one and I made a few achievements as a writer. I had written poetry and had even had some pieces published, and I often started stories, though I rarely finished them. When I turned 50 a wonderful opportunity came to me and I ended up writing my very first play at that seasoned age. Surprisingly, it won first place in a playwriting competition and my play was work-shopped and formally read before a real audience. HAIRPEACE was the play which was about four seasoned friends, one of whom was in an advanced stage of breast cancer. The friends had come together to celebrate her 50th birthday. With the relative success of that play, I was bitten by the playwriting bug. Fast forward to a collection now of some seven plays, one of which was recently selected to represent the U.S. at the world’s largest international play festival for community theatres. The play is a one woman show, WHO WILL SING FOR LENA? And is about Lena Mae Baker of Cuthbert GA who, in 1940, became the state’s first and only woman executed in its electric chair.–for killing her oppressive employer in self-defense. I was determined to give Lena Mae Baker a voice and that was the play. I’m headed to Monaco in August to watch The Lexington Players’ (Lexington, CT) production of my play. I guess you can say, so far, that play has been my biggest creative achievement.
Thanks – so what should our readers know about Third Eye Productions?
That’s my production company. I set up Third Eye so I could produce and sell my own self-published plays. I’ve done a little of that, especially in conjunction with the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival and to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the execution of Lena Mae Baker in March 2020. I produced an entire weekend of related activities, which included my play. Unfortunately, the weekend occurred on the cusp of the world-wide COVID shutdown and because people were already prepping for it, few were venturing out to attend a play. Even with that semi-flop, it was a dream fulfilled. I was able to fulfill other dreams with my business–selling Afri-centered garden art and accessories online became one of them and one I still have on the back burner to restart. I stated earlier that I was/am an enthusiastic educator and I believe educating, along with play writing, will be my forever passion. To that end, as an educator, through Third Eye Productions, I have also developed a Black history quiz platform over the past 20+ years to honor my historian sister-friend, Dr. Alma R Williams. Alma served as chairperson of the CAU History Department during much of the time I served as chair of the English Department. She contracted breast cancer and I walked with her through that painful journey. She was a dedicated Black history buff and annually created quiz-bowls related to Black History. I recently soft-launched my own online Black history platform to showcase the work to which she was dedicated and to raise funds for a scholarship for CAU students which I started in her name. I believe my platform, www.blacfacs.com, with over 1,000 “blacfacs” is the largest online data base of Black History facts on the planet and such a fun way for people to learn Black history. Please check it out and let me know what you think. As you can see, I fit a lot of things into Third Eye Productions.
What matters most to you?
At this stage of my life, what matters most remains interacting with family, including my hubs, Allan; educating our youth; and influencing seniors–those 50 and older. I especially want to influence seniors to continue to have, hold and pursue their dreams. As a person who wrote my first play when I was 50 and my most recent one, IT TAKES A VILLAGE, over the COVID lockdown at the age of 72, I still have dreams that my plays will make it to a stage near you, dear reader. Yes, my plays have received some acclaim and recognition, but I believe the best is yet to come. I am blessed to be associated with a number of seasoned and supportive friends, former colleagues, and acquaintances who also believe that age is just a number and that we can pursue our dreams for as long as we CAN dream and I believe that death is the only natural end to dreams. I remain convinced, also, that, no matter our age, we are given life for the purpose of pursuing and using the gifts God has blessed us with and I hope all, especially seniors, reading this will recognize their gifts and use them in the pursuit of their own personal dreams. I take to heart the Ashanti Proverb which I have modified slightly: “[No matter your age], you must act as though it is impossible to fail.” Ase’!!!
Contact Info:
- Email: janiceliddell@comcast.net
- Website: www.blacfacs.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janice.liddell
