THE ARTIST

Rickie Byars is an acclaimed and beloved singer-songwriter in the genre of inspirational/New Thought music. Her music resonates in churches of all denominations throughout the world. Live audiences and FB/YouTube streamers who take part in the KUUMBA/B-hood Sunday Devotionals are uplifted through her music and her messages—always delivered with joy and sincerity. She created an inspirational 24-hour radio station, Bradio.org, which blasts her incredible songs from her golden era at the Agape International Spiritual Center where Rickie was the Founding Choir Director and Music and Arts Director for over thirty years. Rickie has released nine solo albums of inspirational music, produced seven choral music albums, three songbooks, two volumes of choral music arrangements and one mini-memoir of stories about her songs. She is often referred to as the Queen of New Thought Music, perhaps because she brings such joy through her healing songs that arise from Rickie’s Divine Connection to God.

THE ACTIVIST

Rickie Byars is the sixth child in a family of seven children born in the segregated town of Charlotte, NC. At an early age she was taught that she must bring her very best to her family, to her race and then to the world. Rickie has always remembered this and cares deeply about her community. For twenty-four years, Rickie co-facilitated the Soul Sisters women’s retreats, and empowered women through experiential processes, workshops, meditations, and other healing modalities. She sits on the Board of Directors of Voices4Freedom.org, an abolitionist organization working to free enslaved children, women, and men in northern India. In 2009, with a team of intergenerational artists, she established Kuumba in Motion, a non-profit inspirational initiative that empowers individuals to discover their inherent gifts and talents through exposure to nature, the arts, and creative sciences. The Kuumba design team is now focussed on developing an innovative model for transitional and transformational communities as they age.