MLK Bay Bridge Event

Bay Bridge’s Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration continues to resonate! This year we welcome back Milwaukee poet Kavon Cortez Jones to the Whitefish Bay Public Library. This year he’ll perform an extended set. He’s also bringing along 2 musicians to accompany him. Additionally, artists Kim Cosier and Ceci Tejeda will offer attendees the chance to create social justice themed art.

About the poet:
Kavon Cortez Jones was born on September 26th, 1994 the same year as Bucks forward Giannis in a city he calls, Paris of the Midwest. He is a Milwaukee homegrown poet, avid biker, and storyteller who was born and grew up in Milwaukee. Young Kavon was inspired to write poetry in 7th grade while attending Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. K-8 School thanks to local mentors Kwabena Nixon and Muhibb Dyer. Kwabena & Muhibb visited  his school when he was 13-years-old, and wowed a gymnasium full of angsty-teenagers with poetic storytelling. Their stories talked about everything from losing loved ones to gun violence, to how jump rope, particularly Double-Dutch, is a lost art form. Muhibb wore an orange jumpsuit and Kwabena brought a jump rope which made the visual performance more intense and tear-jerking. Lupe Fiasco's Superstar, a 2007 hit song around the time was another catalyst to indulge him into the scribe culture. 

Kavon Cortez Jones is 31-years-old now and still lives in  Milwaukee spreading peace and love to all who lend an ear. You can catch him in homegrown cafes and bars writing and biking with Red Bike & Green’s Ammar Nsoroma around town talking to local luminaries who make MKE great and him special. Do not be hesitant to say hi…

About the artists:
Kim Cosier is Professor of Art Education in the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she has been happily teaching since 2001. She is a member of the activist art collective,  the Art Build Workers, and she is founder and director of the Milwaukee Visionaries Project, an award-winning media production/literacy program for urban youth. She believes in the power of art and the human imagination to create a more just and joyful world.  

Ceci Tejeda’s family roots are from Michoacán, Mexico, which is why she has Purepecha blood in her veins. Ever since she was a young girl, she’s admired her culture. She creates Alebrijes made of “cartoneria,” a unique and traditional papier mache technique from Mexico City. Tejeda also creates large-sized pieces that support various social justice movements and activism using the same method.