Meet Sheldon McAfee | Successful Serial Social Entrepreneur and Creative Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Sheldon McAfee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sheldon, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born in Chicago. Raised in Mobile, Alabama, and grew up in Chicago. I like describing my background like this because it certainly has impacted me and how I see myself in the world. Being raised in Mobile, AL, in an area we affectionately called “the Bottom.” While the area is located lower in the city, close to the dock, it was also a poor community, but I would have never known it. I was surrounded by so many loved ones I would have thought I was one of the wealthiest kids in the city. My grandparents and their children and their children were always together. Riding our bikes, we hung out and had a good time. In the 1980s, when street lights were our signals to go home, and water hoses were our drinking fountains. Life was so simple and free back then. On my block, we knew everybody. We’d wave, hold conversations with one another and even help clean up their yards. We could play in the street or an open field without anybody getting hurt or starting a fight. It was a real sense of community.

In 1989 we moved to the Southside of Chicago, and let me tell you, it was a 180 degree of difference from Mobile. The hawk alone made us write home to my grandparents to come to get us. But growing up in Chicago sharpened my skill set. I couldn’t be a carefree little boy anymore. I had to become a streetwise young man. I had to pay attention to the gangs’ movement and look out for the police. Growing up in Chicago, you had to know which colors to wear, what area to wear them in, like knowing the bus and the train routes. I also noticed the hustler. These folks were making their money by selling what they made or took to make it in the unforgiven Second City.

The carefree life that Mobile blessed me with gave me a deep and abiding love for family. I count myself blessed to know my grandmother’s sisters’ great-grandchildren like my brothers and sisters. The roots of family run deep. As African-Americans, family is not a luxury that we all have. The manacles of slavery did a horribly terrific job of dividing and separating Black folks for generations. Cutting us off from one another without a trace. My great-grandmother did a miracle keeping all of her daughters in the same house until they left to find their own way in the world. She had the presence of mind to stick together and teach us to stay together.

Chicago taught me that nothing comes easy, not even going to the city’s 63rd ranked high school and graduating salutatorian. During the 1990s, I survived two drive-by shootings, gang wars within the school, the death of our principal, and a teacher strike, all to still graduate on time. Chicago gave me an opportunity. I was hired to work at several good-paying jobs as a high school student. I worked at an art gallery at 14. I was hired at 15 as an after-school tutor and a bank teller supervisor by 16. I earned a student pilot’s license before I had a driver’s license. All of these opportunities were available to me in the city that never sleeps because leaders like Jesse White and Carol Mosely Bruan, and Dorthy Tillman invested in Black youth.

I hold on to both of my experiences. The way I was raised, and how I grew up. Family is at the center of everything I do. The characters in my books are named after family members. It helps me see their faces as I write, and I can channel their essences of love, hope, and determination into every page. The hustler in me won’t let me give up. I might get knocked down, but I’ll get back up. I might have a door closed in my face, but I’ll climb in through the window. I might even get told “No” a few times, but nevertheless, I persist. It’s how I was raised. It’s how I grew up.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a creative writer. I write children’s books, scripts, comic books, and novels. My work features and centers on people and children of color being unapologetically Black. I have published three children’s books so far. My first book is “Everybody Came to Daddy Chuck’s Funeral.” It’s about a little Black boy named Peanut, whose grandfather and family patriarch passed away. The story is seen through the eyes of a little boy. He notices all the funny things that happen at the funeral. The laughter helps him remember the good times with his grandfather and overcome the grief. My second book is “Mr. Wish.” It’s the first American modern-day fairytale centering on children of color. The story takes place here, not some faraway land. It’s the story of three Black triplets, Jay, Shay, and Stu, who are new to their school and learn that the school custodian is secretly a genie. If you answer his riddles correctly, he’ll grant you a magical wish. The book is written entirely in rhyme to make it fun for the reader. My third book is “The ABC of Anti-racism.” It’s an alphabet book that associates a word with each letter of the alphabet with a child-friendly explanation of the word. The book is designed to help parents, teachers, and adults facilitate conversations with young people to disrupt systemic oppression. I’m currently working on a comic book series called “Shango An American Hero” and the companion novel “The Spirit Children of Yoruba.” Both the comic and novel tell of Orisha demigods who are reincarnated in recently freed enslaved people imbued with godlike powers to fight the Confederate Army and Darklord during the American Civil War. Readers will enjoy a mash-up of magical tales of West African Mythology and American history.

I have also written screenplays that highlight the brilliance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. One script is called “Rising” and will be developed into a drama series. It follows a fictional school, Illinois Normal Institute of Negroes, as it starts out. Meeting its founders, first students, and faculty and the struggles and triumphs they endured to make a successful university. Another script is called “Back on the Yard.” It will be developed into a feature-length comedy film highlighting a successful alumnus, Cole Matthews. Cole returns for homecoming and revisits, reimages, and reminiscences of his playboy days on the Yard. “The Curse of Gamma Tau Pi” is a short comedy script that showcases a group of silly fraternity boys that are blessed with a curse that keeps the frat house jumpin.

Making the switch to a writer wasn’t easy, but my background as an educator was helpful. I have been sitting on these stories for years and finally decided that I couldn’t take just thinking about them over and over without acting upon them.

The most important lesson I know I’ve learned in my journey to being a creative writer is the value of determination. Success doesn’t happen overnight. Everyone we see with success and think, “Wow, they came out of nowhere,” actually came from years of belief in themselves and commitment to their dreams. Langston Hughs writes in Mother to Son, “Don’t you turn back, don’t you set down on the steps, Cause you finds it’s kinda hard, Don’t you fall now. For I’se still going honey, I’se still climbing, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stairs.” These words are a mantra for me.

I will keep going to tell the stories of Black people as seen and experienced in my eyes. My stories are unique because of my perspective and background. The Black pioneers and trailblazing creators, writers, producers, filmmakers have carved out a path. I will be a steward of their path while creating new roads for my generation and future artists after me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a history buff, one of the first places I want to visit would be Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park. Then take a day trip to the north Georgia mountains to visit the wineries. Next, visit several Black-owned restaurants; Breakfast at Barney’s, Busy Bee, and OLG. For more educational entertainment, the Aquarium and High Museum. Then hang out with old college friends and family.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d first like to thank my Father God and my mother Lena McAfee for everything, my wife Kia, my daughter Jasmine and my son Jeremiah, my sister Shea and brother Stuart and entire Ray Family for their love and support. My mentors Bishop Rory Marshall and Dr. Sonya Murray for their guidance and direction. My Best friends Marlon, LaMonna and Diane for the laughs and encouragement. My students who inspire and motivate me. A special thank you to all the institutions and schools I have been blessed to attend from pre-school to post-graduate degree and especially the Alabama State University aka Ol Mother Dear. To all my friends who laughed at my jokes, bought my books and shirts, liked and shared my post, Thank you.

Website: www.drsheldoncmcafee.com

Instagram: @drsheldoncmcafee

Twitter: @mcafee_dr

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Image Credits
Linze Zarzeck Cory Lampkin, Jr