Happy June!! To say that last month was busy would be an understatement. I traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah and participated in the Gaithersburg Book Festival before finishing out the month rubbing shoulders in good old B’more.

First, Utah was amazing! As a black kid from the Midwest who’s parents were born and raised in the Alabama and Mississippi, I have never had the privilege of taking road trips out West to witness its beauty. Being invited to speak at the Utah Children’s Justice Center Symposium meant spending a few days at the picturesque Snowbird ski resort. I do not ski, but being in the mountains of Utah made it seem as if Frodo and Sam would appear at any moment as they trekked across Middle Earth on their way to Mount Doom.

 
Not only was this my first time in Utah, it was also my first time being featured as a keynote speaker! The Utah Attorney’s General office invited me to tell my story as a male survivor and explain how superheroes such as Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman can be used to help understand hypervigilance, internal family system’s therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress.

 
I was blessed to speak to a room of between 500 to 700 professionals who work to keep children safe and / or work to help them heal from severe adverse childhood experiences. Although feedback for the conference has not yet been released, I feel confident I was able to provide helpful resources and materials to those who help other and themselves heal.
 
Throughout my presentation we laughed, we cried, and afterward I provided a few free copies of my books while speaking with individuals about my journey and available resources. As I already stated, it was amazing and I feel truly blessed to have been provided this opportunity.

 
After landing back in Baltimore, I got a few hours of sleep, loaded up my car, and headed off to the Gaithersburg Book Festival. It was a beautiful day and the weather couldn’t have been nicer. I sold nearly all of the posters I make from old comic books and sold out of a number of titles such as Heroes, Hope, and Healing: Accepting Your Inner Daredevil. I even ran into one of my students who knew I was going to be there and tracked me down. By the end of the day, I was most beyond exhausted, but I has one week to reorder books and make a few posters before participating the largest free outdoor arts festival, Artscape in downtown Baltimore, MD.

 
While I love getting books in the hands of people who need them, what I loved about Artscape is all the local support I received. Fellow teachers, administrators, and students all came out to my booth to show their support, give me a bathroom break, buy a book, or grab me some food. It was an amazing experience and that’s the beauty of Baltimore.

After all the running around, I’m just now getting my life together cutting the lawn, doing the laundry, grading papers, and preparing final exams. There are a few events planned for this month that I will keep you all informed about as they approach. Thank you all for the continued support!
All the best,
Kenny

Oh yeah, and I met Josh Johnson!!!