Keynote Speakers for 2026

Leslie McCurdy

 Performing Artist/Playwright/Producer, Li'l Ol" Me Productions

 Recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her artistry, Leslie McCurdy, who has performed internationally for over 28 years. A playwright, actor, singer, dancer, poet and teacher, with an Honors B.F.A. in dance with teaching certification from the University of Michigan, Leslie served as choreographic and teaching assistant to Judith Jamison, of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, during several of her Detroit Residencies, and was slated to go to New York to apprentice with the Ailey Company when she literally tripped, fractured her hip, and fell into acting. She has many stage, film and TV credits but is most "famous" for the one-woman plays that she writes and performs. The Spirit of Harriet Tubman, her first play, was a finalist for a Canadian Chalmers Award for Best New Play for Young Audiences and was performed at The 2011 National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina, and the inaugural Paul Robeson Art is a Weapon Theatre Festival in London England. Her second play, Things My Fore-Sisters Saw, featuring, Viola Desmond, was filmed for TV and ran on the Bravo Network in Canada. Leslie's play about the great jazz singer, Billie Holiday, entitled, Lady Ain't Singin' No Blues, was recently showcased in New York City and begins touring in 2026. Her newest play, a full musical entitled The Darktown Strutters Ball, in Orangeville Ontario in 2024 to rave reviews. She is lauded for the "brilliance" of her works and the message of social consciousness that is instilled through them. She also finds time for volunteer work at home and sits on the Boards of Directors of several non-profit organizations.

 

Linda McCurdy, LLB, JD, McCurdy Law

Oluwatosin Akinbinu, Executive director, Black Kids in Action