ABOUT DECKY ALEXANDER:
Jessica ‘Decky’ Alexander is a professor of applied drama/theatre and the Director of Engage@EMU, an office whose mission is to cultivate community and university collaboration. Both as a performer and as a faculty member, Decky has used the mediums of theatre and performance to foster voice with underserved and under-heard individuals and communities.
Decky’s current creative and scholarly endeavors include the use of theatre for faculty development, community performance, and community-based learning. Through Engage@EMU, Decky oversees The Family Empowerment Program, a supportive services program in affordable housing, and the Prevention Theatre Collective, a high school theatre program, which uses theatre as a preventive tool in the areas of substance use and abuse.
Recent and current projects include: Vital: A Fugue on Aging, An Ethnographic Performance with Limelight LLC., and In the Neighborhood, an art creating and community conversation in collaboration with the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.
Recent publications include: Disrupting a Disruption or Live Everything, book chapter in Community Engagement 2.0?: Dialogs on the Future of the Civic in the Disrupted University, Palgrave MacMillian: NY 2014 and Addressing the Student Debt Crisis: Steps Universities Can Take, Academic Leader: 2019.
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David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to a very special edition of Washtenaw United. I'm David Fair, and this is a conversation series in which we explore equity and opportunity in our community. It has been one of the highlights of my time here at WEMU. And so, as I prepare to retire from radio, it was very important to me we find the right person to step in and not only continue this series but take it to new and greater places. There is no question in my mind we've struck radio gold. She is engaged, she is connected, she is curious and she brings to the table a new voice and new perspective. She is Decky Alexander, and Decky's professional life is the perfect platform from which she will build upon the foundation of Washtenaw United. Decky, welcome to Team WEMU! And thank you so much for agreeing to take on this role!
Decky Alexander: I could not be more honored and excited! Thank you so much, David!
David Fair: Washtenaw United is a platform in which we get to tell the stories of the challenges and successes in our community: the barriers, the progress, the path forward beyond those constraints. Each week, there is a new story to tell. And I'd love to get some insight into this particular story. Your legal name is Jessica, but all who work with you and all who are familiar with you in your work call you Decky. So, what is your origin story?
Decky Alexander: Oh my gosh! I love this! Okay. So, when I was a little girl, I couldn't say my name Jessica, so I called myself "Deccica". And then, neighbor Mark Shapiro, I should give him a shoutout, he was my next door neighbor, he called me Decky. So, I've had it for my entire....almost my entire life.
David Fair: So, sometimes when people say, Jessica, do you not love them?
Decky Alexander: No, no, I do. I know, but I'm like, "Uh-oh. Uh-oh."
David Fair: That means you're in trouble, right?
Decky Alexander: I'm in trouble. It's legal. Something like that. Yes, absolutely. But, yes, it's my name. I tried to go back to more of a professional, Jessica, but it just...
David Fair: I got to tell you. I love Decky!
Decky Alexander: All right! Thank you!
David Fair: When our general manager reached out to you to explore the possibility of assuming the host role of Washtenaw United, what was your initial reaction?
Decky Alexander: So, a couple years ago, I had a year of "yes" to sort of counteract all the things that were going on in the world. And then that yes, that year of yes, became like seven years of yes. So, I've been saying no. But then, I received that email from Molly, and I was like, "Oh my gosh!" I just said yes. I didn't blink. I didn't even breathe. And I was like, "Yes, this would be one of the most..." Honestly, it feels sort of like the kind of pinnacle of a professional trajectory and personal life here in this county, to be able to give voice to the people and the programs and the possibilities that have sort of seeded my own life here. And so, I was beyond honored, nervous, because you are legendary and I am--
David Fair: Only in my own mind.
Decky Alexander: Well, in my mind, in a lot of people's minds, I mean, you're eloquent, you are cerebral, you're personable, and I thought, "Okay. Can I help give the same kind of substance and voice to our community?" And I hope I can.
David Fair: I don't think there's any question that that's going to be the case, and it comes with a new prism, a new perspective.
Decky Alexander: Sure.
David Fair: As I mentioned earlier, among other things, you are director of the Office of Engage@EMU. You are a professor of drama and theater at EMU. And, obviously, communication is at the fore of those responsibilities. How do you plan to take those tools and put it to work in context of Washtenaw United, so that all who listen, like me, can connect to the issue and perhaps take next steps to engage in being part of the solution. [
Decky Alexander: Such a great question! So, yes, I'm not a dilettante, but sometimes, I think I am a dilettante that I dabble in so many different things. But I mean dabble in a good way. That in order to use theater as the medium of expression, my landscape and platform has to be the community. It just has to be. And so, I think my immersiveness in so different facets of the community, from the political to the non-profit, to the blocks, to neighborhood, to the cats, stray cats, which there's a plethora of in Ypsilanti, give me maybe some sort of proximity to help give voice to those. And so, paramount, I think, for me, as a theater individual and a communication professional is the first thing I always think about, David, is who is my audience. Who is my audience and who needs to hear this, right? And the audience could be the person I'm telling the story about. It could be the people I'm telling the story for. And I know radio has a general audience, but I always want to think about who has to hear this story in this moment in time? And for me, that is the paramount question that I ask myself in everything I do. Who's the audience here?
David Fair: Washtenaw United is about equity and opportunity. But often, when we talk about that, what we're really talking about is inequity and injustice. And how does that play in your mind as to how you approach conversations?
Decky Alexander: So, maybe this is a little bit, I'm disclosing a little bit, but I have a tattoo on my shoulder that says "voice" in Hebrew. It's the first thing I had. I ever, like the first tattoo I had. Actually, when I was in my 20s, I felt like, "What it means to be a voice, to give a voice, to locate a voice?" And I think my job isn't to be the voice necessarily, but to identify those who are in proximity to other entities or organizations that need to be amplified and lifted off. In order to sort of facilitate, I suppose, equity, you have to figure out who are the connectors, the bridges, the people, whatever, to places that don't have a voice, or entities that don't have a voice, and be able to sort lift those entities up. So to me, I guess, to sort really do this authentically is to realize that is I'm a connector. Honestly, I think, I don't know, it's the Malcolm Gladwell kind of sort of thing, and I am a connector. And really, I don't think it's a persona. It's just my soul. As a connector, it will allow me to sort of help facilitate and navigate opportunities and stories to cultivate a more equitable and just place in our community.
David Fair: I think anybody who is listening can genuinely feel the sincerity and, most importantly, authenticity of what you're saying, not only how you're saying it. We're talking with Decky Alexander on 89.1 WEMU, and Decky is the next host of Washtenaw United. And she comes to the position with my full endorsement and support, and I can tell you there is reason to be excited about what you are going to hear. Beginning next week, Monday, June 29th, Decky will pilot her first conversation as host of Washtenaw United. And no one is more excited about that than me! And as I understand it, Decky, before you get to your first official guest and interview, you have a few questions for me.
Decky Alexander: Yes, I want to interview you first. And so, I wasn't sure how this was going to go, so I made an opening intro that I'd like to share with you first. Okay. So, if I was going intro this particular episode, it would have been, "You know the voice. You know the cadence. Confident but not curt. Assured, but not arrogant and optimistic, without being what I call "soupy." This is a voice in character of the one and only David Fair, legendary WEMU host and, well, human. This episode is the passing of the mic torch to me. But I do have some questions, David.
David Fair: Well, thank you very much for that!
Decky Alexander: Yes!
David Fair: I'm going to have to carry it with me everywhere!
Decky Alexander: Okay, that's fine.
David Fair: You can introduce me whatever door I walk into.
Decky Alexander: Thank you! I would be honored! Yes, I would be beyond honored! All right. So, since you were able to ask me a little questions, I'd love to ask you some. So, you have shared publicly, and also with me, but also in conversations, that Washtenaw United has been one of your most meaningful segments of the year. Can you share why?
David Fair: Very much what we've already been talking about that often equity and opportunity mean lack of access and injustice and giving voice to those who might not otherwise find it to explore and expose the organizations and the people that are doing the work on the ground on a daily basis to bridge those gaps and make the connections necessary to bring us to a better quality of life overall. It shouldn't be about quality of life for some. It is about equality of life and opportunity in our community for all. And so, to be able to have these conversations and connect people with services with methods, methodology and path forward, that, to me, means everything. And when people are in pain, I feel it. And when you can have a conversation that gives voice to that pain but also promotes the access of an opportunity that does exist where people may not have recognized it does, then it makes a difference. And that means a lot to me! And I don't know that it had much if any impact, but I love having the conversations and at least exposing people to the opportunity to gain a little more understanding and access.
Decky Alexander: David, is there a particular story or episode or segment for you over all of, I think, 200-plus that have happened that, for you, stuck with you, was inspiring to you or more inspiring that just kind of sits?
David Fair: There are so many, and I will harken back to just one, and it's not the only, but I will use it for an example. After the murder of George Floyd, we were a nation that, in large part, was in mourning, and we were angry. And people were giving voice to that anger and creating new community to rally around the fact that racism not only exists, but it's being carried out in the most violent of ways on our streets in America. Well, right here in Ypsilanti, we had the opportunity to see people get together and paint "Black Lives Matter."
Decky Alexander: That's right.
David Fair: And then, somebody defaced it. And I had Trische' Duckworth on, who is from Survivors Speak. She is the founder of Survivors Speak, a Black Lives Matter activist and spokesperson. And she talked about the pain of that. And she talked about the optimism for the future. And having that mix of all of the range of emotions and building community in the face of adversity, that was a conversation that really stuck out.
Decky Alexander: Well, it's one of those moments, too, where it's like double community. The community was needed to create this, and it was also needed to salvage it, I guess, to some extent. So, absolutely! And in our place, we had students involved in that as well, and young people, and also in the repainting of the two.
David Fair: And by the way, while we've moved forward, that pain still exists. And that pain still needs voice.
Decky Alexander: It does. It's not fading, literally or metaphorically, from the street--the Black Lives Matter mural. It's still there.
David Fair: Indeed!
Decky Alexander: And that's a reminder. David, I want to ask. Is there a cause or organization that is really close to your heart or inspires you?
David Fair: There are so many, the opportunity to talk with so many great organizations: Ann Arbor Meals on Wheels, Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels, Supreme Felons. What an amazing organization doing such good work! One of my favorite conversations with was with Melvin Parsons, and he is so dearly missed. And I'm so happy to see that the We The People Opportunity Farm will continue on in his name and in his spirit. So, that was amazing! But closest to me, and I have permission to share this information, but my eldest daughter is a survivor of both sexual assault and domestic violence. And what it brought to her life and the ripple effects through all of our lives was extraordinarily difficult and remains so to this day. And she still wrangles with it and struggles with it, to move beyond it and to accommodate and live with it. And through the years, I've had so many conversations, first with Barbara Niess-May when she led SafeHouse Center, and now with Christine Watson, whom I adore dearly at SafeHouse center. So, being able to talk about those issues and about the work being done at SafeHouse Center and connecting people with the opportunity to have survivors' needs met, that is most deeply personal to me.
Decky Alexander: It's so interesting that the two examples that you gave were both about survivors--Survivors Speak and also about SafeHouse, which is also about lifting up and protecting survivors. And so, that gives a real insight into your, I suppose, humanity and being a little bit as well, not just sort of organizationally, but also just who you are, that the idea of organizations we talk a little bit about through this program how they provide access. And access is so you can survive and thrive.
David Fair: And it's not just access. What it provides is hope. And what are we without hope? Hope for a better future. Hope for better lives for those who are affected, for those around them and love them. There is a lot of reason for hope and optimism in our community and on these issues. And that's what I look forward to hearing you explore.
Decky Alexander: Well, thank you for conversing with me and also for being a beacon of hope for so many entities and organizations and people and possibilities! I, for one, am grateful for you!
David Fair: Well, that is Decky Alexander. She is the director of Engage@EMU, professor of theater and drama at Eastern Michigan University, a public service advocate and activist, and your new host of Washtenaw United. Be sure to join Decky next Monday, June 29th for her inaugural show. I'll be listening, and I invite you to join me. Meantime, I would like to thank everyone who has listened to and donated to WEMU because of Washtenaw United. Your support--it's meant the world to me! And I'm going to carry the importance of our relationship with me wherever I go from here. So, thank you! And for a final time, this is Washtenaw United on your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU Ypsilanti. And I am David Fair!
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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