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Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, Ed.D.

About Dr. Khadijah 

Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman is a writer, performer, scholar and visionary leader with over two decades of experience transforming spaces into vibrant centers of artistic and educational engagement.  As the founding director of Liberated Muse Arts Group, Black Family Homeschool Educators and Scholars, LLC, and Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice  (BWPSJ), Dr. Ali-Coleman leads the charge in providing transformative artistic presentations for diverse audiences and engaging learning experiences for writers dedicated to advancing principles of peace and social justice through their work. Her commitment to empowering voices on the margins is evident in her multifaceted career as an award-winning performance artist, educator, multi-genre writer, playwright, and podcaster. 

She is the second Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, Maryland.

Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman Keynote Address 

UMBC 2024 Winter Commencement Ceremony

UPCOMING EVENTS


Tuesday, April 15
5:00pm - 6:00pm

W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, and Black American Culture & Arts
(Moderator & Presenter)

FREE
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Upper Marlboro, MD

 

Thursday, April 24
10:00am - 11:30am
National Poetry Month Presentation at Laurel High School
(Speaker/Facilitator)

Laurel, MD

 

Sunday, April 27
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Virtual Launch of CREATIVE CURRENTS
FREE
learn more

Laurel, MD
Tuesday, April 29
5:00pm - 6:00pm
The Lives & Works of George Schuyler, Richard Wright, Paul Robeson, Margaret Walker & Jean Toomer (Moderator & Presenter)
FREE
learn more
Laurel, MD

 

Saturday, May 17
2:00 pm
Enoch Pratt Library Adult Online High School Graduation

(Keynote Speaker)

Baltimore, MD


 

NEW BOOK! GET YOURS TODAY!!

Waiting to read this on my flight for my birthday was a gift I didn’t know I needed. Thanks for this beautiful collection.

- Jade Weatherington, Founder of Teacher Jade's Writing Academy
The silence survival requires is sometimes deafening, especially if you’re a poet and quite a good one at that. The unsaid has to go somewhere, and, for poet Khadijah Ali-Coleman, it goes into a poem called "Survival Tactics" in her most recent poetry collection, For the Girls Who Do Too Much. It was only after I had absorbed the theme of the poem that I noticed the rhyme scheme of the poem. I read the rhyming words as their own poem, a kind of internal poem-within-the-poem and that made the poem resonate even more.


-Tichaona Chinyelu, author of Contraband Marriage, In the Whirlwind and Still Living on My Feet

For the Girls Who Do Too Much is a poignant and powerful collection of poetry by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, the 2023-2026 Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, MD. This collection is an ode to the women who wear many hats, work tirelessly, love deeply, and sometimes lose themselves in the process. With unflinching honesty and tender introspection, Ali-Coleman navigates themes of loss, love, aging, work toxicity, mothering, and depression.

Through personal stories and vivid imagery, the collection delves into the complexities of relationships, including the poet's nuanced connection with her late mother, whose life was tragically cut short in 2014 by a police cadet's reckless actions. The poems resonate with the universal struggle of balancing personal identity with the demands of daily life, making this collection a must-read for those who find themselves doing too much, too often.

In For the Girls Who Do Too Much, Ali-Coleman offers a heartfelt exploration of the resilience, vulnerability, and strength that define the experiences of many women today. It is a celebration of the enduring spirit and an invitation to pause, reflect, and reclaim one's own narrative.

                                          Watch Now

Liberated Muse in the News

Liberated Muse presented their musical presentation, "The Soundtrack of Social Justice" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC on Feb. 21, 2025 during the center's Social Impact endowment-funded programming. Less than a month previous to the show, Donald Trump had fired the center's executive director and replaced members of the board of directors. He then declared himself the president of the board. In response to this unprecedented disruption, screenwriter Shonda Rhimes resigned from the board and actress/producer Issa Rae canceled her paid ticket event that had sold out. Liberated Muse's director, Khadijah Z. Coleman decided to keep the date as an act of resistance to tyranny. Victor Blackwell of the CNN show, "First of All" interviewed her.
 

Poetry Featured in CLARION

Clarion is the new quarterly poetry magazine from Feral Angels Press, launched in Spring 2024, founded by UK-based writer, Tom Hirons.

Issue 2 features the poem, "Depravity," by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman.

Read more poetry by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman

Conversations with Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman

Traveling to Cuba this Year with Alice Walker

One of the amazing highlights of 2024 was Dr. Ali-Coleman meeting literary icon Alice Walker while participating in the Busboys & Poets Tribe Travel to Cuba for the unveiling of a statue of Langston Hughes to commemorate his birthday and his unique relationship with Cuban Poet Laureate Nicolas Guillien and the people of Cuba

Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman with Dr. Alice Walker in Cuba (January 2024)

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THE SUMMONING OF BLACK JOY 

by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman

In this captivating poetry collection by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, released during the Juneteenth 2023 weekend, the power of words becomes a force to reckon with. Through poignant verses written both before and during the COVID-19 global health pandemic, Ali-Coleman weaves a tapestry of emotions that delve into the ongoing struggle for the liberation of Black people in America.

The Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council awarded Khadijah Ali-Coleman an Artist Fellowship grant in 2024 to complete an audiovisual companion to the book, The Summoning of Black Joy. This poem from the book, "Planting, a Poem about Umoja," is part of that project. The full project will be shared publicly as performance art at the 2024 Furious Flower Poetry Center conference and then released on Spotify in 2025.

On Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, Liberated Muse Arts Group performed poems from this book at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the presentation, "Voices of Freedom and Resistance," written and directed by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman. The show featured her original songs and poetry and songs and poetry by Bob Marley, Erykah Badu, Maya Angelou and Billie Holiday.

2023 Prince George's County, MD Poet Laureate Installation

Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice (BWPSJ) was founded in 2024 to publish work by Black writers, provide skill-building learning experiences for Black writers and offer administrative training and services for literary organizations intent on creating a writing and public engagement practice founded in tenets of peace and social justice. Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman is the founding Chief Executive Officer of BWPSJ.

Theatre Reviews

A playwright, Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman has had more than a dozen of her plays presented publicly in venues throughout the country, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Theater Alliance, and Baltimore Theater Project. She was selected as a Theater Alliance Quadrant Playwright in 2019, working on a commissioned play that was presented as a film by Theater Alliance in 2021.

"The songs [in Running:AMOK] are slow-burning little gems: some smoky, some bluesy, some sparkly."- DC Theatre Scene

      

Watch a Recent Performance or Interview

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HOMESCHOOLING BLACK CHILDREN IN THE US

 


In 2020,  Dr. Khadijah Ali-Coleman had just finished defending her doctoral dissertation on dual enrolled African American homeschooled students and their perceptions of preparedness for community college. The COVID-19 global pandemic and quarantine had just gone into effect. She was offered an opportunity to publish her dissertation into a book. She opted to edit an anthology of voices on Black homeschooling instead. During her own research study, she had seen the lack of Black voices in the research on Black homeschooling families. As a homeschooling mother and researcher, she wanted to expand the research literature and offer an opportunity for other homeschooling parents and researchers to share their experiences and research. And, that is what this book is. Released January 2022, it is on sale today.
Add it to your library today!

media work as a producer, host and director

Podcasts, Radio & Film Work

COMING IN LATE 2025


Welcome to blck creatives in liminal spaces, where the host, Dr. Khadijah Ali-Coleman, dives deep into the intersectional worlds crafted by Black visionaries. This podcast is a vibrant tapestry weaving together the arts, science, education, technology, and beyond.

Join us for enlightening conversations that uncover the innovative ideas and unique perspectives of Black creatives who are not just dreaming but actively reshaping our world. Ready to peek behind the curtain and explore the minds of those at the cutting edge of creativity?

Tune in and get inspired!

Presented by Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice 

Click to hear On Spotify

Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman holds a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Towson University and has produced multi-media content for over 20 years.

Some of her credits include:


PODCASTS
Contemporary Perspectives in Black Homeschooling (2020-Present) Host, Writer, Producer, Director
The Black Writer's Studio Podcast (2022-2024) Host, Writer, Producer, Director

VIRTUAL EVENTS
Black Writers Lighting the Way: Getting Word Virtual Kick-Off (2023) Writer, Producer, Director
Legacy Awards hosted by Karyn Parsons (2022) Producer, Writer, Director

RADIO SEGMENTS
The Creative Midwife on First Edition on 88.9 FM WEAA

SHORT FILMS
Allergic (2021)
The Positive Impact of Homeschooling Black Children (2020)
BUNT (2018)
BRACELET (2017)


 

Booking & Media Inquiries

Be Who You Are (Official Video) by Khadijah Moon


Using the stage name, Khadijah Moon, Khadijah Ali-Coleman has appeared on numerous stages showcasing her talents as a versatile singer with incredible depth and musical instinct. She has appeared on renowned stages such as the Apollo Theater in New York and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with her arts collective, Liberated Muse and as a solo artist.  As a spoken word artist, she was featured for two years as a poetry host at Busboys & Poets in Washington, DC and has edited three volumes of the Liberated Muse anthology series featuring writers and visual artists from around the world. As a poet, singer and playwright, she has served as the Creative Director of the arts collective Liberated Muse Arts Group which she founded in 2008.

In 2016, Khadijah compiled her music into a one-woman show called Song of a Space Cadet, presented by Artscape, the nation's second largest arts festival. The production featured music, poetry and monologues to share her memoir of how she rebounded from personal and national tragedy to create powerful art.
Soon after, she released a CD of the music from the show titled Song of a Space Cadet. 
 

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