Artist Candace Hunter will be in conversation with a host of scholars, artists, archivists and neighbors around questions of race, residential space, displacement, memory, and belonging. The series builds on the Memory Teas that Candace hosted during her time as an Artist-in-Residence at APL, gathering first-person accounts from Black Chicagoans who remember the Dan Ryan’s construction and the neighborhoods transformed by it. Thresholds is a space where artistic practice, intellectual inquiry and lived experience intersect, challenging the divide between traditional forms of knowledge and creating space for nuanced, layered conversations on complex issues.
The December 11th conversation features Roy Kinsey, the Chicago rapper, librarian, author, educator, and cultural worker dedicated to preserving stories and creating spaces where people can imagine new possibilities for themselves and their communities. Throughout his career, Roy has worked to challenge traditional ideas about what constitutes literature and where learning can happen. His work insists that hip hop is literature, that communities deserve to preserve their own stories, and that libraries can exist in unexpected places.
As the founder of Rapbrary, Roy has created programs, pop-up libraries, workshops, performances, archives, and cultural experiences that center storytelling, Black history, queer resilience, and community memory. Roy is also the creator of the documentary Rapbrarian: Reading Came First, author of the children's book Deangelo and the Dandelion, and creator of the Dandelions multimedia project, all of which explore themes of memory, healing, identity, and belonging. His work has been featured nationally through libraries, universities, festivals, and cultural institutions, earning recognition for his innovative approach to literacy and community engageme
Threshold is presented with support from the Office of the Provost Diversity and Inclusion team, in partnership with the Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression.
About the Artist
Roy Kinsey is a Chicago-born rapper, author, filmmaker, and librarian whose work bridges hip-hop, literature, and community engagement. Known as the “Rapbrarian,” he is the founder of Rapbrary, an initiative dedicated to preserving hip-hop as literature and advancing literacy, storytelling, and liberation. Raised on Chicago’s West Side, Kinsey draws from his experiences to create music, books, and cultural programming that amplify marginalized voices. He currently serves as a Branch Manager with Chicago Public Library. His creative work includes 11 musical projects, two books, and the documentary Rapbrarian: Reading Came First, which explores his journey through music, libraries, and community.