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| Vickie Brent-Touray |
As a young child, Vickie was sanctified. That means "set-aside", and those are the words that describe her best. She is a trailblazer that is carving her own niche in Pontiac's cultural community. Vickie is a graduate of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, with a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology. That small town is just southeast of Dayton. After a brief stay in Ohio, she came home to Pontiac, and began her career as a teacher. After the recession, many of the Pontiac educators were laid-off. That didn't stop Vickie, she decided to further her education at Wayne State University. She received her Her Master's in Education from Wayne State's School of Education. While attending Wayne, she met her husband of 13 years, Famara Touray. Originally from Gambia, a country on the West coast of Africa that sits on the Atlantic Ocean. He is a Mandiga, a tribe that is where Kunta Kinte, of Alex Haley: Roots, ancestors originated. They have two beautiful daughters.
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| Vickie and her husband, Famara |
When we ran into one another after 10 years, it was no shock that she had married a man from Africa. Vickie had always been in touch with her African heritage and always liked the darkest one in the bunch. When only 21, she did a mission to Kenya. While there, she helped Somalian refugees learn basic survival skills. Things like digging a latrine, building a chicken coupe and how to keep a clean water supply. She said they were washing themselves, cooking and watering their animals in the same waterhole. This had led to an occurrence of bacterial infections and cholera. She remembers a goat that she had made a pet that was tied outside her window. On her last night in the village of Garissa, the natives treated them to a feast. She told the host that the meat was tasty and asked what type of meat it was, and he had replied, "Goat". Vickie looked over to where her friend had been tied, and he was gone! After six weeks of a vegetarian diet, her friend was a welcoming alternative.
She made the migration to the South, Atlanta, with the movement like other Michiganders. She taught in the Atlanta School District for four years. She won their "Teacher of The Year Award" in 2012. Feeling a growing need to perform and write, she left Atlanta to come home and follow her dreams. She and Farmara opened a store called Touray Family Enterprise. Her husband had sold African garb as a child with his uncle. She said that she believes that he always knew that he would work with his family in their own business. In African communities, family is everything and the children call the people in the tribes "aunty" and "uncle" out of respect. He plans to go back, taking Michigan residents on tours of his homeland. They have a shop full of styles that come from the continent and various other goods, such as Shea butter, incense and body oils and fragrances. Like Famara's dream, Vickie and their children work along side him selling their merchandise and teaching the community about African customs and traditions.
At the end of Kwanzaa every year, the Touray's have a celebration. It is free to the public and the community comes and take part in the celebration. They make traditional African dishes, children recite poems, African dancers perform, tutorials on wearing Africa's head-dressings and garb, vendors come out selling a variety of goods and much, much more! She works tirelessly in the community volunteering her time and energy to good causes, like the Pontiac Library. She has a quarterly poet review that she holds in Pontiac. Her Wonder Woman events, is a place where women can gather and express their feelings of empowerment, freedom and a place to relax and seek the comfort of other women. Her Yaktown Poet Review, features young and seasoned talented writer and poet laureates. Granny J, is a character she created to entertain children. People from the community can come out and recite poems, music, raps and skits that the have create themselves.
Finally, Vickie's masterpiece in literature. Her self-published novel "A Piece of My Mind". A book of poetry that she wrote about growing up a Black woman in our America. The moves and vibes that makes her unique and powerful. One of my favorites, "For Nostalgia Sake", tells of her family and being raised in a home, during the boom of the 70's and 80's, when GM employed the majority of people in Pontiac. I've witness her give moving spoken word from her work, and stand on her feet and tell a story. It is always exhilarating, captivating and moving. It's a joy for me, to see my friend, her husband and children present to watch her work. She's one of those people in my life that when we meet, in two years, ten years or twenty years, we pick up right where we left off. That day on the playground, I met a forever friend. And when I see her "handling" her family, her businesses and her community and life. I just can't help but smile and say, "That's my friend".
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