The Art of Support: Dedicated Father, Reginald Slaughter’s outreach work with thousands of fathers in search of support is more than a job…it’s a gift, and a commitment to elevating other men (some mothers) to become productive citizens in society.  Reginald Slaughter is the Community Coordinator at Fathers and Families Support Center of St. Louis (Metro area & East St. Louis, IL) and a 22-year graduate of the very same program he now markets. With a grateful heart, his mission is to keep wayward parents from falling prey to society’s ills.  It is also his mission to help ex-felons and those on hard times see the light of day and regain safe entry back into society and in the lives of their children by encouraging enrollment in FFSC!  

The Center’s core Family Formation Program is a six-week, full-day, full-immersion transformational program. Participants—20% are mothers—are taught a variety of parenting and life skills that result in better opportunities for themselves, and brighter futures for their children. The Family Formation program focuses heavily on co-parenting. 

The program curriculum also touches upon personal development, child abuse, and neglect prevention, financial literacy, family bonding experiences, and more. Many program facilitators were once program participants themselves…including Mr. Slaughter.  Eighty percent of FFSC graduates report that learning positive parenting skills increased interaction with their children. 

Floyd Boykin Jr. is the founder and creator of the 5x award-winning publication SpokenVizions Magazine, SpokenVizions.com, and SpokenVizions Entertainment Group, LLC. SpokenVizions Magazine is a publication geared towards the lifestyles and accomplishments of poets, spoken word artists, and indie artists in the United States and Canada. The magazine became the recipient of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016 National Poetry Awards Poetry Magazine of the Year and Mr. Boykin also received the 2010 lifetime achievement award from
another organization for his services and commitment to the poetry community. 

In 2004, Boykin received The Keith Rodgers Foundation Award in Tallahassee, Florida. SpokenVizions Magazine has been serving the arts community since 2002 and consistently participates with Lupus Awareness, Domestic Violence Issues, and Breast Cancer organizations. Floyd
has been performing poetry professionally since July 1997. 

He is a slam champion and winner of numerous poetry competitions. He has shared the stage or opened up for the legendary Last Poets,
Jessica Care Moore, Ursula Rucker, Malik Yusef, Dahveed Nelson, and the late Gil Scott-Heron, to name a few. Floyd also released five music projects and is an author of six poetry books and three motivational books. 

He has toured Canada and was a part of a 15-city spoken word poetry tour in the United States. He is currently working on future music videos,
a short film, and a host of other positive ventures.

Andrew Gibson has been an artist, educator, and organizer since he was a teenager. As the Executive Director and co-founder of Freedom Arts, Andrew directs all fundraising and marketing campaigns participates in all programs, supports staff in day-to-day operational and programmatic tasks, facilitates workshops and classes, and mentors the youth.

He works as the Director of Partnerships with Faith For Justice through which he co-organizes national conferences and campaigns and co-leads ongoing anti-racism, de-escalation, and direct-action training from a faith perspective. Andrew also currently serves as the Music
Coordinator at St. John’s Church - The Beloved Community in North St. Louis. He has taught music at multiple area high schools, art centers, and youth organizations and keeps a steady schedule as a performing and recording musician working with dozens of regional and national artists. 

Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music with a double minor in Philosophy and Audio Production from Webster University.