Testimonials

Simone is an inspiring, top-notch, and highly professional speaker. She was a pleasure to work with in preparing for the event, and gave a crystal-clear and extraordinarily powerful talk about the complex, creative, and multi-sector work she is doing in Nashville. We can’t wait to host her again.

Simone’s ability to connect to each individual in the room through her storytelling was extraordinary. Her passion is infectious and her message was inspiring – she helped our agency fulfill it ’s mission in a beautiful way. We consider ourselves very blessed to have Simone in the Interfaith family – she is truly a gift.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Simone during the Open Streets planning sessions; her attention to details and overall energy about community engagement provided a great opportunity for us to build synergy. She was awesome in managing the activities and helped lead efforts to ensure the needs of the partners, artists and neighbors were being met. The success of the Open Streets event would not have been possible without the multiple assets she possesses.

I've never worked with anyone so passionate about change for the better as Simone Boyd. She is an honest and transparent partner with an amazing knack for bringing people together; and her efforts produce results. Planning Open Streets Nashville in tandem with Simone was one of the most rewarding projects I've been a part of. Simply put, Simone is a dynamic and genuine leader.

The Day Sonny Died is a powerful reminder of why our society needs to do a better job of addressing trans-generational trauma that haunts Black families in urban communities. Set in the North Nashville neighborhood that I grew up in, the account of Sonny's life was all too familiar. I found myself rooting for Sonny to take advantage of what seemed to be multiple opportunities to follow a different path, only to realize that Sonny's death started when he fell victim to the failing systemic institutions that negatively impact Black and Brown people all across America. I hope that young people read this as a wake up call to control their own destinies

The Day Sonny Died is an amazing book that demonstrates strength and endurance. My 8th grade students were all into the book, which melted my heart because it is so hard to find reads that will keep their attention. This book challenged their comprehension, and they persevered through the challenge.

Even though the title told me Sonny was going to die, I found myself pulling for Sonny all the way through the book. Be prepared to shed a tear or two. The authors did an excellent job of showing how generational curses are real BUT can be broken if you decide to make the right choices.

Our book club read and discussed The Day Sonny Died. It was a very good discussion. We talked about the statistics of fathers that aren’t present in homes, the effect it has on kids and generational curses. We loved it!