Join Ananda Leeke & Garnet Jay for Inspire! Podcast Interview with Host Sue Webley on August 29th at 10 AM ET
Author: Ananda Leeke
Thriving Mindfully Coach + Author + Artist + Human Design Doula
Highlights from Thriving Mindfully on U Street Workshop on July 29th
As you may know, I am serving as the 2026 U Street Neighborhood Association Artist-in-Residence and leading the Thriving Mindfully on U Street, a multi-generational mindful creativity project that aims to help U Street residents and others take better care of themselves as they navigate the changes happening in their lives and the city, nurture connections with fellow U Street community members, express and document their love and gratitude for the U Street community and explore their vision of the U Street community in the future, and identify and share their favorite U Street memories, history makers and moments, movements, organizations, businesses, buildings, and places.
On July 29th, I led the first workshop entitled “Thriving Mindfully: A Love Letter to U Street” at the historic True Reformer Building on U Street. It started with a mindful moment that included breathing and yoga exercises to relax the shoulders.
I used my spoken word song, “Flow & Glow” to introduce participants to Thriving Mindfully, my heart-centered approach for being present, well, and the REAL YOU. In addition, I shared an excerpt from my poem, “Home” to help them reflect on their love for U Street (poem featured in my mindful creativity memoir, That Which Awakens Me). Participants also experienced a mindfulness of the body meditation and used two journaling exercises to discuss their love for U Street.
SPECIAL THANKS to everyone who attended the workshop.
MANY THANKS to the U Street Neighborhood Association and True Reformer Building for hosting the event.
Join me for the Thriving Mindfully on U Street series in August, September, and October. Click on the links below for more information.
AUGUST WORKSHOP: The second event in this series, “Honoring U Street as American History,” will take place on August 26th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Hamiltonian Artists, located at 1353 U Street, NW, in DC. Come share your love for U Street and contribute to a community art project (to be displayed during the final workshop). CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP: The third event in this series, “The Future of the U Street Community,” will take place on September 16th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the True Reformer Building, located at 1200 U Street, NW, in DC. Come share your love for U Street and contribute to a community art project (to be displayed during the final workshop). CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
OCTOBER WORKSHOP: The fourth, and final event in this series, “The U in U Street Community,” will take place on October 7th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at True Reformer Building, located at1200 U Street, NW, in DC. Come share your love for U Street and have a final chance to contribute to a community art project (to be displayed during the event). CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
International Underground Railroad Month Event: American Change Agent Authors Are Headed to Caroline County Public Library to Discuss Leek/Leak/Leeke Family’s Underground Railroad Journey on September 12th
September is International Underground Railroad Month. During this special month of remberance, my dad and co-author, Dr. John F. Leeke and I will lead the “Footsteps to Freedom” discussion on September 12th from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at the Caroline County Public Library, 100 Market Street, Denton, Maryland.
During the event, we will discuss our book, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion and the Underground Railroad journey our family took to escape slavery in Hagerstown, Maryland, and build a new life as free people in Amherstburg, Canada.
American Change Agent Authors Introduce Their Book and Leek/Leak/Leeke Family’s Underground Railroad Journey to Hagerstown Mayor & City Council
My dad and co-author, Dr. John F. Leeke and I traveled to Hagerstown, Maryland, and met with Mayor Bill McIntire and City Councilmembers Tiara Burnett, Candice Anderson, Erika Bell, Kristin Aleshire, and Sean Flaherty on August 11th.
During our meeting, we introduced them to our book, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. We discussed our requests for the issuance of a proclamation and a historical marker recognzing our family’s connection to Hagerstown and use of the Underground Railroad to escape slavery in the late 1830s.
We also shared our interest in co-hosting an event that would introduce American Change Agent and our family’s Underground Railroad journey to the Hagerstown and Washington County communities during International Underground Railroad Month in September, Maryland Emancipation Day in November, or later this year.
Several councilmembers expressed an interest in issuing a proclamation and purchased copies of our book. We look forward to working with the them and the City of Hagerstown in the coming weeks and months.
Special thanks to City Councilmember Burnett for helping us secure a meeting with the City Council!
The meeting was live streamed on the City of Hagerstown’s Facebook page. Click the video below to watch our presentation. Start watching the video at the 3.10 minute mark (ends at 15.1 minute mark).
Thriving Mindfully As a Creative Reflections: Creative Mornings DC at National Geographic Museum
As a multidiscplinary artist and writer, I intentionally carve out time each month to participate in Creative Mornings gatherings in DC, Baltimore, or online. Being in community with others nurtures my creative spirit, heart, and mind. The connections I make and conversations I have with other creatives inspires and exposes me to new ideas, opportunities, resources, and events.
On July 31st, I attended the Creative Mornings DC July gathering at the National Geographic Museum. I also served as a registration volunteer and was inspired by NatGeo explorer Rachel Zoe Miller’s talk. Here’s one takeaway from Rachel’s talk: be your average!
LEARN MORE ABOUT THRIVING MINDFULLY
Click the video below to listen to my spoken word song, “Thriving Mindfully Theme” that appears on my Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter album.
GREAT NEWS! I am the U Street Neighborhood Association’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence!
GREAT NEWS! I have been selected to serve as the U Street Neighborhood Association’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence. Learn more here.
If you are in DC, join me for my first workshop entitled Thriving Mindfully: A Love Letter to U Street on July 29th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the True Reformer Building’s Community Room,1200 U Street, NW. Sign up here.
WATCH VIDEO: American Change Agent Virtual Book Discussion: Celebrating Your Family History As American History
While writing American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, my dad, Dr. John F. Leeke and I gathered our family’s history from conversations with family members, oral history stories passed down from previous generations, newspapers, obituaries, calendars, event tickets, program booklets, local/state/national history, books, websites, documents, photos, American and Canadian censuses, AfricanAncestry.com, and Ancestry.com.
Each piece of our family history reminded us to honor and celebrate the presence, lives, and contributions of our ancestors as American history.
As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, we decided to host a virtual book discussion about our “American Change Agent” writing journey and the importance of celebrating family history as American history on June 27, 2026. Watch the video below to learn more.
Click the button below to get more information and buy American Change Agent.
American Change Agent Summer Book Tour Kicked Off This Week
This week, my dad, Dr. John F. Leeke and I kicked off our American Change Agent summer book tour with two events in local communities in Maryland and Washington, DC. On June 24th, we visited with the Unity and Presence Book Club located in an over 55 community in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Dr. John led a juicy discussion with club members that focused on the importance of documenting and celebrating family history as American history, the Leak/Leeke family’s Underground Railroad journey, his family life and relationships with his wife and children, and his career in diversity, equality, and inclusion.
On June 25th, we visited The Residences at Thomas Circle, an assisted living community in Washington, DC, and introduced American Change Agent to residents and staff. Our discussion also focused on the importance of honoring Juneteenth and our ancestral resilience we have been able to tap into as we have navigated life in America. We also engaged in conversations about racism and the importance of embracing diversity, equality, and inclusion.
As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, we want to take a moment and encourage you and your family and friends to honor and celebrate your family history as American history.
We also invite you to join us for a book and group discussion about the importance of celebrating family history as American history on Saturday, June 27th from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET via Zoom. During the free event, we will talk briefly about key moments in our family history that we honor and lead a group discussion about the importance of you celebrating your family history.
Click the button below to register for the event.
June 27th Virtual Event: Celebrate Your Family History As American HIstory
While writing American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (2025), we gathered our family’s history from conversations with family members, oral history stories passed down from previous generations, newspapers, obituaries, calendars, event tickets and program booklets, local/state/national history, books, websites, documents and photos kept by family members, American and Canadian censuses, AfricanAncestry.com, and Ancestry.com. Each piece of our family history reminded us to honor and celebrate the presence, lives, and contributions of our ancestors as American history.
As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, we want to take a moment and encourage you and your family and friends to honor and celebrate your family history as American history.
We also invite you to join us for a book and group discussion about the importance of celebrating family history as American history on Saturday, June 27th from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET via Zoom. During the free event, we will talk briefly about key moments in our family history that we honor and lead a group discussion about the importance of you celebrating your family history.
Click the button below to register for the event.
Celebrate 1st Year Publishing Anniversary of American Change Agent Today!
Today is a very special day in my dad, Dr. John F. Leeke’s life. It’s his 87th birthday and the first year publication anniversary of his memoir, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. In honor of both milestones, we decided to share one of the most powerful moments we experienced during our journey as co-authors. It happened a few weeks ago when we visited Hagerstown, the city our 16 Leak/Leek ancestors were enslaved in.
In the early 1840s, my great-great-great-grandparents, Peter and Catherine along with their 14 children, including my great-great-grandfather Leonard, escaped slavery by traveling over 400 miles on the Underground Railroad to freedom in Amherstburg, Canada. While writing American Change Agent, I used my great-great grandfather Leonard’s obituary (see below) that was published in the Lansing State Journal, our cousin Ellen Cook’s research included in our family tree on Ancestry.com, the U.S. and Canadian Censuses, and information from the Doleman Black Heritage Museum, Amherstburg Freedom Museum, and VisitHagerstown.com to estimate how and when our brave and determined ancestors reached freedom.
This information helped us make some reasonable assumptions about our ancestors’ initial escape from slavery in Hagerstown with the support of the Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church founded by Rev. Thomas Henry in the 1830s. Rev. Henry and Ebenezer AME Church were very active in the abolitionist movement and helped African Americans plan and execute their escapes in Maryland.
Leonard Leak/Leek’s Obituary
We visited Ebenezer AME Church located on 26 W. Bethel Street while we were headed to our book reading at Next Chapter Books & Shop in Hagerstown. During our visit, my brother Matt took photos and recorded videos of us discussing the importance of knowing who you are and where your people (family) come from. We also met one of the neighbors who told us her house was originally a sanctuary for hiding African Americans who were seeking freedom.
Being able to stand on the same ground that our Leak/Leek ancestors possibly stood on was humbling, powerful, and affirming. Check out the photos below.
