opened in 1938 making it contemporary with Greenbelt. Mr. Gray-EL speaks across the country, and "confronts the issues of racism and bigotry with poetic compassion, dramatic storytelling, and historical fact while weaving a tapestry of tolerance and hope." (Ty Gray-EL website)

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As in so many other publicly funded housing projects of the era, art was featured at Langston Terrace and situated in a courtyard in the center of the apartment buildings was a playground for children with large sculpted animals on which they could climb (see photo on the left). One of these, a frog, was sculpted by Lenore Thomas Straus, whose bas reliefs grace Greenbelt's Community Center (originally Center School) and whose huge Mother and Child statue anchors the center of historic Greenbelt. Mr. Gray-EL remembers climbing on the frog and speaks movingly, not just about growing up at Langston Terrace, but about so much more. 

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Mr. Gray-EL describes himself as a "cultural enrichment specialist who uses spoken word and storytelling to raise self-esteem among African Americans in particular and the African Diaspora at-large. As a change agent, he lectures all over the country." He is an internationally renowned storyteller, a two-time Spoken Word Billboard Award winner, and was recently selected as the National Spokesperson for the Spoken Word Billboard Award Association. He is also the author of Breath of My Ancestors: Reflections from the Conscience of an African in America, copies of which will be for sale at the lecture. Copies can also be purchased online, at Ty Gray-EL's website.