Sarah Webster Fabio

Sarah Webster Fabio, the Nairobi Poets, Cheryl Fabio & Evolutionary Blues

Back in the ‘70s, I spent a lot of time in East Palo Alto, California. It was a smooth fit as I had family there including an uncle, aunties and a host of cousins, friends and acquaintances. My Aunt Clarene was on the board of directors for the Mothers for Equal Education who paved the way for Nairobi Day School and Nairobi High School.

I was hired to teach typing, creative writing and physical education at the Nairobi Day and High School. Through that affiliation, the Nairobi Poets were born. The group consisted of David Rages, Joseph McNair and I. We gigged exclusively on the West coast; as far north as Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and as far south as Pomona College in Southern California.

Along the way, the Nairobi Poets were mentored by, and were guests at the home of Sarah Webster Fabio, a premier poetic voice in the Black Arts Movement of the time. Of the many things that Sarah Webster Fabio taught us, the utterance I have brought forward with me is to, “Always surround yourself with the things you love in your creative space.”

I met Sarah Webster Fabio’s daughter, filmmaker Cheryl Fabio in 2016. As I recall, we were introduced by Jim Moore, manager of the Queen of the West Coast Blues, Sugar Pie DeSanto. In my mind the meetings of the mother and daughter Fabio was at the direction of the Most High. When I met Cheryl Fabio, she was engrossed in directing the film documentary Evolutionary Blues; West Oakland’s Music Legacy. Through her encouragement, the film’s production company hired me to write several biographical vignettes for the film. The subjects included, Omar Sharriff, Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, T-Bone Walker, Charles Sullivan and Big Mama Thornton. It was my first film credit. Glory Be To God!

Click here for the Sarah Webster Fabio Center for Social Change