A former corrections officer's winding journey to the stage: 'No pathway for young Black artists'

Lee Edward Colston II called his friend and artistic collaborator Malika Oyetimein at 2 a.m. one day with the semblance“Being a good friend she listened,” Colston recalls. “And then she said, ‘Lee, it’s 2 in the morning. It’s 2 in the morning and this sounds brilliant. Let’s talk about it in the morning.’”

Colston was as a teenager when he saw a play for the first time. A mentor took him to a production of “For Colored Girls” in downtown Philadelphia, even though he showed no interest in sitting through a show. Colston thinks the pressure stemmed from his father’s fear that a future in the arts could not be as stable. Working in a state prison would guarantee a steady income. Colston went through with his dad’s wishes.

While working as a corrections officer, he accidentally smashed his hand on a mechanical door in 2005 and went on disability leave. During recovery, he made a quiet promise he wasn’t going to work a regular job again. But first, he had to convince his father.

I thought that was Lamar Odom at 1st glance

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