Tama Brisbane

We Flow Radio Program Director

Biography

TAMA L. BRISBANE is Stockton’s Poet Laureate Emerita. She served four historic terms from
2015-2023, presenting over 300 times, including the inauguration of the city’s first Black Mayor, Michael Tubbs. Her debut Laureate project helped engineer Stockton’s return to All-American City status with an innovative 10-minute spoken word presentation incorporating dozens of multigenerational and multiethnic voices. Her 2017 performance as Guest Poet at The King Center and Ebenezer Baptist Church led Martin Luther King III to say to her, “your words matter.”

Tama is a County Coordinator for California Poets in the Schools and Board President of Flourishing Families Inc. As a Literary & Performing Arts Consultant, Tama develops curricula, programs, and events across the United States and around the world. The impact of her words and her works have positively shifted creative and cultural landscapes in Stockton and beyond.

“Mama T” is a published author and keynote speaker. She is a Susan B. Anthony Award Winner for Creative Arts, Black Women Organized for Political Action Honoree, University of the Pacific Woman of Distinction, Action on Behalf of Children Honoree, and a founding member of the National Black Poet Laureates Group. Her tireless efforts on behalf of youth – particularly those of color and from marginalized communities – have been celebrated and recognized by both houses of the California Legislature, by the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate.

Tama is grateful to her Creator for her earthly assignment. She finds constant inspiration in two of her favorite quotes. The first is from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “The salvation of humanity lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.” The second is widely attributed to an Eastern proverb: “If you sit on the bank of the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by.”