Profile: Crystal Cauley
Crystal Cauley is a native of Henderson County, NC, the mother of a 21-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter; a new business entrepreneur; and a cultural trendsetter for the city of Hendersonville.
Her Afrocentric lifestyle is built on creative writing, spoken word poetry, Black art exhibits, and being a social justice activist; her work in recent years has demonstrated both her dedication to her craft and the driving impulse of her vision.
Two examples of her creative writing have appeared in The Urban News as part of the Wilma Dykeman Legacy’s Writers of Color project, which partners with the paper to publish writing by young minority authors. Here’s a sampling of the many projects she has undertaken in recent years:
In 2016 she founded Black Business Network of Western North Carolina to offer African American entrepreneurs a group Facebook presence which now includes 870 members.
In 2019 she and artist Diamond Cash received Certificates of Commendation for their work on the first dedicated Black Art and Craft Exhibition in the city of Hendersonville.
In 2020 she helped establish the Black History Collective of Henderson County to enable Black artists to celebrate Black history through art, song, dance, and spoken-word poetry.
Also in 2020, Cauley and writer Tony Robles hosted Speak Out Loud: Voices of Unity, a Facebook Live tribute for the late Ahmaud Arbery. The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor impelled Cauley to bring together a panel including spoken-word writers together to discuss their own narratives of racial discrimination and police brutality.
That same year she attended the first online training course for Race, Equity, and Inclusion (REI), and she recently completed the 2020/2021 United Way Rising Leaders of Henderson County eight-month program.
This April, at the cemetery behind Mount Zion Baptist Church, Cauley paid homage to her maternal relatives who were enslaved. Her poem “Ashes to Ashes” was accompanied by an interpretative dance and video produced by fellow Hendersonville resident Indian Jackson. The presentation also highlighted the importance of maintaining graveyards of African Americans. The video can be viewed on the Black History Collective of Henderson County NC Facebook page.
Crystal Cauley continues to seek ways to interact with the younger generation—and unite the larger community—through Black History month programs, speaking engagements, exhibits of African art, and using the main library branch in Henderson County to educate about African American culture.
She serves on the Arts Council Board of Henderson County and on the advisory board for The People’s Museum, scheduled to open in August, which will include two exhibitions highlighting Cauley’s mission of using art as a preservation tool for African American oral history.
In June of 2021 Cauley will showcase a Juneteenth public exhibit of African art and culture at the local cultural center; will deliver a presentation on African Culture at the local Boys and Girls Club; and will direct a free outdoor Juneteenth event comprising a variety of artistic presentations—as well as an African Fashion Show on June 12. Visitors are encouraged to bring a comfortable chair or blanket and nonalcoholic beverage.
We honor and celebrate this young woman who brings her multifaceted talent and focused dedication together to implement her vision for the community she knows and loves.
