This isn’t a regular ART IS CHANGE episode. It’s a pause. A moment to mark the passing of Leni Sloan—artist, activist, catalytic troublemaker, and beloved friend.

In this special reflection, Bill Cleveland shares stories that trace Leni’s life across stages and communities—from a daring Bicentennial musical about minstrelsy, to decades of cultural work uncovering erased Black histories, to his role as a catalytic force inside institutions that needed shaking awake. This is a portrait not just of what Leni made, but how he moved through the world.

You’ll hear about a man who believed history lives in bodies, that culture breathes through people, and that the real work is connection—between past and present, pain and joy, the visible and the forgotten. It’s a meditation on art as lineage, memory, and moral practice, told with humor, tenderness, and deep respect.

Listen in as we honor Leni Sloan’s life, legacy, and enduring presence—and let his stories remind us why telling the whole truth, especially the hard parts, is how we stay human.

Multiple early and foundational episodes of this podcast include extended conversations with Leni on art, history, humility, and social change.

1. L. O. Sloan - Adventures of a Gunrunner for the Arts Part 1
2. L. o. Sloan - Adventures of a Gunrunner for the Arts Part 2
3. Building Blocks of Effective Art and Social Change Practice: W/ Leni Sloan, Barbara Shaffer Bacon, and Bill Cleveland

Bill Cleveland: Founder of the Center for the Study of Art & Community and host of Change the Story / Change the World. Longtime collaborator and close friend of Leni Sloan, offering this remembrance.

Leni Sloan (Lenwood O. Sloan): Playwright, director, cultural strategist, and community arts leader whose work bridged history, performance, policy, and community storytelling for more than four decades.

Laurie Meadof: Friend and colleague and internationally recognized artist organizer who shared the news of Leni Sloan’s passing with Bill Cleveland.

Barbara Schaffer Bacon: National leader in arts-based civic practice and longtime collaborator with Leni Sloan, referenced in connection with recent podcast conversations.

Bert Williams: Groundbreaking African American performer whose life and legacy anchor Sloan’s musical play The Wake.