Department of Communication Studies Events

CMST 1061 Speaker Series: Ronnie Anderson

October 1st, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Dodson Auditorium Room 100

Local author Ronnie Anderson will be the next speaker for the CMST 1061 Speaker series. His topic will be Fatherhood and Fairy Tales.   He discovered a drastic void in representation of people of color when searching for fairytales in 2017 for his young daughters. He was shocked that there were no original fairytales who had black characters in them. As a result, the kingdom of Anboran was born! His desire to be the one to bring necessary changes to this market has propelled him through many hurdles and eventually to success.

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“The world needs dreamers, and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.” Sarah Ban Breathnach

Ronnie Anderson, Jr. the author behind the beloved Anboran fairytales was raised in small town Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in a very crowded home. He dreamed of becoming a business owner and inventor. With the support of his high school sweetheart, Dominique, he rigorously pursued a degree in science. Paired with extensive job experience as a certified Medical Laboratory Scientist, he currently is a Technical Supervisor over three laboratories during the day.

After completing his innovative fairytales in 2017, he launched his company Rogue Star Publishing, LLC in 2018 and published his first book, Five Amazing Fairytales, an anthology. He later had all the stories re-edited by a former Disney editor and spent countless hours researching for a new artist to help the illustrations spring off the pages. He teamed up with Seda Coskun and together they collaborated on new art and designs. His original five story anthology turned into five individual, vivid picture books with amazing POC representation. The name Anboran is a collective name composed of initials that honor both Ronnie’s mother and in-laws.

Ronnie Anderson, Jr. has fulfilled his lifetime goal of becoming a business owner, an inventor and most importantly ensuring that little girls and boys of color can see themselves in the stories they read. They can feel the power and strength within the characters, identify with them and learn and grow with them. Ronnie is proud that families of all ethnicities and races will be able to enjoy these whimsical stories with their little ones. Welcome to the world of Anboran, you will never be the same!