Welcome
I’m so glad you’re here. I am Marva McClean—a woman guided by ancestral whispers, poetic fire, and a deep commitment to truth-telling across the Black Diaspora.
Through books, spoken word, and powerful conversations, I gather stories from across continents and lifetimes. My work invites you to reflect, rise, and reclaim your brilliance. Whether you're here to find a healing affirmation, discover poetry born of resistance, or join the chorus of Wise Women Gathered—this is your space.
Lean in. Read deeply. Rise boldly. Let’s journey together.
~ Dr. Marvalous!
Dr. Marva McClean
Voice of the Diaspora
Dr. Marva McClean is an author, cultural storyteller, and global educator whose work rises at the intersection of scholarship, poetry, and ancestral memory. Her voice is both poetic and prophetic, insisting that the culture, history, and mores of African descendants be rooted within academia, classrooms, and communities across the globe.
Journey
Guided by the ethos of the elders, Dr. McClean believes that contemporary scholars hold a sacred responsibility: to teach, mentor, and share wisdom across generations, preparing to become the ancestors whose stories will shape tomorrow. Her scholarship champions decolonized research methodologies, affirming orality, journaling, and storytelling as essential tools for self-discovery, healing, and justice. Whether working in local schools, national forums, or international communities of the African Diaspora, her purpose is clear—to create spaces where voices long silenced are heard, honored, and celebrated.
Dr. McClean is the author of Navigating Black Privilege Across the Globe (IGI Global), a groundbreaking examination of consciousness and cultural intersections across diasporic spaces. To make its message accessible beyond academic walls, she created Whispers of Black Privilege: Verses from the Womb of the Motherland, a poetic companion rooted in ancestral imagery and truth-telling.
Her book Rise and Shine: You Are the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You calls word warriors, justice advocates, and everyday visionaries to nurture mind, body, and soul in order to sustain the work of liberation. Through her Radiant Living Lecture Series, she translates these ideas into practices for holistic wellbeing.
African Instruments
Just Marva!
Colombia
African Instruments
She is also the founder of Strong in the Broken Places: Poetics of the African Diaspora, a global writing collaborative born in the pandemic, and Wise Women Gather, a healing circle and podcast amplifying women’s wisdom as central to humanity’s renewal. Her journey—spanning classrooms, libraries, cultural centers, and diasporic communities worldwide—has always been accompanied by poetry and storytelling, her chosen instruments for healing, resistance, and transformation. Dr. McClean’s work affirms a radiant truth: the world is healed when voices rise, stories are honored, and communities reclaim the wisdom of their ancestors. She stands as both scholar and griot, offering her life’s work to the ongoing struggle for justice, equity, and peace.
Below, Dr. McClean offers her central viewpoint that children must be seen, heard, and valued as essential contributors to classrooms and communities, a truth reflected in the gallery highlighted.
Children at the Center
Across Jamaica, Cuba, Colombia, and the United States, children carry the radiant promise of tomorrow. This gallery of young faces reminds us that classrooms and communities must place children at the center, not as passive recipients, but as contributors whose voices, imagination, and dignity matter. In my edited volume The Struggle for Justice, Equity, and Peace in Global Classrooms and my chapter Who Shall Teach Our Children?, I affirm that the future depends on how we honor, nurture, and listen to them today.
