Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1544361
108 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2026 I f you've been in Macon for any reasonable amount of time, you more than likely have encountered Yolanda Latimore, better known as "Y- O." She's been an integral part of the social and cultural scene in the city for more than 20 years. She's a poet, community organizer, grant writer, historian, entrepreneur, and advocate for the arts in the city where she was born and raised. In late November, she was named development coordinator for the Tubman African American Museum. Recently, she's been coordinating "The Front Room Sessions" of storytelling and spoken word through her organization Poetic Peace Arts. MM discussed her upcoming plans and goals for the downtown institution in her new post. How long have you been affiliated with the museum? The Tubman Museum has always been dear to me and essential in my life from a young adult in my early 20s, when workshopping and volunteering my time. It's always been the place to be in the community when it came to culture. I became concerned about the state of the Tubman and its sustainability. As Yolanda "Y-O'' Latimore STORY BY ELDREDGE MCCREADY PHOTO BY DSTO MOORE F i v e m i n u t e s w i t h the elders talk about things and the young folks ask questions. It's a really good session. "The Front Room Sessions" have drawn a mixed crowd of young people and older patrons with music provided by DJ Ron. Regular annual events like the Pan African Festival will take place April 25-26 at Henderson Stadium. What's your other community involvement? I'm involved with the Macon Cemetery Preservation Corporation, a nonprofit that helps to maintain historic Linwood Cemetery. Even though it's in the historic Pleasant Hill neighborhood, everybody doesn't always know about it. Over the last four years they've helped with cleanup of the site where Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Rodney M. Davis is buried, as well as Charles Douglass, the entrepreneur who built the Douglass Theatre, and L.H. Williams, an educator whom an elementary school and recreation center are named for. They are among the 4,000 interred there. I am also involved in a ceremony held at Linwood each year on Memorial Day, usually with a veteran or current serving military member speaking. Where do you see the future leading you? A lot of my things are intertwined. This is my second year having a tax firm — actually, you know, it's kind of a little vibrant season for me, different from normal. But it's still business, it's just kind of trickling along this year, but I've had the background working for my one of my elders for about five or six years before I started my own tax firm. So I do that; I also have a travel agency. I'm a historian, right on top of being a poet. They kind of go hand in hand. I like making people knowledgeable and savvy about history and keeping oral history alive. Pleasant Hill and me have a thing going on. My mom is from there, and my dad was from there. Seeking funds and seeking memberships for The Tubman is right down my alley. the development coordinator, my job is to enhance community engagement and help with fundraising, specifically a capital campaign raising $2.5 million within the next two years. Also, you have to scope things out, like how does the staff work with the board members, and how the staff in the whole museum works with the local community, as well as the region. We are the largest African American museum in the Southeast. Besides fundraising, what's your plan to increase community engagement? I'd love to have Poetic Peace again. I like mixing it up. I understand that a lot of people aren't going to come to just a poetry set, so we are doing "The Front Room Sessions" once a month on Saturdays from 1-3 p.m. It's where people just bust out singing, and where To become a museum member and learn more, go to tubmanmuseum.com