Joyce Joans Hollinger was 18 when she met Ted Joans in New York City in 1955. She was fresh from the Midwest, naive and looking for something. She found Ted Joans, a black artist in Greenich Village who captivated her heart. They were in the middle of the surrealist world of painters, jazz players and poets. If a scene was happening Joans had it covered. A partial list of his friends reads like a who’s who of the important creators of the 20th century: Allen Ginsberg, Ella Fitzgerald, Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, Langston Hughes, Charlie Parker, Jack Kerouac, Anis Nin, Jackson Pollock, Weegee, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Yoko Ono, William Burroughs, Miles Davis, Gregory Corso, Max Ernst, Gary Snyder, Thelonious Monk…to name a few. A white scandinavian woman and a black artist with bi-racial children were not common back then. Prejudice in both communities was prevalent then, and is still today. Joyce wants to bring this story and the lessons she learned along the way to the public. She has a unique perspective that will shine light on race relations, then and now. She needs funding to complete the book and take her story around North America to bring a new understanding to racial iunjustice. We are asking for your help and support to make this possible. Any amount is welcome. We will offer copies of the book "Behind the Beat" Lessons from My Life with Ted Joans, Breaking Barriers Living as a Bi-racial family in the 1950s and 1960s by Joyce Joans Hollinger, for those who contribute $30 or more. 

This story is one that offers insight into both sides of racial prejudice and gives new perspective of the possibilities for race relations and peace. Please help to support this message of hope which is needed now more than ever!