Russell L. Goings has done many things during his long life. This diverse history includes being the founder and first chairman of the “Studio Museum Harlem,” as well as dear friend to famed artist Romare Bearden.

This modern-day renaissance man played professional football, started the first black-owned firm to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and is credited as the “godfather” of “Essence” for helping assemble the players and acquire the funding to begin the magazine.

But Goings’ latest contribution to history is creating “The Children of the Children Keep Coming.” This epic poem draws from the African griotsongs and traces the history of blacks from the Middle Passages through slavery through Jim Crow through the Civil Rights Movement. It is to the African-American experience what “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” are to the Romans and Greeks.

First, on Monday, April 16 at noon, there will be a special reading of “The Children of the Children Keep Coming.” Goings will be in attendance for this session of “On Q Productions” education series called “African American Theater 101.” There will be a stage reading of the piece and, afterward, a class discussion of literary devices, historical context and cultural themes and issues within the play. (It’s exciting to note there is also an original stage production based on this writing, slated for On Q Productions in the near future.)

This event will take place at Johnson C. Smith University Arts Factory, located at 1545 W. Trade St. in Charlotte. Although it is free, a $10 donation is suggested.  (And, please RSVP with this link.)

The evening of Saturday, April 28, Central Piedmont Community College will present “My Friend Romare Bearden: An Evening with Russell Goings.” Goings — the 2012 Irene Blair Honeycutt Distinguished Lecturer — will discuss art, writing and his unique friendship with Bearden during this special free night of Central Piedmont Community College’s “Sensoria, A Celebration of the Arts” series.

It is no surprise that the very personable Goings is also involved with education. He works with the Jesuits and started a philosophy club at St. Aloysius Middle School for girls in New York and loaned a significant body of art by Bearden and Jacob Lawrence to the school. He also started a production company to make classroom-ready videos about black artists.

Goings describes his conversations about the black experience with friend Bearden: “Bearden and I talked about that as a people, we needed a grand narrative.” Don’t miss your chance to hear about how both men have made significant contributions to this bigger narrative.