Over the last decade or so, Lynnette Velasco was best known for her work in the political realm, mainly as a spokesperson for Council Member Inez Dickens. However, she was also a prominent player in literary circles, both as a promoter and author. All of these tasks will miss her unstinting devotion since she made her transition this week.
Neither the actual day nor the cause of her death is known as we go to press. What we do know is that Velasco was a tireless advocate for writers, and she expended the same energy and commitment as a political consultant.
Members of the literary community remember her selfless promotion of other writers, getting them assignments, connecting them with publishers and editors and producing panels and workshops in her efforts to expand the audience of readers and writers. All of this was done with rarely a mention of her own publications.
She first began to acquire a readership with “Zinzi: A Child’s Journey to Self Fulfillment, Giving and Caring” (Worldwide Publications, 1998), with illustrations by John Higgins. The book, written primarily for children, was selected by the prestigious Du Grummond Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi. She was also honored by the Penn Center as an emerging writer.
The following paragraph from the book is indicative of Velasco’s style and sensitivity. Here, Zinzi is heading home after caring for her friend Carmen.
“On the ride home, Zinzi felt good all over. She was no longer bored or uninterested in the things around her. As the sun made its way toward the horizon, she looked at it and smiled as if seeing it for the first time. She looked all about her. She saw the beauty of little flower gardens, and she caught the fresh scent of lilacs in bloom and freshly mowed, green lawn in the air.”
Like Zinzi, Velasco often set aside her own issues to deal with the problems of others.
Her good friend and associate Dr. Brenda Greene, who was among the first to tell of her passing, said this of Velasco: “A writer, journalist, poet and avid supporter of Black literature and in particular, children’s literature, Lynnette was passionate about young people and participated in many literary programs focused on promoting children’s authors and literature.
“A lover of literature and the literary arts,” Greene continued, “Lynnette always attended the National Black Writers Conferences at Medgar Evers College and presented a paper, ‘African-American Children’s Literature–Embracing the Majesty of Nikki Giovanni,’ at the 2012 NBWC.” She was a beloved teaching artist at the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College and helped to build the center’s Children’s Literature Program, Greene added.
Velasco was a graduate of Hampton University, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in English. Among the several organizations that thrived from her contributions were the New York Association of Black Journalists and Black Americans in Publishing. She was a contributor to the Essence Best Seller List book of essays to encourage literacy, “Turn the Page and You Don’t Stop: Sharing Successful Chapters in Our Lives with Children,” edited by Patrick M. Oliver.