No Such Thing as 'Fast' | Alexus Grace Rhone | TEDxThird Ward Salon

In "No Such Thing as 'Fast'," Alexus Grace (Rhone) examines how flawed social science research became cultural shorthand that mischaracterized Black girls as “fast” and families as “broken.” Tracing these labels from academic studies to everyday language, she reveals how data without context can harden into identity—shaping not only perception, but lived experience.

Blending personal narrative, cultural analysis, and storytelling practice, Alexus introduces “re-storying” as a corrective approach—one that restores complexity, dignity, and agency to lives flattened by oversimplified conclusions. She challenges the assumption that research is neutral, reframing it instead as a powerful narrative force that must be handled with care.

Ultimately, this talk expands beyond one community to ask a universal question: What happens when people are defined before they are fully formed? In an era where more people than ever have the tools to shape stories, Alexus invites us to take responsibility for how we name, frame, and carry one another’s lives—recognizing that there is no such thing as “fast,” only human beings in the ongoing process of becoming. Alexus Grace (Rhone) is a writer, producer, and artistic theologian devoted to exploring the power of truth when ‘dressed’ in story.

Founder of Truth Meet Story, Alexus tells stories about the sweetness of Black girls and the compassion of Black women on diverse platforms - on page, stage, screen, web, radio, and podcasts.

She entered the creative ecosystem publishing a YA novel series targeting reluctant readers. Premature Pleasures, Secret Shame, Backseats and Bleachers: A High School Love Story, and Cover The Coo are page-turning “mirrors” and love notes to her readers.

Over the past 25 years, she expanded her storytelling repertoire to include stage productions “Call & Response,” “Ancient Of Ways: For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Ifa When Jesus Came Up Short,” “Pitching My Tent Too Close To Sodom: Justice For Rosa Lee Ingram”; digital storytelling series’ “#TheBounceBackRDU,” “#Proverbs32,” and award-winning documentary “Religion, Philosophy & Mental Health in Black Americans.”

Deeply impacted by the creative journey of Alice Childress, Alexus writes, directs, and produces original content for this context. The burden of this moment in history to counter the attempts to erase Black women’s contributions and Black girls’ value undergirds the framing and tone of her narratives.

She holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx