Click here to read a Q&A with Alisha

By Loretta Fulton

Alisha Taylor, a local actress, director, and producer of documentary films, is this year’s honoree at the annual Heroes’ Luncheon sponsored by ICAN (Interested Citizens of Abilene North). 

The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 9, at the Abilene Convention Center. Individual tickets are $40. Rosten Callarman, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Abilene, will be guest speaker.

Among Taylor’s admirers and supporters is Rev. Andrew Penns, pastor of Valley View Missionary Baptist Church, a former ICAN director, and founder of Curtis House Cultural Center. 

Alisha Taylor

“I voted for Ms. Alisha because of her commitment with community involvement, which she has done in the early years of her life, the commitment she has contributed to the preservation of Black history,” he said. “And she has committed herself to working closely with Curtis House Cultural Center, the community, and the city of Abilene.” 

Taylor, through her Taylor Made Studios, created the documentary “A Legacy Unearthed: The History of Black Abilenians” in 2022. 

Her current work, ”Da’Cipher 360,” is a documentary that focuses on mass incarceration within the state of Texas. Alisha held a local community screening in August 2025, and through partnership with The Sentencing Project, the film also screened in Detroit in September 2025. The film is currently on the festival circuit in 2026.

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene