User:Richard S. Drake

Richard S. Drake (born May 15, 1954 - Liverpool, England), currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

He is the author of a science fiction novel, “Freedom Run,” which tells the story of an alternate Earth. Set in the 21st Century, it tells the story of a world in which the North and South have separated after the Civil War. In Drake’s story, the Confederacy, having long given up slavery, is the more liberal of the two countries, and the United States is a harsh industrialized nation, the government run by religious zealots and the grim agents of the Industrial Protection Agency.

In a twist on Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad, there exists an underground railroad to take workers with no hope for the future to the Confederacy. “Freedom Run” is the story of one man’s desperate journey and that railroad.

Drake is also the author of “Ozark Mosaic: Adventures in Arkansas Alternative Journalism, 1990-2002,” which is a modern history of Northwest Arkansas.

Drake is married to Tracy Cutaia, a dancer/choreographer.

At present, Drake writes profiles and DVD/book reviews for the Arkansas Free Press. He also writes a political blog, Street Jazz, for Arkansas Times.

Chair of the Telecommunications Board for the city of Fayetteville, Drake has been active in public access since 1991. In addition to hosting “On the Air with Richard S. Drake,” he has produced several documentaries, and is now at work on one that tells the story of how alternative media have shaped political life in Fayetteville.

In addition to his work on the Telecommunications Board, Drake has served on the boards of Community Access Television, Fayetteville Open Channel, the AIDS Resource Center of Northwest Arkansas, and the NW Arkansas chapter of the ACLU.

He has been honored for his work on behalf of public access television in Fayetteville, and in helping to keep alive the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Festival and Conference.