Pierce Freelon is a GRAMMY®-nominated artist, author, and Afrofuturist creator working at the intersection of children’s media, music, and storytelling.
Pierce is the creator of the GRAMMY®-nominated children’s albums AnceStars and Black to the Future, which have been featured on Today Show, NPR, and Billboard. In television and audio, he has written songs for PBS Kids ‘series Alma’s Way and Work It Out Wombats! and is the co-creator and star of Jamming on the Job, PBS Kids’ first original podcast. He also co-founded the Emmy Award–winning PBS series Beat Making Lab.
Pierce has published two children’s picture books with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Daddy-Daughter Day and Daddy & Me: Side by Side. His storytelling extends into film and performance as the writer, composer, and co-director of History of White People in America, an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2024, Pierce and his wife Kathryn founded Coco Fro, a dairy-free freeze-dried ice cream company inspired by space travel and joyful family experiences. Together, his creative projects form an expanding universe of Afrofuturist storytelling across music, food, and media.
A former Durham City Councilman and university professor, Pierce has spent his career serving the community through building creative ecosystems—from founding Blackspace, a digital makerspace for youth, to serving on the board of NorthStar Church of the Arts.
He lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife of 18 years and their two brilliant, hilarious kids. When he’s not making music or dreaming up new worlds, he’s reading Octavia Butler or playing basketball.