Found in Translation

Found in Translation is a Pan-African documentary interview series exploring the cultural intersectionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. To keep up with future episodes and additional resources please subscribe to our substack newsletter: foundintranslation.substack.com Follow us on Instagram @foundintranslationpodcast If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/foundintranslation/support

This episode features Found in Translation's Creative Director, Ola. Ola is cultural thinker specializing in questioning domestic and international power structures as it relates to the African Diaspora and other marginalized communities. Her purpose revolves around finding political systems, linking them to structural histories of inequality and human rights struggles to open dialogue for progressive solutions. Intro/Outro Music: Happy Ending by Kelela The Found in Translation Podcast is a Pan-African sociopolitical education interview series reflecting on modern Afrodiasporic history and the legacy of the black radical tradition in an updated context. Follow us on Instagram at @foundintranslationdmv If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested being the show, please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/foundintranslation/support

In this episode, Uche Ezejiofor speaks with Sierra Leonean recording artist Kenzo Cole about their experience as a queer, gender non-conforming first generation Sierra Leonean in America. Dazed magazine's 2017 article covering the House of Kings and Queens, a secret, self-constructed LGBT sanctuary in Sierra Leone: https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/36873/1/lee-price-photos-of-sierra-leones-lgbt-community-where-gay-is-a-sin Intro/Outro Music: Decisions by Kenzo Cole Found in Translation is a DMV-based Pan-African cultural platform and documentary podcast interview series exploring the cultural multidimensionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. Follow us on Instagram at @foundintranslationdmv If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/support

On this episode, we discuss George Jackson and the origins of Black August, our individual and collective revolutionary potential, and the power of Black August in supporting a Pan-Africanist framework for black liberation. Texts mentioned: Soledad Brother by George Jackson Uses of the Erotic by Audre Lorde Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition by Cedric Robinson Found in Translation is a DMV-based Pan-African cultural platform and documentary podcast interview series exploring the cultural multidimensionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. Follow us on Instagram at @foundintranslationdmv If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/support

2:52 Introduction 3:30 Ethiopia's regional distinctions 4:06 The current regional conflict in Ethiopia 6:33 The media's role in misrepresentation of Ethiopia 8:53 Tribal differences in cultural traditions 11:11 The Visa lottery 14:25 Story: Arriving in New York 17:22: The importance of honesty in communicating the American experience to those abroad 19:35 Exchanging American currency 22:07 The role of immigrant advocates 22:55 "The people who arrived here first should take responsibility for [the safety and comfort of] newcomers" 24:00 Fear of deportation 25:01 "you don't just come here and relax" 26:40 "America is uniquely challenging", mental colonization, cultural erasure by assimilation to whiteness 30:08 "is America glamorized?" 31:12 The impossibility of hiding your identity as an immigrant 34:04 The experience of immigration to America from an uncolonized African country 37:18 The Ethiopian Orthodox Calendar 38:49 America as a closed society 41:20 The importance of finding community 42:02 "When I travel somewhere the first things I look for are where the Orthodox church and Ethiopian restaurants are" 42:28 Food as a connection to culture 43:24 "The more I make what they make, the more it feels like they're living again, so it means everything to me" 44:19 "What inspires the importance of you holding your culture close to you?" 45:39 "I'm not gonna cut your hand and keep it with me" 46:25 Ethiopian culture post-civil war 48:35 "How your re-learning of Ethiopian history shaped your worldview and understanding of who you are?" 51:48 "The African immigrant experience is so consistently centered around education" 58:40 The stress and emotional invisibility of education and immigration 59:27 "No one knows who I am here" 59:53 African misrepresentation in American media 1:02:01 The importance of "informing our own" 1:06:09 Mitigating the emotional toll of immigration 1:07:29 Imagining alternatives to traditional community resource networks 1:11:46 Perspectives on America's future 1:13:03 Returning to Ethiopia 1:14:38 "No matter what condition I go back to, I feel like I'll be happier there" 1:17:24 Perspectives on Africa's future Found in Translation is a Pan-African documentary interview series exploring the cultural intersectionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. To keep up with future episodes and additional resources please subscribe to our substack newsletter: foundintranslation.substack.com Follow us on Instagram @@foundintranslationpodcast If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/support

0:32 Introduction 1:11 Chigo's story 4:44 The post-colonial seeds of Anti-Black sentiments from Africans 7:33 Potential remedies towards a more positive global representation of Black Americans 8:22 The responsibility of today's generation of Africans to address toxic aspects of our culture 10:46 Chigo's identity journey through literature 11:28 No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe 11:45 Half of a Yellow Sun and the Nigerian Biafran War 14:08 Transcendent Kingdom and the disconnect in first-gen familial relationships 15:21 Transcendent Kingdom and religion 15:51 Deep-rooted attachment to Christianity in West African culture 18:55 Christianity as a tool of White Supremacy 20:03 Spirituality as a very personal and individual practice 21:01 The demonization of traditional spiritual practices in African media 23:36 Are we getting closer to a return to authentic African spiritual traditions? 27:45 Spirituality as an organizing tool against white supremacy 30:44 The importance of watering down dense information to make it easier to consume 31:29 “I would frame it as understanding your culture” 33:53 Chigo's Pan-Africanist journey 35:34 “you can't destroy the master's house with the master's tools“ 36:21 “in fortifying Africa you will collapse imperialistic systems“ 36:47 Individual vs collective power 37:11 Comfort as a tool of oppression 41:41 Progressive aspects of culture as weapons of comfort 45:45 “What's the role of the heterosexual community in deconstructing heteronormativity in the US and Africa?” 46:16 The importance of challenging gender roles 50:20 Chauvinism 58:01 self-censoring 1:00:50 The importance of community-building 1:01:27 Chigo's community garden 1:06:24 “Different cultures in Africa have celebrated and revered queer and trans people in their community” 1:09:54 Identity reclamation/“How do we navigate a return to traditional contexts of African culture?” 1:11:32“Is there anything you'd like to say to people who share the same cultural space as you but are still early in their self-actualization journey?” Texts Referenced No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi A Guide for Organizing Defense against White Supremacist, Patriarchal, and Fascist Violence by Ahjamu Umi The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient Teachings In The Ways Of Relationships by Sobonfu Somé Authors Referenced Chinua Achebe Chimamanda Adichie Yaa Gyasi Akwaeke Emezi Ahjamu Umi Sobonfu Somé Found in Translation is a Pan-African documentary interview series exploring the cultural intersectionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. To keep up with future episodes and additional resources please subscribe to our substack newsletter: foundintranslation.substack.com Follow us on Instagram @foundintranslationpodcast If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/support

0:00- Dahwula's introduction 0:32- “Where are you from?” 2:28- Early adolescence in America, culture-based discrimination 3:21- Experience in ESOL classes 6:46- Lack of exposure to language and culture outside of home life 7:37- Bullying cultivating a seed of resentment towards Dahwula's African background 10:48- The rift between the African Americans and Africans 13:51- Complex feelings about culture as an adolescent 15:12- “I didn't care about the culture until other people started caring about the culture” 15:51- Absorbing American culture 17:58- The risk of culture as a trend 19:53- The cultural experience of food 20:14- Dahwula's favorite Liberian food 21:40- Learning through observation as a child 26:49- “The internet taught me to question more” 34:28- Dahwula's response to being put in boxes as an adolescent 40:54- Mutual understanding in communities of other immigrant children 42:25- “Where are you currently in your identity journey?” + Dahwula's reflections on self- autonomy 44:53- The sacrifice that comes with finding a middle ground of self-autonomy 45:46- “What do you define as your culture?” 47:22- Permanent connection to Liberian culture 49:39- Utilizing art to advance culture and break boxes of expectations 52:06- The evolution and maturity of African culture 53:25- The evolution of Dahwula's interest in fashion 55:25- Dahwula's influences and inspirations 58:32- The outdated “American Dream” 59:00- Dahwula's American Dream 1:00:37- Liberia as a vacation spot for Dahwula, not a permanent residence 1:04:12- 48% of the way self-actualized 1:06:55- “What do you see for the future of your culture?” 1:07:31- “The thing about culture is you don't necessarily need to relate to understand something” 1:08:16- The importance of building cultural bridges Found in Translation is a Pan-African documentary interview series exploring the cultural intersectionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. To keep up with future episodes and additional resources please subscribe to our substack newsletter: foundintranslation.substack.com Follow us on Instagram @foundintranslationpodcast If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/support

0:00- Language as a mode of connecting to culture 1:03- Other connections to culture 2:01- Experiences with religion 2:18- Skepticism about the church environment & coming to terms with questions around religion 4:19- The church taking advantage of desperate people/Faith rooted in fear vs hope 4:37- Fear-based perspective on life in the older Nigerian generation 6:05- Constant atmosphere of spirituality in Nigerian homes 7:23- Religion as a source of hope 8:25- Varying degrees of religious commitment in our younger generation 9:00- Modern, forward-thinking Christian churches 10:15- The church as a place of community 11:08- The church as an echo chamber of problematic behavior 11:34- Toxic masculinity in Nigerian culture 12:53- Nigerian women's issues in the US vs abroad 14:58- Who owns the culture? Nigerians abroad or Nigerians in the US? 16:53- Transition 18:39- How much of your self-identity is rooted in you being Nigerian? 20:47- Aspects of your culture and nationality bleeding into other aspects of who you are 22:21- "Tell me a story about a moment in your life that forced you to question your perspective of your identity." 26:31- Experiences as a Nigerian kid influencing relationships with Americans in peer settings 29:35- Do you currently have any behaviors or beliefs ingrained in your Nigerian background? 29:54- Do you want to go back to Nigeria? 32:02- Where do you want to end up? 33:44- What would you say to the younger version of yourself? Found in Translation is a Pan-African documentary interview series exploring the cultural intersectionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. To keep up with future episodes and additional resources please subscribe to our substack newsletter: foundintranslation.substack.com Follow us on Instagram @foundintranslationpodcast If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/support

2:15- Language & it's relation to culture 6:35- Reading & literature 8:12- Relating to the previous generation of Africans 10:46- The death of curiosity as a survival mechanism 13:02- Expectations & our responsibility to our parents 15:44- Religion as a part of the culture 18:45- Abandonment of history due to white supremacy 21:53- Picking up the pieces of African history 23:05- Christianity as the foundation for reinforcing patriarchal dynamics in the nuclear family 24:52- Breaking the cycle 25:13- Abuse in African households stemming from culture expectations 26:10- The Biafran War & it's direct effects on the culture 27:46- Culture as something malleable 28:34- The awareness of our generation 29:58- The need for collective healing 32:21- The wave of normalization of therapy 32:55- Living as the most authentic version of ourselves 34:13- What would you say to a young African Child in a traditional household in 2020? What would you say to yourself 19 years ago in your household? 35:57- What do you see for the future of Nigerian culture? Found in Translation is a Pan-African documentary interview series exploring the cultural intersectionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world. To keep up with future episodes and additional resources please subscribe to our substack newsletter: foundintranslation.substack.com Follow us on Instagram @foundintranslationpodcast If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at foundintranslationpodcast@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/foundintranslation/support