My Colorful Nana

This audio essay is a reflection of how my research is beginning to evolve. We will listen to a clip on Nina Simone, a brief reflection examining artistic depictions of Blackness, and a previously-shared segment of an interview with Professor Korka Sall (PhD). My hope is for this short episode to explore creative representations of freedom. This Audio Essay & Reflection was originally created as a Final Creative Project for Columbia University's Graduate Course (African and African American Studies): "Beyond Black is the Journey, Narrating the History, the Culture, and the Self," taught by Dr. Maboula Soumahoro (PhD).    In the fall of 2022, I started classes as a PhD student. My research is rooted in social advocacy, creativity, and theory. I focus on uncovering self-curated mediums of self expression like Black hair as the root of Pan-Africanism, and I hope to continue this research while sparking conversation in different contexts, cultures and classes while using poetry, podcasts, theatre, film and the arts as a tool to connect with a broader community.

Topic: "Black Hair Is The Root of Pan-Africanism," My Colorful Nana (Talk in English)  Date & Time: Thursday, June 16th at 3:00pm   Summary: "This presentation about Back Hair & Pan-Africanism is led by Dr. Korka Sall (PhD) and Lauren Stockmon Brown (Current Fulbright ETA) and incoming PhD candidate. Together, we will discuss how art & community have strengthened and complicated our understanding of language analysis in relation to identity formation.”   “My Colorful Nana is a community engagement platform that has published recent podcast interviews that have nurtured our understanding of cultural representation and “generous thinking.” Our goal is to uncover the concept of Black hair as a form of Pan-Africanism and highlight the importance of “linguistic expression” as a tool to understand complex topics such as identity formation.”  -WARC (West African Research Center)     

This week, I'm excited to share the audio version of the short story that I wrote about Identity Formation & Spirituality in Senegal entitled, "People Are Like Waves."  I am moving into my fourth month living abroad, and I'm exploring "how to" build lasting systems of thinking that can help improve my general understanding of self-expression, particularly in relation to the concept of Pan-Africanism. A key action that has inspired me to continue "thinking globally and acting locally," (Dr. Korka Sall) in a consistent & reflective sense is my writing.  My hope is that sharing art together will create more opportunities for me and those who feel connected to MCN to imagine what it would mean to "Think globally. Act locally."  Recently, I heard a quote that said, "Data is *only* based on what has happened in the past" (Author: James Clear). While living in Dakar, I'm slowly learning how to carefully accept the power of imagining "possible futures." Possible futures that we can consider on a global-scale as well as implement in our day-to-day lives... "Bite-size" moments of hopeful reflection & potential impact, perhaps... I hope that you enjoy this ~experimental~ piece and as always, thank you for believing in this work. Link (written version): https://mycolorfulnana.com/writing. Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown. Music: “Jealous,” Fireboy (Instrumental)

Listening to the way Dr. Sall is enthralled by her work was absolutely exhilarating. Dr. Sall's research reframes debates about the participation and conversation of francophone women writers in the Negritude movement. I deeply resonate with Dr. Korka's calculated choice to centralize aspects of "humanness" when working to understand concepts like "Pan-African Solidarity," "Double Consciousness" and identity formation.  Throughout this conversation, I gradually realized how imperative it is for individuals to be able to confidently refer to multiple pools of cultural frameworks.... There is beauty in choosing to shield aspects of our identity, and growth in choosing to open our mind to other modes of thinking & feeling. Similar to language analysis, studying the history of “Black hair” is a tool that can help us sit with the complexities of existing. Favorite Quote: "If you always hesitate about who you are then it will be hard for you to find the ground…. You need to be grounded first to know who you are, what you want, and why you want it.”  Very excited to share this episode with you! Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown. Music: “Jealous,” Fireboy (Instrumental)

For this episode, I interviewed one of my first friends in Senegal, Alioune Sene! Alioune shared his experience growing up in Dakar before receiving a BA in New York & Tennessee, a MA in Paris and he is now excitedly living in Dakar, Senegal as an Associate Coordinator for the West African Research Center (WARC). Together, we shared many laughs as we discussed the meaning of “home” in unfamiliar spaces and the power of cultural exchange in relation to self-growth. I very much look up to Alioune and his ability to be mentally agile in the face of adversity and uncertainty— I remain in awe of his seemingly instinctual urge to embrace “the unexpected” in life as I continue my own personal journey navigating the highs and lows of living abroad.  Favorite Quote: “….Everything I experienced made me more of who I am today… I evolved.” Thank you again for everyone's ongoing care & support... Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown. Music: “Jealous,” Fireboy (Instrumental)

For my Fulbright Community Engagement project in Senegal, I hope to nurture my scholarly interests in Body Politics, hair, beauty culture, race, and popular media as sites of creativity and politics. While interviewing Dr. Mamadou Bodian, excitedly, we discussed Dr. Mamadou's research on identity formation and religion in relation to my budding research interests on identity formation and Black hair. I found Dr. Mamadou's gentle encouragement to view concepts like "identity" and "individuality" as communal concepts rather than isolating thoughts, feelings and memories to be both complex and inspiring. I believe a conversation on Black hair creates a necessary entry-point to understand the intimate aspects of our lived experiences both together, and separately.  Favorite Quote: "Knowing others is also a way of knowing yourself..." -Dr. MB I hope you enjoy our first episode of season 4 for MCN!  Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown. Music: “Jealous,” Fireboy (Instrumental)

A conversation about Black hair and Black joy. Dr. Kari is passionate about hair styling and education. She has merged her passion and degree to create a business that caters to a market that is interested in natural hair and seeking guidance on how to achieve healthier hair. She is also a board-certified trichologist through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, and the Founder & CEO of Mahogany Revolution. She also has a PhD in the field of Trichology. *Trichology: the branch of medical and cosmetic study and practice concerned with the hair and scalp. [Note: this episode was originally featured in Breakthrough's IG Live Spotlight: recorded on February 15 at 6:00 PM (ET)]. 

Black hair is a story of resilience and the story has continued as a key topic of conversation throughout 2020. Yes, our twist outs, fros and low cuts are taking center stage as a representation of independence and strength. And yet, centuries of race-based hair discrimination has sparked the saying, “Black hair is not just hair.” Why? Founder of We Got Us Now, Ebony Underwood, shares the ways in which mass incarceration continues to be ignored throughout American history and how this topic intersects with the significance of Black hair. Audio Editor: Emma Friedman. Music, Sound Design: Jacob Lowy. Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown. 

Election day is less than one week away. Have you voted? More importantly, what are your plans to move this fight forward after you vote? Katrina Adams leads our conversation on the significance of generational advocacy efforts and change. As a former professional tennis player and immediate past President and CEO of the US Tennis Association, Adams shares her liberation dreams as a Black female athlete thriving in and outside of the arena. Music, Sound Design & Editor: Jacob Lowy. Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown.

As a professional athlete and current Harlem Globetrotters, Maxwell Pearce stands in solidarity as fellow NBA & WNBA players use their platforms to disrupt pro sports in wake of  the Jacob Blake shooting by police. Admirably as an athlete and activist, Pearce finds hope amid the world’s current political climate. Music, Sound Design & Editor: Jacob Lowy. Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown

NBA & WNBA Teams strike and disrupt pro sports in wake of the Jacob Blake shooting by police. Begging the question: "What does it mean to be a Black athlete in today’s political climate?" Tune in to our interview with Harlem Globetrotters’ Maxwell Pearce, known as “one of the best dunkers on the planet," discusses his past studying Economics & Finance at Purchase College and his non-profit organization which inspires young athletes to become dynamic leaders on and off of the basketball court. Part II of this episode coming soon... Music, Sound Design & Editor: Jacob Lowy. Host & Founder: Lauren Stockmon Brown

American actress and singer, Vanessa Williams joins fellow Horace Greeley High alum and host Lauren Stockmon Brown to discuss the complexity of identity politics. Williams dives into her phenomenal career in the entertainment industry and the ways in which music, theatre and the arts grounded her adolescent and adult life. Williams stars in the 2020 film, "Bad Hair" and touches on her role in this feature while tackling topics on education reform, socioeconomic racism and Black hair. Music, Sound Design & Editor: Jacob Lowy

Our first Mother-Daughter debut. Founder, Lauren Stockmon Brown hosts a special episode featuring Richard Pryor's daughter and granddaughter, Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor and Lilli Stordeur. Famous 1970's comedian Richard Pryor had his own journey around the "N word," and current Smith College Professor, Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor explains how her father disavowed his own use of the word.Dr. Stordeur Pryor shares how studying her father's use of the "N word" is a triangulation of her personal life, research and classroom teaching. An intimate conversation that focuses on "true allyship," "familial ties," "respectability politics," and of course, a Black mother and daughter's relationship to their own hair. Learn how the lack of language that, particularly, Americans face when attempting to describe and teach the "N word" relates to the lack of understanding regarding a Black woman’s relationship to her own hair. Music, Sound Design & Editor: Jacob Lowyhttps://linktr.ee/Mycolorfulnana

Chidi Asoluka and founder, Lauren Stockmon Brown question how we can collectively liberate the minds of young people.... Asoluka is currently a Class Dean and English teacher at Horace Mann School in New York City. In 2019, he founded Asoluka Company, an education consulting firm that specializes in building more effective school-community learning partnerships. Asoluka believes that when you unlock human stories, it becomes really hard to "Other" them. For this reason, understanding people's stories is the pathway towards social justice. Music, Sound Design & Editor: Jacob Lowyhttps://mycolorfulnana.com/

Through a conversation on race and hair, Jaysen Henderson-Greenbey and founder, Lauren Stockmon Brown discuss how one's gender expression is a form of creativity, control and strength. Jaysen is a non binary person of color who encourages all people to embrace their weirdness, be authentic and let your community feed you.

Lauren Stockmon Brown interviews 2021 NYC mayoral candidate, Dianne Morales. Dianne is an Afro-Latina woman who believes that the best way to change the future is to create it. She is running a campaign to disrupt the status quo and help transform our government. In this episode, we will discuss the complexities of being a woman of color running for office during the outbreak of the novel virus, COVID-19.

Jordan Boatman is an extremely talented actress who has performed at The Manhattan Theatre Club, The Geffen Playhouse, recently appeared on CBS All Access’s The Good Fight and is currently in the play, "Medea" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Jordan will carefully carry us through her hair-care experiences, her views on type-casting and the acting industry as a whole.....TMCNP Season 2 is now a monthly podcast that will air on YouTube, Soundcloud, 89.1 and Apple Podcasts coming soon.

Lauren Stockmon Brown (Host & Founder) talks with Amivi Sogbo, a sophomore from New York University. After Amivi decided to shave her head, she claimed that this experience was absolutely "freeing." However, as Lauren and Amivi learned throughout the interview, it was not only Amivi's decision to shave her hair that created this new feeling. It was also the choice that Amivi made to change the relationship she has to the way she thinks about her hair in regards to her gender, sexuality and race. This decision to "drastically" change hairstyles then encouraged Amivi to fully embrace her natural beauty.

Lauren Stockmon Brown (Host & Founder) sits down with Jordan Dorsey ( NYU '19). This episode features two queer, black, women who do not conform to societal standards of femininity discussing the intimacy of loving another woman and this "trifecta of struggle." Jordan Dorsey is a Rap and R&B artist who believes that "A women is someone who is strong. Strong in her purpose and knowing what she has to do. Someone who's motherly, can take charge, has her own energy and really sticks by it." ..... This will be our last Episode featuring a Generous Thinker for Season 1 Fall 2019. Thanks for thinking generously!

Lauren Stockmon Brown (Host & Founder) dicusses the nuances of black hair and the importance of self care with Linda Duverné (Senior at NYU). To love is a revolutionary act. To love another is expected. Whereas to love the self is frequently questioned. Linda will describe the challenges of loving the self especially as a Haitian black woman growing up in America. The black experience is not monolithic and every space demands a new level of effort and energy. For this reason, Linda encourages us all to be patient with ourselves when figuring out how to "feel" authentically and productively.

Lauren Stockmon Brown (Host) & old high school friend, Alyssa Ashley (University of Delaware '18), reminisce about their hair-care experience growing up in a predominately white community located in Westchester (Chappaqua) New York. It was simultaneously an amazing and challenging upbringing: to be surrounded by faces that do not reflect your own. It is a complex feeling to both question and appreciate how a reclamation of self can shape the person you are and the world you now choose to see.

Lauren Stockmon Brown (Host & Founder) and Ale Gonzalez (Junior from NYU) studying History & Politics will explore the complexities of oppression on black hair. Ale calls himself "racially ambiguous" to the eye, though people often associate his physical attributes with black features. So, when Ale was little, he would get made fun of and picked on for being who he naturally is. This conversation on black hair expands to all oppressed people in complicated ways-- Why are we encouraged to look a way that we don't naturally?

Lauren Stockmon Brown (Host & Founder) explores Camille Lo Bianco's (Senior from NYU) essay about Black feminism inspired by TMCNP's event last February. Lo Bianco covered Black women being viewed as representatives of a collective experience. We're always reminded of the original message of the podcast: to share stories of Black women as unique individuals.

Lauren Stockmon Brown (Host & Founder of TMCNP) asks Marquel Love ('19 graduate from NYU, former college athlete, NBC Studios employee, Page Program recipient) to take us through her hair-care experiences, the pressures of working in the corporate world right after undergrad, dating primarily white men and why. 

Lauren Stockmon Brown (TMCNP Host & Founder) asks Meskie Taylor (Sophomore from NYU) about her experience with her hair as a Black Ethiopian woman who was adopted at 8 years old . When Meskie met her American family, it was the first time she saw white people. 

Lauren Stockmon Brown (TMCNP Founder) asks Mike Flom (A Junior from NYU) if there is space for the white man's perspective in a discussion about black women's hair.