Radical Futures Now

Aya Chebbi discusses Pan-Africanism and Youth Organizing with us. Aya Chebbi is a diplomat, peacebuilder and activist. Aya is also a multi-award winning Pan-African feminist. Aya has transformed the youth participation space across Africa, specifically with building the Afrika Youth Movement which is one of Africa's largest youth-led movements.

Alice Bagley shares about timebanking, urban farming and community-building through and through. Unity in Our Community Timebank is an organization in Southwest Detroit focused on sharing services and building community one hour at a time. Alice Beagley is currently organizing learning circles with Michigan Alliance Timebanking and farming at Fields of Plenty.

Mazi Mutafa discusses the sacredness of the cypher, and the expansiveness of Hip Hop as a music and culture. Mazi Mutafa is the Executive Director of Words Beats & Life inc, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. that teaches, convenes and presents Hip-Hop around the world. Mazi Mutafa began this organization as an after school program dedicated to creating transformative learning experiences in non-traditional classrooms, teaching the elements of Hip-Hop.

Cat March discusses the murders in Atlanta through a historical, gender and racial lens. Cat March (they/them) is a Gender Studies and English scholar. They have a personal passion for Asian American histories, especially Japanese internment camps in the United States. They are currently the student advisor at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College and finishing up their graduate program in higher education.

Mika Hernandez discusses their feelings after the murders in Atlanta, and post-Atlanta organizing rooted in the Ohlone Land (Bay Area). Mika Hernandez (they + she) is a queer and non binary community organizer whose work is rooted in trans and queer liberation, abolition, transformative justice, and community care. They put this work into practice within their political and movement homes: Asians4BlackLives, APIENC, and the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective. Mika is currently enrolled in an herbal medicine program at Ancestral Apothecary.

Dr. Baba Buntu speaks on building stronger relations within family structures and returning to ancient African. Dr. Buntu is an Activist Scholar and Founding Director of eBukhosini Solutions; a community-based company in Johannesburg, specializing in Afrikan-Centered Education. Dr. Buntu has founded a number of community interventions based on practical approaches to Black Consciousness and decolonial methods.

Jamie Grant discusses community-based surveys, intersectional feminism, and the expansiveness of gender and sexuality. Jamie Grant is a lesbian writer and activist, and author of Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey and Great Sex: Mapping your Desire. She is currently working on a LGBTQ+ Women’s community survey that centers anyone who identifies as a woman and those who used to identify as a woman and would like to speak about their experience. Co-hosted by Rhiki Swinton and Paige Chung: audio edited by Gilbert Daniel Bwette.

CW: mentions of suicidality. Abeni Jones discusses with us her articles for Autostraddle and workshops regarding community care and avoiding performative allyship. Abeni Jones is currently Managing Editor at PushBlack, a non-profit media organization for Black Americans, using the power of narrative to educate and activate readers. She is also a writer for Autostraddle.

We’re back for part two with Mia Henry, she discusses The Importance of having a historical analysis when participating in movement work.Mia Henry is the founder of Freedom Lifted, an organization that creates learning spaces for youth and adults to grow as social justice leaders. Prior to her work with Freedom Lifted, Mia was the founding director of the Chicago Freedom Schools and the executive director of the Arcus Center. Mia also organizes civil rights tours in the south which creates transformational experiences for people by reconnecting them with the United States History.

Mia Henry discusses the role that food plays in exploring different cultures and histories. Mia Henry is the founder of Freedom Lifted, an organization that creates learning spaces for youth and adults to grow as social justice leaders. Prior to her work with Freedom Lifted, Mia was the founding director of the Chicago Freedom Schools and the executive director of the Arcus Center. Mia also organizes civil rights tours in the south which creates transformational experiences for people by reconnecting them with the United States History.

Shea Howell discusses everything Detroit. Shea has organized, as one of the founders of the Grace Lee Boggs Center, developing intergenerational relations, within the Council of Elders, and so much more. She is currently working in the water struggle in Detroit and celebrating the most recent win to pause the water bill during the covid-19 pandemic.

En este episodio de Futuros Radicales Ahora entramos en conversación con Luz Marina Becerra, lideresa de AFRODES y la COMADRE de AFRODES, sobre experiencias de lxs Afrocolombianxs, la opresión por parte del Estado, y su resistencia. Este episodio está presentado por Marcos Ferguson Morales, y editado por Marcos Ferguson Morales y Paige Chung // In this episode of Radical Futures Now we discuss with Luz Marina Becerra, leader of AFRODES and la COMADRE de AFRODES, about the Afrocolombian experience, State oppression, and their resistance. This episode is cohosted by Marcos Ferguson Morales, and edited by Marcos Ferguson Morales and Paige Chung.

Sammie Ablaza Wills and Yuan Wang discuss trans-centered organizing, community based participatory research, and solidarity. APIENC is a grassroots organization building transgender, non-binary and queer API power in the Bay Area. APIENC recently conducted a community based participatory research called Up to Us that was conducted by and centered transgender API community members.

Hip-Hop is more than just a genre of music; it is a form of resistance and storytelling. Hip-Hop also plays an integral role in Black Movements. We speak with Msia Kibona Clark, Associate Professor of African cultural & feminist studies in the Department of African Studies at Howard University. Her work examines hip-hop in Africa’s importance as social commentary, especially around Pan Africanism and African feminist thought. Msia describes the parallels and differences of Hip-Hop culture in the states and on the continent. Co-hosted by Rhiki Swinton and Trevor Loduem-Jackson: audio edited by Gilbert Daniel Bwette.

Welcome to Season 2 of Radical Futures Now. Get the inside scoop about our rebrand and the reasoning behind it. Listen and get to know the members of the Racial Futures Now team. Learn about our roles, passions, and why we love to do this work. Hear about what guests and topics we have in store for you.

The transgender movement has come a long way in the last six decades, from very little visibility and support to growing awareness and acceptance. We speak with Willy Wilkinson, author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning book Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency, about his journey coming out as a young trans child in the early sixties. Now a sought-after public health consultant who helps organizations and institutions develop LGBTQ-affirming services and systems, Willy describes his work in the LGBTQ movement, the challenges he and other transmasculine people of color face, and the trans superpower he discovered as a father of three. Co-hosted by Rhiki Swinton and Paige Chung; audio edited by Gilbert Daniel Bwette.

As the Black Lives Matter uprisings continue, we look back at our history and invite Charlotte Hill O’neil Mama “C” to speak on her triumphs and journey as a former Black Panther. Currently at the United African Alliance Community Center in Tanzania, where Covid19 is not prevalent, Mama C is living her best life: writing her memoir Hard Head and spending time with the community. She shares her insights on the parallels between the Black Panther movement and Black Lives Matter movement today.Check out more of Mama “C”’s work: www.uaacc.net soundcloud.com/mamac2011/Facebook: Charlotte Hill O’Neal (Osotunde Fasuyi)Youtube: Mama C aka Mama Charlotte O’NealYoutube: Osotunde Fasuyi Ola Osebikan

With American current socio-political climate, The Radical Zone podcast team had a conversation with Adrienne Maree Brown to discuss emergent strategies and pleasure activism. In this episode, Adrienne breaks down their life's work in activism with various communitiesAdrienne Maree Brown is the author of Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good,Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds and the co-editor of Octavia’s Brood: | Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements. She is the co-host of the How to Survive the End of the World and Octavia’s Parables podcasts. Adrienne is rooted in Detroit. Learn more about Adrienne's work at;http://adriennemareebrown.net/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/octavias-parables/id1519024926

With everything on right during this pandemic of covid19, black people and people of color have to continue to fight for their rights and systemic injustice especially in America. In this BLM Mini series, we got a rare opportunity to talk with Toronto-based organizer of Black Lives Matter movement to share her thoughts about the contrast and similarities between Canada and United States Of America with regards to black people and systemic relations with the state. Sandy Hudson is a Toronto-based organizer, communication specialist, political strategist, writer, and abolition activist a founder of the Black Lives Matter Movement presence in Canada, The Co-founder of the Black Liberation Collective- Canada & Helped to found the Black Legal Action Center.Learn about Sandy's movements at;https://sandyandnora.com/https://www.blacklegalactioncentre.ca/http://www.blackliberationcollective.org/

This time around, we take time out to focus on localized grass root organizing & activism. we talked to Majyck D in our #BLM mini series to understand how what has been happening in Kalamazoo Michigan lately. The Killing of George Floyd resulted in protests and demonstrations in cities across the nation, with Kalamazoo Michigan being one of those cities. We also learned about the relationship between Kalamazoo Public Schools and the community? Discussed what measures are being considered to end police presence in Kalamazoo Public Schools and policing students in general.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made things complicated around the world, and America has been equally affected by this global health crisis and the impact it has had on society. The radical Zone Podcast brought back professor Jason De Leon to help us understand and decipher immigration rights and electoral politics in America.In this episode, we dive deep into issues of diversity and differences between various minority groups in America in context of the political build up towards the upcoming national election. Jason De Leon also provides his professional thoughts and opinions about the re-opening of universities and other academic institutions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.Listen to our previous episode with Jason as he discussed Migration & US/Mexico Border: >> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/migration-us-mexico-border-conversations-jason-leon/id1513423967?i=1000483587107Learn About Jason's Work about the Undocumented Migration Project: https://undocumentedmigrationproject.org The Land of Open Graves book:https://www.amazon.com/Land-Open-Graves-California-Anthropology-dp-0520282752/dp/0520282752/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1594221687

The Radical Zone Podcast team got an opportunity to have a conversation with a special guest Amani Sawari to participate in our Black Lives Matter mini series and discuss the recent Uprising and its relation to Mass Incarceration in America. Amani Sawari is a writer, founder of the site sawarimi.org, coordinator for the Right2Vote Campaign, the Good Time Campaign to Repeal Truth In Sentencing and a 2019 Civil Rights Fellow with the Roddenberry Foundation. She graduated from the University of Washington with her Bachelor degree in both Media Communication Studies and Law, Economics & Public Policy in 2016. Her visionary publications, including the Right2Vote Report and Motivate Michigan newsletter, aid in distributing messages and building community among participants in the prison resistance movement on both sides of the wall.Learn about Amani Sawari's advocacy works at https://http://sawarimi.org/jumpinLearn more, take a listen, and be a part of this conversation.

The Radical Zone team had the pleasure to speak with Holly Bird to bring us to speed on critical issues facing Ingenious Movements parallels to Black movements, COVID-19 and its impact on the Indigenous Community in America. Hon. Bird graduated from DePaul University College of Law, where she served as the Native American Representative and President of the Latino Law Students Association. Most notably, however, Hon. Bird founded and served as Vice-President, President, and President-Emeritus of the Illinois Native American Bar Association, and is credited for using her advocacy to remove offensive sports mascots from several Illinois schools. Hon. Bird has authored the publications: “Jumping Through Hoops: Traditional Healers and the Indian Health Care Act,” (1999) and “Making the Cross-Cultural Case; Educating the Judge about Race, Religion, and Ethnicity” (2004). In 2008, Hon. Bird was appointed as an Acting Chief Judge / Associate Judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, where she served until 2011. Bird maintains a private practice in Traverse City, concentrating in matters of Native American, family, juvenile, criminal, civil, traffic, real estate, probate, employment and business law. Bird also served as the Civil Ground Coordinator for the Water Protectors Legal Collective, the leading legal service at the NoDAPL camp/protest in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. She continues to volunteer for WPLC to date. She also founded and serves as the Executive Director for the MI Water Protectors Legal Task Force, a project of the National Lawyer’s.Take a listen and be a part of this conversation

In this special Black Lives Matter mini series, we brought back one of our favorite radical intellectuals, activists and the acting Executive Director of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, Dr. Lisa Brock to help us decipher the following questions/comments:1. What’s currently happening on the ground in Chicago?2. Discuss current brutal killings Black people like George Floyd, Ahmad Arbury, Breonna Taylor, and countless others.3. Shed light on the current racial climate, police brutality, and the criminal justice system.Take a listen and be a part of this conversation of our #BLM mini series!

In this Episode, TRZ is so excited to tap into great wisdom of Jason De Leon on issues Immigration and Migration.Jason De León is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana, Chicano, and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a 501 (c)(3) committed to documenting and raising awareness about the violent social process of clandestine migration through a combination of anthropological research, education, arts initiatives, and public outreach. De León is Head Curator of Hostile Terrain 94, a global participatory exhibition focused on memorializing those who have lost their lives while migrating to the United States through the Sonoran Desert of Arizona that will take place in 130 locations on six continents through the fall of 2021.Learn About Jason's Work at; Undocumented Migration Project https://undocumentedmigrationproject.org The Land of Open Graves Bookhttps://www.amazon.com/Land-Open-Graves-California-Anthropology-dp-0520282752/dp/0520282752/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1594221687

In our second episode, The Radical Zone had a social distancing conversation with a Hip Hop movement builder Babaluku to decipher the effect of Covid19 in Africa as well the creatives around the world.Silas Babaluku is the founder and executive director of The Foundation, creator of the Dynasty as well as an award-winning musician, producer, community youth activist and social entrepreneur. Being raised in Uganda and living in Canada during his late teens and early twenties has given Silas a unique and powerful perspective on how to effectively create positive and empowering global partnerships. Since 2005, Silas’ work through the Foundation has provided a platform for positive expression of thought and community building. As a part of the Bavubuka Foundation, Silas is responsible for creating Dynasty, which is an international platform that celebrates indigenous culture, socially conscious artists, and has birthed Uganda’s most popular Graphic tee movements. His work has created opportunities for youth to conceptualize, design and execute their own entrepreneurial visions with a bridge to a global audiences and markets.Silas is the founder of Back To The Source, whose vision is to grow Indigenous Hip Hop Practitioners all over the continent who are dedicated to leading their communities through the journey of reconnecting to their authentic ancestral trans formative power. He has traveled extensively promoting hip hop as a powerful tool to teach leadership, build peace and strengthen relationships. His )Foundation was a 2015 finalist for the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership's Global Prize. Silas has been recognized and honored across both the African and North American continents as a musician, pioneer, social entrepreneur, youth leader and community activist. Learn about Bavubuka Foundations Works down below;https://bavubukacommunity.blogspot.comhttps://www.facebook.com/bavubuka/https://www.facebook.com/babaluku.ugandahttps://www.facebook.com/b2thesource/

Radical Zone Podcast got in a social distancing sit down with Lisa Brock & now we bring you full conversation with; Dr. Lisa Brock is currently the Academic Director of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is the senior editor of the Praxis Center, an online resource center for Scholars, Activists and Artists. She serves as a Trustee on the Davis Putter Scholarship fund for radical student activists. Since the early 1990s, Brock has been researching and writing on African-American solidarity with South Africa and Cuba liberation struggles and important issues in the African Diaspora History. She also teaches courses on Black History, and is working on a book project entitled: Enslavement and Resistance in Two Black Atlantic Port Cities, Charleston and Havana. During her undergraduate career at Howard University, Lisa joined the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DC). This led her to become active in campaigns, including being the chairperson of the Terrence Johnson Defense Committee, which supported Terrence, a 15-year-old victim of Police Brutality in Maryland. While getting her PhD at Northwestern University, she served in the leadership of the Chicago anti-apartheid movement and could be seen often on "Chicago Tonight". Because of her anti-apartheid work both in Mozambique and after, she was invited as an honored guest to the African National Congress’ Centennial Celebration in 2012.Lisa and her husband, Otis Cunningham, became key coordinators of the Venceremitos Project which for many years sent children from the US to the Jose Marti Pioneer Camp in Cuba, which hosted thousands of children from over 40 countries each summer.

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) is an initiative of Kalamazoo College whose mission is to develop and sustain leaders in human rights and social justice through education and capacity-building.We envision a world where:every person's life is equally valued,the inherent dignity of all people is recognized,the opportunity to develop one’s full potential is available to every person, andsystematic discrimination and structural inequities have been eradicated