Podcasts about givens foundation

In this episode Lissa talks with Dr. Gail C. Christopher —a nationally recognized leader in health equity, a pioneer in integrative medicine, and the visionary architect behind the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation initiative (TRHT). Dr. Christopher has spent decades designing and leading national programs that advance racial healing, community well-being, and policy change—including her role as Senior Advisor and Vice President at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She is also the Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity. She joins us today to discuss her new book, Rx Racial Healing: A Guide to Embracing Our Humanity—a guidebook, a meditation, and a call to action all in one. For GO DEEPER information, Visit: www.BlackMarketReads.com   Our production team for this episode includes co producers Lissa Jones and Edie French, technical director Paul Auguston, the voice Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration Ta-coumba T. Aiken. Black Market Reads is a production of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature produced in cooperation with iDream.tv. We thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota for supporting this series, focusing on the intersection of health, race, and culture. This is Black Market Reads. The struggle continues.

In this episode of Black Market Reads: On Health Lissa and Bukata talk with author Sarai Johnson about her debut novel, Grown Women (Harper Collins 2024). Join us in this lively and thoughtful conversation about what it means to move on—or not move on—from trauma. What it means to ask for forgiveness, what true forgiveness means, how anger can manipulate our relationships, and what happens after the trauma and how it travels through bloodlines. Tracing four generations of remarkable black women, Johnson follows the family across the decades as they grapple with motherhood and daughterhood, inherited trauma, and the deeply ingrained wounds that divide them while they attempt to redefine happiness and healing for themselves. Exploring how race, gender, and class can influence familial relationships, and how pain—and hope—can be handed down from mother to daughter. Black Market Reads is produced by The Givens Foundation for African-American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv.  Funding for Black Market Reads: On Health is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross' long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible. For Go Deeper information and more episodes visit BlackMarketReads.com  

In this episode Lissa and Bukata talk with Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez about her latest book Take My Hand. As a pre-eminent chronicler of American historical life, Dolen talks about her research, her passion for uplifting the authentic voice and the responsibility we have for the fallout of our good deeds. Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a profoundly moving novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible wrong done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench.  Black Market Reads is produced by The Givens Foundation for African-American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv.  Funding for Black Market Reads: On Health is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross' long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.  

In this inaugural episode of Black Market Reads: On Health, Lissa Jones introduces her series co-host Bukata Hayes, Vice President and Chief Equity Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Together they welcome their guest Linda Villarosa, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist and contributor to the NYT 1619 Project. There's an alarming saying in medical circles that Black people in the US “live sicker and die quicker.” Linda Villarosa, explores this phenomenon in her book UNDER THE SKIN: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America. Villarosa finds that erroneous beliefs about Black bodies, dating from the time of enslavement, continue to influence medical practices today. Coping with the daily stress of racism ages Black people prematurely. And racist beliefs held by doctors and other medical professionals often keep Black people from getting the care they need. Black Market Reads is produced by the Givens Foundation for African-American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv. Funding for this series is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross' long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible. Series artwork created by Ta-coumba T. Aiken  

In this episode of The Artist Inclusive Podcast, host Anna Rosa and Shanga Parker are joined by Dominic Taylor. Dominic is a Professor in the UCLA Department of African American Studies, as well as the Vice Chair of Graduate Studies and Professor at the UCLA Department of Theater. Dominic is a scholar of African-American theater and a writer-director whose work has been seen across the country. He is the former associate artistic director of Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul, Minn., one of the premiere African-American theaters in the country. There he utilized his unique culturally specific play development process called OKRA. As a scholar, Taylor's training began under the tutelage of George Houston Bass and his Research to Performance Method (RPM) at Brown's Rites and Reasons Theatre. In the summer of 2014, Taylor was part of the Consortium on African-American Aesthetics at Emory University. Nearly 20 years ago, he was part of the original group of artists and scholars gathered at August Wilson's “The National Black Theatre Summit: On Golden Pond.” Taylor was part of the cohort that presented a paper on aesthetics. Previously, Taylor was an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has also taught at Bard College and City University in New York; Columbia College of Chicago; Bennington College and Brown University. Taylor is an alumnus member of New Dramatists. He received his bachelor's and master of fine arts degree from Brown University and is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, a board member of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature and an associate artistic director of America-in-Play. Take a listen to this episode of The Artist Inclusive Podcast for a look into what it means to truly follow artistic impulse.Website: Artist Inclusive https://www.hollandcreative.io  daniel@hollandcreative.io    IG: https://instagram.com/conversioncopydesign  https://www.dashofcopy.com  anna@dashofcopy.com  IG: Dash of Copy (@dashofcopy) • Instagram photos and videos  

In this Special Edition of Black Market Reads, in a live production at the Capri Theater, Lissa Jones sits down with Bukata Hayes to talk about the book he co-authored with Stacy Wells, and then hear from a panel of representatives Nneka Sederstrom/Chief Health Equity Officer Hennepin Health Care, Chaz Sandifer/CEO theNEWmpls, and R.T. Rybak/President and CEO The Minneapolis Foundation. Including a reading by Danez Smith from his book Don't Call Us Dead, Summer Somewhere (18:45) This episode brought to you by Stamp-Connect with additional support provided by Hennepin Healthcare, BlueCross Blue Shield Minnesota, s/bes, theNEWmpls, Minneapolis Foundation, Alliant Consulting inc, Minnesota Vikings, JeDunn Construction, Revolution Catering and iDream.tv. Proceeds to benefit The Givens Foundation for African American Literature.   

Chavonn Williams Shen is a poet, artist, educator, and activist from Minneapolis. ​ Winner of the Still I Rise grant, first runner-up for the Los Angeles Review Flash Fiction Contest, and Best of the Net Award finalist, Chavonn is also a Pushcart Prize nominee, winner of the Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose through the Loft Literary Center, and fellow through the Givens Foundation for African American Literature.  As a Tin House and VONA workshop alum, Chavonn’s poetry and prose have appeared in Yemassee, the Los Angeles Review, Permafrost Magazine, and Cosmonauts Avenue.    Chavonn uses art as a practice of resilience and resistance. By using and teaching poetry, writing becomes an act of healing.  When not teaching with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, Chavonn’s time is spent obsessing over house plants. Topics Discussed:  Faith Forms Identity: One foot in the north, one in the deep south as a storyteller Ancient Text: Remix, adapt, and make stories more malleable Career Path: Cognitive science and psychology versus English and writing Fellowships: Apply for what you want - to be on stage, reading, and writing Poetry and Therapy: Way to help people protest and heal from trauma People’s Hands: Words and colors capture who they are and what they do Reclaim Language: Carve out composition space without marginalized writers Writing Exercises: Name everything and everyone around you that is true  Book of Prayer Poems: Writing poetry is spiritual practice for well-being What does rest look like? Meditation and resistance  Links and Resources:  Chavonn Williams ShenChavonn Williams Shen on FacebookChavonn Williams Shenn on TwitterMinnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW)The Nap Ministry - Rest as ResistanceQ Christian Fellowship Virtual Conference (Code: Queerology2021 for $10 off)Queerology Podcast on InstagramQueerology Podcast on Twitter Beyond Shame by Matthias RobertsMatthias Roberts on Patreon

To kick off season two of Gen BIPOC, I interview my friend and former coworker, Bryanna Williamson. Bryanna grew up wanting to be a humanitarian, is passionate about social justice, and is on a mission to improve representation in children’s books. Born and raised in Minneapolis, she also shares her thoughts on the Uprising, police violence, mutual aid, and more. Moving forward, Gen BIPOC will highlight organizations dear to the interviewees. If you’re able, Bryanna would appreciate you donating and looking into Speak Up Book Club, Black Women Speak, or the Givens Foundation for African American Literature. Visit genbipocpod.com for more, and follow @GenBIPOCPod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

Updated: June 10, 10:50 p.m. Artists are both at the forefront of change and critical to the preservation of culture. Often their work involves envisioning new ways of being in the world. As the Twin Cities wrestles with the police killing of George Floyd, structural racism and community devastation, artists will be crucial in articulating a path forward. The Twin Cities is home to numerous Black-led arts organizations; typically such groups are chronically underfunded. Here’s a list of Black-led arts organizations in the Twin Cities that could use your support: Alanna Morris-Van Tassel Productions The mission of Alanna Morris-Van Tassel Productions is to produce solo dance works and global commissions that uplift and inspire our humanity; to produce educational programs that utilize the creative arts as a tool for self-development and to spearhead community-building initiatives that assist mid-career women creatives with resources to thrive. Arts-US The mission of Arts-US is to develop young leaders through the arts, culture and sciences of the African Diaspora. ARTS-Us provides cultural performances, art and art resources for educators, leadership opportunities for students, and consulting for community business and civic organizations through the lens of the African Diaspora. Note: Arts-US executive director Anthony Galloway is a co-host of Counter Stories, MPR’s regular podcast on race and culture. Blackout Improv   Maria Alejandra Cardona | MPR News Joy Dolo performs a dance solo, complete with an attempt at doing the splits, during a Blackout Improv skit. Blackout Improv is a mix of comedy, social justice and arts access. Blackout seeks to put more black performers on more stages, to create comedic dialogue around serious truths, and to provide improv access for Black students. Blackout is changing the face of comedy stages in Minnesota. Sept. 2017 At Blackout Improv, comedy wrestles with tragedy Feb. 2019 Blackout Improv, breaking barriers and busting guts Black Storytellers Alliance The Black Storytellers Alliance’s mission is to maintain the art of storytelling as a primary source for positive instruction and reinforcement of the rich beauty embodied in the telling of “the story” — as practiced by African people in the Diaspora. May 2019 Healing incarcerated women through storytelling and song Black Table Arts   Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News 2019 Artist and educator Keno Evol leads a volunteer meeting in August 2019 ahead of the "Because Black Life" conference that was held at the University of Minnesota's Rarig Center. The focus of last year's conference was healing. Evol is founder and executive director of Black Table Arts. The mission of Black Table Arts is to gather black communities through the arts toward better black futures. Black Table Arts offers professional development for institutions centered in education and the arts, and works with artists all over the state of Minnesota to collaborate on speaking engagements, performances, writing workshops and panel discussions. Aug. 2019 Healing front and center of ‘Because Black Life’ conference Black Women Speak Black Women Speak centers Black women’s lives by cultivating a community with Black women, giving voice to their experiences as a way to heal, find joy and move towards liberation on their own terms.  BLAQ BLAQ is a dance company dedicated to using art to liberate, feed, and love the Black community. Brownbody Productions Evan Frost | MPR News 2017 From left, Deneane Richburg, Steven Smith, Carrie Maultsby-Lute and Lee Graham rehearse for Brownbody Presents: CoMotion inside the Charles M. Schulz Highland Arena in St. Paul in May 2017. Grounded in African diasporic perspectives, Brownbody’s mission is to build artistic experiences that disrupt biased narratives and prompt audiences to engage as active participants in the journey. Brownbody accomplishes this through a blend of modern dance, theater, social justice and figure skating. May 2017 BrownBody uses rink as stage for black history, culture Carlyle Brown & Company Described by The New York Times as “one of America’s more significant Playwrights,” Carlyle Brown has a long and rich history of creating plays that dramatize historical events in a way that makes them accessible to present-day audiences. Carlyle Brown & Company was formed in 2002 around a constellation of culturally and ethnically diverse artists dedicated to the development and performance of his work in an atmosphere of collaborative co-creation.  Feb. 2016 History Theatre looks at a tracker, a trial and a question of racial identity Catalyst Arts Catalyst Arts is a small arts incubator interested in the intersection of art, activism and artists who define themselves as change-makers. The Cedar Cultural Center  The Cedar’s mission is to promote intercultural appreciation and understanding through the presentation of global music and dance. The Cedar is committed to artistic excellence and integrity, diversity of programming, support for emerging artists and community outreach. CLIMB Theatre CLIMB Theatre creates customized plays, classes and workshops that build accountability, resiliency, empathy, advocacy and self-control. CLIMB inspires people to make the world a better place. Contempo Physical Dance  Nikki Tundel | MPR News file For Orlando Hunter, 22, "dance is an emotional and spiritual release." Recognized as a leader in Brazilian contemporary dance, Contempo performs work that challenges human physicality while invigorating audiences and translate our mission into groundbreaking new movement approaches, innovative choreographic design, and stunning performances. Dark Muse Performing Arts Dark Muse Performing Arts is a Black woman-owned arts organization established in 2020. We are dedicated to creating and sharing bold stories, unapologetically. Duniya Drum and Dance Duniya Drum and Dance believes West African rhythm and dance is for everyone. It lives out that mission by both offering classes and by presenting community concerts. Free Black Dirt Free Black Dirt is an artistic partnership formed by Minneapolis-based collaborators Junauda Petrus and Erin Sharkey. Committed to creating original theater and performance, hosting innovative events, organizing local artists, and promoting and supporting the emerging artists’ community in the Twin Cities, Free Black Dirt seeks to spark and engage in critical conversations. The Givens Foundation for African American Literature The Givens Foundation is dedicated to enriching cultural understanding and learning through programs that advance and celebrate African American literature and writers. Its resources include the Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature, housed at the University of Minnesota, as well as Black Market Reads, a podcast featuring conversations with today's most exciting black literary voices.  Heart and Soul Drum Academy Heart and Soul Drum Academy builds bridges across communities by connecting youth with the art of drumming. The academy uses drumming to cultivate personal development, discipline, leadership and teamwork with respect for self and others that transfers into the classroom, community and the world. In Black Ink In Black Ink (IBI) seeks to create spaces where the intergenerational stories about Minnesotans of African heritage can be shared, documented, and archived. In Black Ink provides publishing arts initiatives and opportunities to communities that have been disenfranchised historically, and continue to be presently. IBI’s cultural literacy programming mitigates the damage of economic, educational, and cultural inequities that are the result of past and current prejudice and discrimination. Juxtaposition Arts  Courtesy of Theresa J. Malloy | ThreeSixty Journalism file Contemporary Art and Public Murals Lab Lead Jordan Hamilton works with Juxtaposition Arts' apprentices on the design of a new mural. Juxtaposition Arts is a teen-staffed art and design center, gallery, retail shop and artists’ studio space in north Minneapolis. Juxtaposition Arts develops community by engaging and employing young urban artists in hands-on education initiatives that create pathways to self-sufficiency while actualizing creative power. May 2018 Juxtaposition Arts has designs on a bigger, bolder future Maia Maiden Productions The mission of Maia Maiden Productions is to provide an equitable and engaging platform for Hip Hop, people of color, women, and youth through performing arts. Maia Maiden Productions is the force behind “Rooted: Hip Hop Choreographers’ evening” and “Sistah Solo | Being Brothas.” Million Artist Movement Million Artist Movement is a global vision and movement that believes in the role of art in the campaign to dismantle oppressive racist systems against Black, brown, Indigenous and disenfranchised peoples. Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery Nina Moini | MPR News 2018 The Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery on opening day in September 2018. The mission of the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery is to preserve, record, and celebrate the history of African Americans in Minnesota. Sept. 2018 New African American Heritage Museum celebrates contributions More Than A Single Story More Than a Single Story is a series of panel discussions and public conversations where indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) writers and arts activists discuss issues of importance to them in their own words and in their own voices. The goal of More Than A Single Story is to empower voices that have long been marginalized by creating a public discourse, which in turn provides a forum for cross-cultural understanding. Mosaic on a Stick Mosaic on a Stick is a community art space created to promote mosaic art by selling quality supplies, teaching mosaic classes, and creating private and commercial commissions. Mosaic on a Stick is a values-led business that strives to be socially responsible, invested in the community and passionate about mosaics and the people that create them. NEW DAWN Theatre   NEW DAWN Theatre draws brilliance out of shadows by illuminating and supporting cutting edge works of overlooked, underrepresented communities of its theatrical landscape through innovative, exciting and excellent theater productions. From Art Hounds A 'Skeleton Crew' struggles to survive in working-class America Obsidian Arts Obsidian Arts seeks to be a new breed of Black cultural arts organizations suited for a socio-intellectual environment that maintains neither the strict barriers to nor the distinct pro-generators of what is deemed Black culture. Its focus is the use of art to invite the broader community to dialogue about issues that have been overlooked or shunned in the conversation-line of mainstream Black communities.  Penumbra Theatre Company  Evan Frost | MPR News file From left, Michelle O'Neill, John Catron and Lynette R. Freeman rehearse a scene in Penumbra Theater's production of "The White Card" in St. Paul on Jan. 31, 2020. Penumbra Theatre creates professional productions that are artistically excellent, thought-provoking, and relevant and illuminate the human condition through the prism of the African American experience. Feb. 2020 Race, power and privilege at play in ‘The White Card’ Pillsbury House Theatre Courtesy of Rich Ryan file James A. Williams as Zachariah and Stephen Yoakam as Morris in Athol Fugard's "Blood Knot" at Pillsbury House Theatre. Pillsbury House Theatre’s mission is to create challenging theatre that inspires enduring change towards a just society. Through the Mainstage season and other community engagement programs, Pillsbury House Theatre illuminates the differences that make each person unique and the similarities that bring people together, within an artistic environment that promotes understanding and leads to positive action. May 2018 Pillsbury House Theatre brings evening of 'theatrical jazz' RARE Productions Since 2007 RARE Productions has been creating visibility and opportunities for arts of color.  Through engaging artists of color, and centering Queer and Trans artists of color,  RARE Productions seeks to unite communities and families in healing relationships and bridge cultural gaps via the vast mediums of art. SHAPESHIFT SHAPESHIFT dance collective was formed to create a fresh new innovative dance style which combines the lyricism of contemporary dance and hip-hop with other dance styles to illuminate the human experience and fuel social change. SHAPESHIFT’s powerful productions boldly tackle current issues of social justice, loss, love and human emotions. Soomaal House of Art Soomaal House of Art (Soomaal) is a Minnesota-based Somali art collective that provides studio space, studio critiques, artistic community, mentorships for younger Somali artists and annual exhibition space with educational programming. Somali Museum of Minnesota Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News 2013 Osman Ali displays two artifacts from Somalia, including a container that holds water for washing and drinking and a wooden slate used to teach writing, at his Minneapolis restaurant, The Bright Moon Cafe, in March 2013 Founded in 2011, the Somali Museum of Minnesota opened the doors of its public gallery in 2013 as North America's first and only museum devoted to Somali culture. At last update, the Somali Museum of Minnesota was the only museum of Somali culture anywhere in the world.  The Somali Museum is the home of Somali creativity in North America, and is a global leader in advancing and elevating the work of Somali artists, traditional and contemporary. June 2018 Exhibit looks at Somali life, from Africa to Minnesota Sounds of Blackness Sounds of Blackness performs and proclaims the music, culture and history of African Americans to audiences all over the world. From jazz and blues to rock and roll, R&B, gospel, spirituals, hip-hop, reggae and soul, Sounds of Blackness provides uplifting messages of hope, unity, love and peace for all humankind.  Classical MPR Sounds of Blackness partners with High School for Recording Arts Threads Dance Project The mission of The Karen L. Charles Threads Dance Project is to examine, expose, and celebrate the threads that connect us. Threads seeks to be a national organization that betters humanity through dance, education and outreach.  Truartspeaks Mary Mathis | MPR Poet Qalid Hussein in the Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser studio at MPR Truartspeaks works to cultivate literacy, leadership and social justice through the study and application of spoken word and hip-hop culture. It strives to counteract the dominant narrative surrounding youth and those most often rendered invisible in our society by providing platforms for them to be heard, fostering the personal and social change required for equity. From The Current Meet the poets from TruArtSpeaks Be Heard MN Youth Poetry Slam Series Tru Ruts Tru Ruts is an artistic organization based in Minneapolis with a history of high caliber artistic work ranging from films to theater performances, a record label to workshops and residencies. Tru Ruts projects include Freestyle Theatre, Foto Libre, Speakeasy Records and others. TU Dance Founded in 2004 by Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands in St. Paul, TU Dance is a leading voice for contemporary dance. The 10-member, professional company is acclaimed for its diverse and versatile artists, performing work that draws together modern dance, classical ballet, African-based and urban vernacular movements. Underdog Theatre Underdog Theatre creates art for the underserved, underrepresented and unheard. Kory LaQuess Pullam, the artistic director of Underdog Theatre, said the company is all about what he affectionately calls “underdogs.” "We are specifically dedicated to lifting up new voices, voices of color, voices of the disabled, women, LGBTQ stories and communities and things like that," he said. "So, I think that by leading with that mission, that is what separates us and that is what gives us that energy that people are looking for." March 2018 For a young theater company, it's all about the underdogs Voice of Culture Drum and Dance Voice of Culture Drum and Dance is dedicated to the preservation of West African arts and culture. Walker|West Academy Jennifer Simonson | MPR News 2014 Thirteen-year-old McKinley West practices piano with his grandfather Grant West in March 2014 during a lesson at Walker|West Music Academy in St. Paul. Walker|West provides exceptional, affordable music education and enrichment rooted in the African American cultural experience, where people of all ages and backgrounds can gather, explore, and grow through music. March 2014 Walker West music school gets a new home without missing a beat Yo Mama’s House Yo Mama’s mission is to empower mothers by disrupting the devaluation of women’s invisible labor and showcasing their mastery of the art of mothering and the universal traditional women’s work that transforms into art making and economic security.

In this special episode, J. Drew Lanham, author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature, speaks with guest-host poet and essayist, Michael Kleber-Diggs. The interview was recorded at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis in 2017. Lanham is an American author, poet and wildlife biologist. Raised in Edgefield, South Carolina, Lanham studied zoology and ecology at Clemson University, where he earned a PhD  and where he currently holds an endowed chair as an Alumni Distinguished Professor. The Home Place is the Winner of the 2017 Southern Book Prize and Winner of the Reed Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center. Kleber-Diggs' work has appeared in numerous publications, including McSweeney's Humor Anthology. He is a past winner of the Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and a past Fellow with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature. He lives in Saint Paul and teaches Creative Writing in prisons.

On this episode, Lissa sits down with civil rights icon Dr. Josie R. Johnson and her co-authors Carolyn Holbrook and Arleta Little to discuss Johnson's memoir Hope in the Struggle. Dr. Josie R. Johnson has been an educator, activist, and public servant for more than seven decades. Along with her work for the Urban League and the University of Minnesota, she has been office manager, campaign manager, and chief of staff for multiple political campaigns and public officials, including campaign manager for the first African American lieutenant governor of Colorado, and co-chair of the African American DFL Caucus in Minnesota. She holds degrees in sociology, education, and education administration. She lives in Minneapolis and continues to serve her community, advocating for equal rights and social justice. Carolyn Holbrook is a writer, educator, and former program director of the Loft Literary Center. She teaches creative writing at Hamline University and is author of Ordinary People, Extraordinary Journeys, which profiles twenty community leaders and programs made possible by Leadership Initiatives in Neighborhoods. In 2010 she received the prestigious Kay Sexton Award presented by Friends of the St. Paul Public Library. Arleta Little is director of Artist Fellowships for the McKnight Foundation. Prior to working in philanthropy, she was executive director of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature.  

In this episode we honor the late Ntozake Shange -- poet, author, playwright, artist. Her seminal work, the choreo-poem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf inspired generations of black women to see themselves differently and to question structures of power that tried to limit their boundless potential. The episode features excerpts of Shange's 2009 conversation with Alexs Pate as part of the NOMO series, a partnership between The Givens Foundation for African American Literature and the University of Minnesota Libraries. It also features Lissa's conversation with Penumbra Theatre Artistic Director Sarah Bellamy, who directed Shange's Choreo-poem in the fall of 2018, about the legacy of Shange's work and the importance of creating space in theatre that celebrates the work of Black artists. To listen to the full audio of Ntozake Shange's NOMO reading and conversation, visit blackmarketreads.com

We speak with Alison Morse about her collection of flash fiction, If You Wave a Chicken Over Your Head. Her poems and prose have appeared in Water~Stone Review, Natural Bridge, Rhino, and mnartists.org, among other journals and anthologies. She also won the 2012 Tiferet Fiction Award. We then talk with Stephanie Chrismon, writing as DC Edwards, about Bright City, a dystopian coming of age urban fantasy. She has an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University, is a participant in the 2016-2017 Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose, and was a fellow in the 2015 Emerging Writers’ Mentor Program sponsored by the Givens Foundation for African American Literature.

In this episode, Lissa Jones speaks with Twin Cites based actress, comedian, and educator Joy Dolo of Blackout Improv. Dolo is a founding member of Blackout, Minnesota’s first and only all-Black improv ensemble whose performances use sketch comedy, improv, and stand-up to tackle current events, race, and social justice issues.  This podcast is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board operating support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Black Market Reads is a production of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature. Production services provided by iDream.tv.

We speak with Kathleen Glasgow about her debut novel Girl in Pieces, a portrait of a teenage girl on the verge of losing herself and the journey she must take to survive in her own skin. We then talk with Elizabeth Tannen and Michael Kleber-Diggs about the reading series: Five Writers, Five Minutes, Five Watt at Five Watt Coffee in South Minneapolis. Elizabeth Tannen is a writer and teacher, as well as the founder and curator of the reading series: Five Writers, Five Minutes, Five Watt at Five Watt Coffee in South Minneapolis. Her poems, essays and stories have appeared in or will be featured in various publications, including Copper Nickel, Front Porch, The Rumpus, Salon and Southern Humanities Review. This year she is a Loft Mentor Series Award Winner in Poetry. Michael Kleber-Diggs is a poet and essayist. He was a 2015 Fellow with the Givens Foundation for African-American Literature and a 2015-2016 winner of the Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose. His work has appeared in Water~Stone Review and elsewhere.

Recorded in the midst of the worldwide shock and mourning, this episode departs just a bit from the approach we’ve taken so far in Liquid Music Playlist. In the second part of the conversation, “hip hop’s poet laureate” (CNN), Saul Williams, talks extensively about his intimate experiences with the “divine communicator” Prince Rogers Nelson and the enormous impact Prince had on musicians, artists, and listeners alike. Williams begins the interview with insights into his multimedia work MartyrLoserKing, hacking as performance art, and “music as the weapon of the future” (Fela Kuti) as well as his Liquid Music Series performance with the Mivos Quartet, which included the premieres of two brand-new commissions by Jace Clayton and Ted Hearne (co-commissioned with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature). “There are so many people growing up now with manufactured sound – with manufactured artists – with manufactured careers – manufactured ideas wrapped in plastic and sold to you. Prince never allowed that to touch the essence of what he created. Because he understood creation and he understood the potentiality and the power of music and of art itself. And so, if there is any lesson that we can learn from Prince, it’s to continue to let our middle fingers go up to the industry, to the manufacturing of ideas and realize that that divine independence that connects us as human beings – to life, to this planet, to the whole, to the spirit, to love – that we have to continue to investigate that though sound, through voice, through heart, through rhythm, through guitar, through all this stuff, and we cannot let whoever these moguls are get in the way of musical freedom.” – Saul Williams PLAYLIST: 1. Saul Williams: Groundwork from MartyrLoserKing 2. Williams: Horn of the Clock-Bike from MartyrLoserKing 3. Thomas Kessler: Said the Shotgun to the Head – Saul Williams, WDR Symphony Orchestra/Jonathan Stockhammer 4. Kessler: NGH WHT – Saul Williams, Mivos Quartet (unreleased) 5. Prince: God from The Hits/The B-Sides 6. Prince & the Revolution: Sometimes it Snows in April from Parade (Music from Under the Cherry Moon) Special thanks to McNally Smith College of Music for their support.

In this episode, Erin and Junauda discuss Jada Pinkett Smith's dignified response to another all-white Oscar nominations and the "Black Aunt Viv's" less dignified one.  Stacey Dash gets her first and only mention on this show. They discuss their experiences in the public school system, the highs and lows, and talk with Nothando Zulu and Beverly Cottman about their work as storytellers in the schools as part of Givens K12 program.  Erin's bestie Michael Kleber-Diggs also reads from an essay about Central High School and his role as a parent of a high school student. #BlackMarketReads is a project of The Givens Foundation for African American Literature produced in cooperation with www.iDream.tv Thanks for listening. Please subscribe, share and comment. Your reviews and feedback make our show stronger.

This edition of BMR features a book club style exploration of Blues Vision with special guests Lisa Brimmer and Valérie Déus. Blues Vision is a stunning anthology of essays co-edited by Alex Pate, Pam Fletcher, and J. Otis Powell ?!, with cover art by Ta-coumba Aiken, and co-published by Minnesota Humanities Center and Minnesota Historical Society Press. Blues Vision features writing by Minnesota luminaries Tish Jones, Rohan Preston, Mary Moore Easter, E.G Bailey, Frank B. Wilderson III, Sha Cage, Andrea Jenkins, Shannon Gibney, Kim Hines, Carolyn Holbrook, Arleta Little, Clarence White, Angela Shannon and more. Cultural producers Erin Sharkey and Junauda Petrus. Brought to you by the Givens Foundation for African American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv

With guests Bree Newsome, Andrea Jenkins and Dread Scott - Junauda and Erin return to The Convening: Resistance & Rebellion, sponsored by The Givens Foundation for African American Literature.