Urban Islanders

Urban Islanders intern Gail Bautista walks us through Zakiyyah's travels in the Philadelphia arts scene, featuring:Alfeia DeVaughn-Goodwin - Living Statue ArtistSocial Media: #iamalivingstatue (IG) and @Alfeia (Twitter)Alfeia pursues social and racial justice through her performance art as a living statue.Denise Valentine - Master Storyteller, Story Activist, and ConsultantDenise Valentine is a Master Storyteller, historical performer, consultant and the founder of the Philadelphia Middle Passage Ceremony & Port Marker Project. Denise is a storyteller of lost and found histories of the African Diaspora.  Her signature Historytelling integrates archival research, folk heritage and oral history for performance and exhibition demonstrating the role of expressive cultural arts in sustaining community. Denise has presented worldwide for audiences of all ages at schools, libraries and museums. Currently, she works as an educator for the Museum of the American Revolution. She also serves as advisor to t

Zakiyyah and Cooper hear from Reverend James Lawson at Church of the Advocate, hosted by the Saturday Free School.Reverend James Lawson - Scholar and ActivistA third-generation Methodist minister, the Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr., who was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, earned his local pastor’s license in 1949. Soon after being graduated from high school, he was drafted into the U.S. military, refused to enlist, and as a conscientious objector received a three-year prison sentence, of which he served 13 months. Following his prison term, Lawson served as a missionary in India for three years, where he studied nonviolent resistance and embraced the practices of Mohandas K. Gandhi, whom he had first begun to study in 1947. In his long and storied history, Lawson orchestrated the lunch counter sit-in campaign in Nashville, Tennessee, the largest and most influential of the southern student sit-in campaigns; developed strategy for the Freedom Riders; and taught the theory and practice of nonviolent direct acti

Zakiyyah and Cooper visit the Black Urban Growers (BUGS) Conference and chat with a few notable guests:Zelmi Zoka - Farmer and Land StewardZelmi Zoka hails from Detroit, MI, and spends his time growing and healing.David Bolinda - Immigrant Activist and EntrepreneurDavid Bolinda is a Kenyan native who now lives in the states. He works on reconnecting African immigrants with their culture through urban farming.Rashid Nuri - Founder of Truly Living Well CenterWebsite: https://www.trulylivingwell.com/Rashid Nuri is a prolific urban agriculturist, scholar, farmer, and community developer of over 40 years. He is the founder of Truly Living Well Center in Atlanta, and the author of Growing Out Loud - an autobiography about his decades of experience farmer, community organizer, and international travels as a member of the US Department of Agriculture. It is tutorial through reflection offering Nuri’s life lessons as insight for future agricultural activists.Music: Lessazo “Soleil D’Hiver” – Music: http://altermusique

Zakiyyah visits last year's Netroot's Nation conference, featuring the following guests:Sangeeth Peruri - Founder and CEO of Outreach CircleWebsite: https://client.outreachcircle.com/Sangeeth Peruri is the CEO and founder of OutreachCircle, a digital organizing platform that harnesses the power of personal relationships to inspire action and drive change. OutreachCircle makes it easy for volunteers, activists and donors to support their favorite cause, campaign or organization.Other panelists include Sarah Black (Outreach Circle), Dylan Cate (Dylan Cate Strategic), Erika Grohoski Peralta, and Brandon A. Jessup (State Voices)Thaís Marques - Activist and OrganizerWebsite: https://twitter.com/thais_tweets?lang=enMusic: Lessazo “Soleil D’Hiver” – Music: http://altermusique.org/Lessazo/ Support the show (http://urbanislanders.org)

Urban Islanders visits the Penn Museum's brand new Africa wing!Tukufu Zuberi - Professor of Sociology; The Lasry Family Professor of Race RelationsWebsite: https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/people/tukufu-zuberi Dr. Zuberi’s research focuses on Race, African and African Diaspora populations. He has been a visiting professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also served as the Chair of the Graduate Group in Demography, the Director of the African Studies Program, and the Director of the Afro-American Studies Program. In 2002, he became the founding Director of the Center for Africana Studies, and he has also served as the Faculty Associate Director of the Center for Africana Studies.Glenn Bryan - Assistant Vice President of Community Relations in the Office of Government and Community AffairsMr. Bryan is the Assistant Vice President of Community Re

Sydnie Schwarz, an Urban Islanders guest interviewee and Swarthmore College student interviews Nashid Ali and Zakiyyah Ali on Kofi Jamoriah, a revered Philadelphia drummer.Jamal Dickerson and Steve Jackson - Drummers from Unity Community CenterWebsite: www.unitycommunity.com Organization mission:  Unity Community Center of S.J. Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes, preserves and represents the performing arts, literary arts, visual and creative arts, history and culture.  We offer a variety of arts and arts related training programs to youth, young adults and the community.  We also specialize in developmental, discipline and music programs particularly for young people at risk, in order to instill in them an appreciation for the arts, respect for life and the love of humanity.  These programs will build character, artistic skills and improve their academic and life skills.  This will also allow the students to experience the performing arts through developmental, discipline, educational and recreati

Urban Islanders Season 2 Episode 2 continues our coverage of DACO by way of their second annual Cannabis Opportunities conference, hosted at Temple University.State Rep. Joanna McClintonWebsite: https://www.pahouse.com/McClinton/Joanna McClinton, Esquire, took the oath of office to serve the people of the 191st Legislative District on Aug. 25, 2015 after winning a special election two weeks prior. In Nov. 2018, she became the first African-American and woman to be elected as the House Democratic Caucus chair for the 2019-20 legislative session.Rep. McClinton has been acknowledged for her commitment to public service and enhancing the quality of life for residents in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties by receiving several awards. They include: City and State PA's 40 Under 40; the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia's Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year award; Successful Women Achieving Goals' Women of the Year award; Fun Time Magazine's Women of Influence Award; the PRE-K for PA C

Urban Islanders Season 2 Episode 1 initiates our coverage of DACO by way of their second annual Cannabis Opportunities conference, hosted at Temple University.Judy Wicks – Entrepreneur and Founder of All Together Now PennsylvaniaWebsite: https://alltogethernowpa.org/Author, activist and entrepreneur, Judy Wicks is best know for founding Philadelphia's iconic White Dog Cafe in 1983, a pioneer in the local food movement. In 2000, Judy founded Fair Food Philly to connect farmers with the urban marketplace. In 2001 she founded the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and the nation-wide Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). Judy's memoir Good Morning, Beautiful Business won a national gold medal for business leadership and has been translated into Chinese and Korean. Judy currently runs to projects - the Circle of Aunts & uncles, a micro loan fund for local entrepreneurs, which she founded in 2015, and All Together Now PA, to build regional economies, founded in 2019.

Season 2 of Urban Islanders is premiering now! Our first episode was released last Tuesday - listen to this little teaser to hear what else is coming up:DACO Conferences!! Saturday Free School!! Nashid Ali!! Arts in Philly!! African Exhibit at Penn Museum!! BUGS Conference!! Netroots Nation Conference!! All the above and more in our next season. Episode 2 out next Tuesday February 11th @ 12pm, with new episodes to follow every other week!Support the show (http://urbanislanders.org)

Urban Islanders Season 2 Episode 1 features a couple of very special guests from the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities’ (DACO) Summer Conference, Hempin’ Philly:Cherron Perry-Thomas – DACO Co-Founder Website: https://www.wearedaco.com/DACO: Our purpose is to help elevate awareness of wellness and economic opportunities in cannabis. On 19-20 October we will be hosting the 2018 Cannabis Opportunity Conference in Philadelphia to demystify the profession and culture of the cannabis industry in minority communities of the US and globally in the African diaspora, while recreating a narrative of opportunities and restorative justice for the growth of the community in light of the massive shifts and associated stigma of the cannabis industry.ONeal Latimore - Consultant for Eastern HempWebsite: http://www.thevaultedgroup.com/As a seasoned farmer, Oneal focuses his efforts in Eastern Hemp on helping farmers and business owners improve operations, connect with processors and manufacturers, and design solutio

Urban Islanders Episode 11 features a couple of very special guests whom Zakiyyah had the pleasure of interviewing: Mira Awad, singer, songwriter, and artivist, who recently played a concert in West Philadelphia, and Daniel Noah Moses, Director of Educator Programs at Seeds of Peace.Mira Awad – Artivist, Musician, and Former Seeds of Peace FellowWebsite: https://www.miraawad.co Mira Awad is a 2016-2017 Seeds Of Peace GATHER fellow. The GATHER Fellowship is a program for social entrepreneurs that accelerates sustainably-designed and impact-oriented social ventures transforming conflict in their respective communities. Mira is also one of the advisors for Seeds Of Peace's Creative Retreat for Artists, that brings together artists from various mediums and walks of life to get acquainted with the different narratives in the region and explore collaborations.Mira Awad works closely with “Combatants for Peace” movement which was established jointly by Palestinians and Israelis, who have taken an active part in

Zakiyyah and Henry cover Maine Environmental Education Association’s Conference in mid-March. Featured panelists includeOlivia Griset – Executive Director of MEEAMEEA Website: https://www.meeassociation.org My name is Olivia Griset and I am the Executive Director of the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) and the co-founder of the Maine Environmental Changemakers Network, a statewide program of MEEA.  I am a 37 year old white women and also the mother of two young daughters.  I am passionate about building a more inclusive and equitable environment and conservation sector and challenging white supremacy culture.  In our Changemakers network we work across generations and difference to build the power of young people in Maine to lead forward environmental change in their community and we are committed to helping build the skills of young people so they can have the voice and power to lead differently.  There is so many things about us all in the network that are different but the thing that brings

Zakiyyah finishes up covering Ras Ben’s book release of Great Mystery Philadelphia, and attends Dr. Anthony Monteiro’s conference entitled “W.E.B. Du Bois, Whither Now and Why, the Struggle for Peace and Freedom”. Ras Ben Website: http://rasben.comSelf described as a Humble Servant of Humanity, Student of History, Mystery and Prophecy, Source of Healing Treasures, Scribe of Rocks of Ages, Ra Sekhi Energy Healer, Reflexologist, Astrologer, Mediator/Peace KeeperDr. Anthony Monteiro – DuBois ScholarWebsite: http://www.saturdayfreeschool.org Link to Conference: https://www.yearofdubois.org Anthony (Tony) Monteiro at the Saturday Free School. He is a scholar/activist. He writes in areas having to do with W.E.B. DuBois Studies, Marxism and race. He lives in Philadelphia where he is active in social, economic and politcal struggles.Music: Philadelphia Jazz Project “Price | Diehl | Sunkett” - http://www.philajazzproject.org/index.php?id=pjp-mixtapes Lessazo “Soleil D’Hiver” –  http://altermusique.org/Lessazo/Support

Crystal Healer Ras Ben presents his new book Great Mystery Philadelphia at CultureWorks, and Zakiyyah interviews him.Ras Ben Website: http://rasben.comSelf described as a Humble Servant of Humanity, Student of History, Mystery and Prophecy, Source of Healing Treasures, Scribe of Rocks of Ages, Ra Sekhi Energy Healer, Reflexologist, Astrologer, Mediator/Peace KeeperMusic: Lessazo “Soleil D’Hiver” –  http://altermusique.org/Lessazo/  Support the show (http://urbanislanders.org)

Zakiyyah attends “Ghandi, the Struggle Against White Domination”, a conference held by Dr. Tony Monteiro of the Saturday Free School at Church of the Advocate. This episode features:Dr. Anthony Monteiro – DuBois ScholarWebsite: http://www.saturdayfreeschool.org Link to Conference: https://www.yearofdubois.org Anthony (Tony) Monteiro at the Saturday Free School. He is a scholar/activist. He writes in areas having to do with W.E.B. DuBois Studies, Marxism and race. He lives in Philadelphia where he is active in social, economic and politcal struggles.P.K. Somarajan - Community Leader at Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam   Panel Presentations by Archishman Raju, Meghna Chandra, and Divya Nair, followed by open discussionMusic: Philadelphia Jazz Project “Price | Diehl | Sunkett” - http://www.philajazzproject.org/index.php?id=pjp-mixtapesSupport the show (http://urbanislanders.org)

Featured Guests:Owen Taylor – Founder of TrueLove SeedsWebsite: https://trueloveseeds.com Owen Taylor recently launched Truelove Seeds, a seed company offering rare, open pollinated, and culturally important vegetable, herb, and flower seeds grown by urban and rural farmers committed to community food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture. He also grows open-pollinated seeds, herbs, and flowers at Mill Hollow Farm in Edgemont, Pennsylvania. Alkebu-lan Marcus – Farm Director of Mill Creek Urban FarmsWebsite: https://www.millcreekurbanfarm.org I’m 25 years old, and I got into urban agriculture to empower my community to find solutions and to provide an alternative to the current structure. Personally I truly believe our connection to the soil is our main asset towards black liberation. Jess Renninger – Head Farmer at Novick Urban FarmWebsite: https://novickbrothers.com/urban-farm.html Novick Urban Farm was founded in 2012 by co-owner Gary Novick. Seeds of what Gary planted -- both literal and figurative -- gr

Long-lived dance group KuluMele is featured at Taller Puertoriqueño, a community center in North Philly. Here are our featured guests:Debora Kodish – Founder and Director of Philadelphia Folklore ProjectEstablished in 1987, the Philadelphia Folklore Project is an independent public folklife agency that documents, supports, and presents Philadelphia-area folk arts and culture - including the arts of people who have been here generations and those who have just arrived. We work to preserve and strengthen the folk cultural life of our communities because we believe that the quality of urban life is directly related to the persistence, diversity and vitality of our vernacular folk cultures.Ira Bond – Drummer for KuluMeleDorothy Wilkie – KuluMele Artistic DirectorDorothy Wilkie began to study African dance as a child in 1955, first as an art form and later as an aspect of her spiritual practice as an orisha devotee and initiate. She joined Kulu Mele as a dancer in 1974 and later became the company’s dance captain.

Zakiyyah visits NextFab Makerspace in North Philly to check out the Leeway Foundation, featuring the following interview guests:Tahnee Jackson – Communications and Community Engagement Assistant at Leeway Foundation Tahnee is an organizer, educator, published writer, and performance artist who exists at the intersections of multiple identities. A first generation Jamaican American and native Philadelphian, they use their lens as a fat, queer, pagan, neurodivergent, chronically ill, non-binary femme of immigrant descent and woman experience as context for their art and expression, and is most known for their work in alternative sexuality education and activism, as well as transgender specific interfaith action.Denise Brown – Executive Director of Leeway FoundationArtist, cultural organizer and strategist, and facilitator, Denise M Brown is passionate about using her skills and energies on creating, supporting and illuminating work at the intersections of art, culture and social justice. Prior to serving as Exe

Zakiyyah finishes up covering the Root Skills Conference with an emphasis on Maine’s Hurricane Island Foundation. Here are our interviewees:Dee Azubuike Johnson Dee Wells – Co-Founder of Future Focus Media CooperativeWebsite: https://futurefocusmedia.org In 2011, Dee co-founded Future Focus Media Co-op & Youth Training Institute, a photography and film production company that works with clients such as UMASS, Main South CDC, and the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island, to name a few, while teaching youth video production skills.Camelle Scott Mujahid – Training Director at CTCORE-OrganizeNowWebsite: http://www.ctcore-organizenow.org/staffCamelle Scott-Mujahid, has been organizing in New Haven for the past ten years. She moved to New Haven from El Paso, Texas in 2003 to attend Yale University. During her time at Yale, Camelle found community and a political home in New Haven’s activist and organizing community engaging in direct action, grassroots organizing, and coalition building. Camelle has org

Urban Islanders Episode 3 features a very special guest whom Zakiyyah had the pleasure of interviewing: Daniel Noah Moses, Director of Educator Programs at Seeds of Peace, an amazing resource for young changemakers all around the world.Seeds of Peace: The mission of Seeds of Peace is to "inspire and cultivate new generations of global leaders in communities divided by conflict." The organization has active programs in the Middle East, South Asia and the United States. For more information, see: https://www.seedsofpeace.org/about/Daniel Noah Moses - Director of Educator Programs at Seeds of PeaceAs the Director of Educator Programs, Daniel's work focuses on the educators, community leaders and artists who are part of Seeds of Peace. Many Thanks to Dan and Hannah from the USDA for their Asian Longhorn Beetle Information!Music: Lessazo “Soleil D’Hiver” – Music: http://altermusique.org/Lessazo/Support the show (http://urbanislanders.org)