Staying On The Path An Interview With Warrior Poets Jamie Dawson and Sam(ira) Obeid

For all of us striving to stay on the path - this one is for you. 

This week’s episode is truly special. 

I felt so honored and grateful just for getting the chance to be in the same room as these two warrior poets. 

My guests this week, Jamie Dawson and Sam(ira) Obeid, are two of the most creative and brilliant people I have had the privilege of knowing. 

We wove through many important and timely conversations all while striving to remain open, honest, and vulnerable. 

Accountability and introspection were two themes that tied together the thoughts expressed. 

Jamie and Sam both shared their deep insights on heavy conversations such as:

-How do we process the grief, the trauma, and the roller coaster that these past 12+ months have been? 

-What does true allyship look like? 

-What role do creativity, art, and poetry play in processing? 

-What lies at the intersection of art and activism? 

Jamie and Sam both provided true gifts on this one. 

Please do yourself the favor of listening in. 

For all of us striving to stay on the path - this one is for you. 

You rock. 

Jamie Dawson is a professional writer, performer, and black arts scholar whose talents range from spoken word, theatre, and commissioned works on the topics such as black life, multiculturalism, women’s rights, healing, and connection to each other through Earth.

You can follow Jamie on Instagram here

Sam Sam(ira) Obeid is an Indian. Scholar. Warrior. Poet. Queer. Sam has been placed 5th at the Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2015. Sam has been featured on Button Poetry and an international anthology, The World That Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia by Harper Collins India. 

You can follow Sam on Instagram here

Listen to "Staying On The Path An Interview With Warrior Poets Jamie Dawson and Sam(ira) Obeid" on Spreaker.

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Black Lives Matter is More Than a Hashtag With Amoja MoMan Sumler

This week’s episode brings you a powerful conversation with Amoja MoMan Sumler. If you’ve been a part of THE Celebration for a while, you’ll recognize MoMan from past episodes. 

For the new folks: MoMan is a nationally celebrated poet, essayist, and one of the preeminent emerging voices of leftist intersectional social advocacy.

This interview takes a dive deep into how we can have action back up our proclamation that Black Lives Matter. 

Plus we talk about: 

Virtue Signaling vs. Actually Taking Action

Aspiring Allyship vs. Performative Allyship 

How to align our actions with our values for change 

The case for defunding the police 

How the NFL, Amazon, and other corporations can actually prove that they support Black Lives Matter 

I’m telling you – that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This interview with MoMan goes in hard. 

MoMan is also one of the most brilliant poets I know, and he made sure to share three powerful poems with us. 

On top of all that: my daughter Jayanma makes a cameo appearance!

Let’s do it. 

Listen to "Black Lives Matter is More Than a Hashtag With Amoja MoMan Sumler" on Spreaker.

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Accountability, Authenticity, and Facilitation With Sarah Ogdie

This week, I’m joined by Sarah “with an h” Ogdie, a social worker and lettering artist based out of downtown LA. She prides herself on being authentic, bold, interdependent, and deeply invested in modeling intersectional, queer, millennial, feminine leadership. 

In January, Sarah left her job as Program Director (and former Interim Executive Director) of Community Tampa Bay after 8 years. Last year, she launched The Authentic Type as a way to get closer to one of her dreams of running a revolutionary woman-owned business, creating word-based art using typography and modern calligraphy to speak her values to the world.

Over the course of 14 years, Sarah served as a counselor, advisor and co-director during more than 30 residential sessions of the ANYTOWN® program. Over 5,000 youth have participated in dozens of interactive, school-based youth leadership conferences Sarah has led. She has previously been a certified 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens facilitator, a national Life Entrepreneurship trainer, and a Courageous Conversations about Race Affiliate Practitioner. She is also an avid meal prepper, a very slow runner, a book enthusiast, and an amateur video game player. 

On this episode, Sarah talks about the relationship between affirmation, accountability, apologies, and allyship. We share stories of our own friendship, filled with lots of laughter and including the many (sometimes embarrassing) previous versions of ourselves we’ve experienced. Lastly, Sarah shares her story of going from a reluctant manager to someone who is passionate about removing barriers and helping others be their best, and how failure has led her to embrace being scared and doing things anyway. 

You can recommend LA coffee shops to Sarah at saraheogdie@gmail.com or check out The Authentic Type here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheAuthenticType

Listen to "Accountability, Authenticity, and Facilitation With Sarah Ogdie" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

The Real Talk Project and Gender Justice With Amreen Karmali

Today, I talk to educator Amreen Karmali about the power of education and founding The Real Talk Project. Amreen and I mostly discuss gender justice, allyship, intersectionality, and approaching difficulty with creativity and love. We also ponder ideas of shame and guilt and how they play into both approaching patriarchy and patriarchy itself.

Amreen Karmali has been an educator and organizer for over 15 years. She spent 10 years as a middle school science teacher and holds a Masters in Science Education from CSULA. She has also facilitated a Young Empowered Women's class and a Student Organizing class, which melded her passions for all things justice-oriented with her love for teaching.  

This past year, Amreen left the traditional classroom to start The Real Talk Project, where she combines her understanding of contemporary schooling with critical lens to provide educators and community members with spaces where they can tackle ways in which patriarchy, white supremacy, and other forms of injustice manifest themselves in schools and relationships while working towards creating new ways of teaching and being together. She is also a founding member of The People’s Education Movement - Los Angeles, and is passionate about spreading health, healing, and joy to both her students and the community around her.

Learn more about the Real Talk Project by visiting its webpage.

Listen to "The Real Talk Project and Gender Justice With Amreen Karmali" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.