Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse With Khalisa Rae

Original Air Date: July 5, 2021

Have you ever had a conversation that changed your life? 

This week’s episode, ‘Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse’, with Khalisa Rae, is all of that and more. 

Our guest, Khalisa Rae, is an award winning poet and journalist in Durham, NC that speaks with furious rebellion. She is also the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021).

Her essays are featured in Autostraddle, Catapult, LitHub, as well as articles in B*tch Media, NBC-BLK, and others.

Her poetry appears in Frontier Poetry, Florida Review, Rust & Moth, PANK,  Carousel, HOBART, among countless others. 

She is the winner of the Bright Wings Poetry contest, the Furious Flower Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the White Stag Publishing Contest, among other prizes. 

Currently, she serves as Assistant Editor for Glass Poetry and co-founder of Think in Ink and the Women of Color Speak reading series. Her second collection Unlearning Eden is forthcoming from White Stag Publishing in 2022. 

This day, Khalisa gifted all of us with her honesty, poetry, insights, brilliance, and creativity. I am truly grateful for the courage and vulnerability she brought to our conversation. We explored:

-Healing from trauma

-How to create your own team of superheroes 

-The importance of honoring your gifts

-The power of words 

-Protecting your light 

Khalisa shared some really powerful stories that left me feeling more grounded and connected to my inner power. 

Not to mention that she shared with us two poems that hit me right in my soul. 

I’m telling you - this episode will be a game-changer. For anyone who is serving a mission greater than themselves - this episode is for you. 

You can learn more about Khalisa through her website. Khalisarae.com

Or you can follow her on twitter or instagram

tomearl.me/khalisa

Listen to "Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse With Khalisa Rae" on Spreaker.

The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays

Original Air Date: February 8, 2020

On this week’s podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Timothy Mays, an educator, artist, and published author. In our talk, we delved into what it means to experience love and relationships and to feel a sense of community. We peeled back the layers and expectations of what being a man means - in whatever variant identities you may have.

Timothy shared his experiences growing up and how he has witnessed marriages changing and evolving throughout the years. We also talked about Black History Month and about books that have transformed and impacted Timothy's life and my life as well. You will not want to miss this episode so you can hear Timothy's perspective on creating community and how men can transform their lives through the creation of community.

Timothy received his Master’s in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago in 2016 and continues to dig deeper into his research around exoticism, disposability, and the healing of Black bodies.

As an Artist/Spoken Word poet, Timothy has competed in the National Poetry Slam, InkSlam, College and Universities Poetry Slam Invitational, and many other events.

He is now conducting spoken word and critical pedagogy workshops that give students and community members a space to develop their voices and materialize their thoughts.

Timothy recently released his first poetry and affirmation book entitled, “And Still I Rise to Fantasize” which attempts to channel Black resilience in the face of consistent trauma while having the unwavering courage to strive toward being holistically well.

Timothy has devoted himself to making sure that people from low-income communities are prepared for and comfortable with the possibility of advocating for themselves to ensure that a true sense of community is accomplished.

To find out more about Timothy, you can reach him on Instagram and on his website.

tomearl.me/myly

Listen to "The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays" on Spreaker.

Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse With Khalisa Rae

Have you ever had a conversation that changed your life? 

This week’s episode, ‘Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse’, with Khalisa Rae, is all of that and more. 

Our guest, Khalisa Rae, is an award winning poet and journalist that speaks with furious rebellion. She is also the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021). 

This day, Khalisa gifted all of us with her honesty, poetry, insights, brilliance, and creativity. I am truly grateful for the courage and vulnerability she brought to our conversation. We explored:

-Healing from trauma

-How to create your own team of superheroes 

-The importance of honor your gifts

-The power of words 

-Protecting your light 

Khalisa shared some really powerful stories that left me feeling more grounded and connected to my inner power. 

Not to mention that she shared with us two poems that hit me right in my soul. 

I’m telling you - this episode will be a game-changer. For anyone who is serving a mission greater than themselves - this episode is for you. 

You can learn more about Khalisa through her website.

Or you can follow her on Twitter @k_lisarae

--

Here is Khalisa Rae’s Full Bio:

Khalisa Rae is a poet and journalist in Durham, NC that speaks with furious rebellion. She is the author of Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat (Red Hen Press 2021). 

Her essays are featured in Autostraddle, Catapult, LitHub, as well as articles in B*tch Media, NBC-BLK, and others.

Her poetry appears in Frontier Poetry, Florida Review, Rust & Moth, PANK,  Carousel, HOBART, among countless others. 

She is the winner of the Bright Wings Poetry contest, the Furious Flower Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the White Stag Publishing Contest, among other prizes. 

Currently, she serves as Assistant Editor for Glass Poetry and co-founder of Think in Ink and the Women of Color Speak reading series. Her second collection Unlearning Eden is forthcoming from White Stag Publishing in 2022. Follow her at @k_lisarae on Twitter. Find more information here and here.

Listen to "Living In Legacy & Breaking The Curse With Khalisa Rae" on Spreaker.

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

Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan

In 1982, in a speech to Harvard University, Audrey Lorde famously said, “. . .If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.”

Quotes are inspiring.

And, seeing them put into action is empowering. 

That is why this week’s guests, Alex and Ash Sullivan, are two of my favorite people. 

Despite the pressure of a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, 

They define themselves for themselves every single day. 

As they will share in the episode - that doesn’t mean it is easy. 

I mean - how does one go about living their bold self without being eaten alive? 

Let this interview be a roadmap that can guide you to your own internal answer to that question. 

Oh - and did I mention that this episode is being released on their birthday?  

*Cue the confetti*

For real though - Ash and Alex are the best. 

Alex Sullivan is the Co-Founder of Artists Call to Action.  They are also a dope poet, facilitator, activist, educator and freelance diversity consultant in academia. 

As a mixed agender human being, Alex’s work is often reflective of how the self is presented in the digital world and how current socio-political events can distort that presentation. 

Their creative and academic work is focused on the black queer experience and every aspect of it, frequently tying in themes of womanism, examination of power structures in the United States, and the experience of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora as the communities have spread out all over the world. 

Ashley Sullivan is a counselor-in-training and poet who is currently being considered for licensure, actively publishing, and putting energy into other creative endeavors such as starting their own business. 

Ash is balancing pursuing a career in poetry while also pursuing work in mental health and public health. Currently, they have been published in five or more running publications as well as fulfilling activism work centered around gender, creativity, and community. 

They are a current candidate for their Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University. 

On this week’s episode we go all in on: 

creativity, 

activism,

learning to trust yourself, 

finding your own voice,

the unique relationship Ash and Alex have with each other, 

getting comfortable with your own silence,

getting to know yourself better, and,

Well...you’re gonna need to push play to find that out! 

We could all invite a little more grace, community and courage into our lives. 

And Ash and Alex deliver all of that and more in abundance on this week’s episode. 

Let’s do this. 

Hit play.

And join us. 

Check out their past interviews here

And here

Check out Ash’s LinkedIn here

Check out Ash’s Instagram here

Find out more about the Artist’s Call to Action here

Check out ACTA on Facebook and Instagram

Listen to "Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan" on Spreaker.

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

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.

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

The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays

On this week’s podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Timothy Mays, an educator, artist and published author. In our talk, we delved into what it means to experience love and relationships and to feel a sense of community. We peeled back the layers and expectations of what being a man means - in whatever variant identities you may have.

Timothy shared his experiences growing up and how he has witnessed marriages changing and evolving throughout the years. We also talked about Black History Month and about books that have transformed and impacted Timothy's life and my life as well. You will not want to miss this episode so you can hear Timothy's perspective on creating community and how men can transform their lives through the creation of community.

Timothy received his Master’s in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago in 2016 and continues to dig deeper into his research around exoticism, disposability, and the healing of Black bodies. 

As an Artist/Spoken Word poet, Timothy has competed in the National Poetry Slam, InkSlam, College and Universities Poetry Slam Invitational, and many other events. 

He is now conducting spoken word and critical pedagogy workshops that give students and community members a space to develop their voice and materialize their thoughts. 

Timothy recently released his first poetry and affirmation book entitled, “And Still I Rise to Fantasize” which attempts to channel Black resilience in the face of consistent trauma while having the unwavering courage to strive toward being holistically well.

Timothy has devoted himself to making sure that people from low-income communities are prepared for and comfortable with the possibility of advocating for themselves to ensure that a true sense of community is accomplished.

To find out more about Timothy, you can reach him on Instagram and on his website.

Listen to "The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays" on Spreaker.

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

Poetry for Incarcerated Youth With Matthew Cuban

This week, I’m joined by Matthew ‘Cuban’ Hernandez, a poet, speaker, and performance coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He has toured as far as Abu Dhabi and nearly every major city in the United States and Europe, performing, teaching and coaching poetry. 

 Matthew is the author of 3032, and is currently fundraising to provide 3,032 copies of his book to incarcerated youth in the Greater Los Angeles area and beyond. A teaching artist for nearly ten years, Matthew has spent the last four years working in youth detention centers across LA County. He believes allowing young people to see themselves reflected in art will empower them with the knowledge that they also have a story to tell. 

 A powerful performer as well, he has opened for artists such as Wu-Tang and has performed for platforms like BuzzFeed and NPR. Matthew is also a three time Southern Fried poetry slam champion and an award-winning poetry coach. Cuban’s favorite activity is making people feel great, including through poetry. 

 On this episode, Matthew shares how he started writing poetry and what inspires his work, as well as what it’s like teaching poetry with young people and campaigning to get their art funded. We talk about the relationship between creativity and vulnerability, how to practice self-love from secondary trauma, and what it’s like to live as an empath. Enjoy our hugging, laughing, and “singing”, in addition to three of Matthew’s incredible poems. 

 You can support Matthews Kickstarter here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3032bookgiveaway/matthew-cuban-3032-books-of-poetry-to-incarcerated-youth

Listen to "Poetry for Incarcerated Youth With Matthew Cuban" on Spreaker.

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

Recipe for Magic with Tira Yasmine

Tira Yasmine is a poet, author, life coach, jewelry designer and entrepreneur. In this week’s interview she shares how her  grateful attitude has helped create what she calls her “recipe for magic”.

Part of Tira’s magic recipe is being a firm believer in God, which has resulted in  inner power and peace. This power and peace has propelled her into being an ardent change agent. She uses her art and writing to create holistic change,  a reflection of her belief that gentleness can also create effective change.

Check out this engaging episode on Tira’s recipe for living your best life.

You can follow Tira on instagram @tirayasmi

Listen to "Recipe for Magic with Tira Yasmine" on Spreaker.

Tira Yasmine will be our feature on this week's edition of the Live and Online: Expression Session.  Register below! 

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

South Africa, Service and Birthday Reflections with Shelby Birch

On this week’s episode I interview author, poet and activist Shelby Birch from her Peace Corp assignment in South Africa.

 Shelby shares some of the highlights and surprises of her service. She also reflects  on her activism, and how overcoming challenges, has helped shape her worldview and aided her in becoming her best self. 

 Shelby brazenly tells her story through her writing, and her strong belief in wisdom, artistic freedom, and expressionism shines through. Her most recent published book, ‘Lit’ is a powerful illustration of how she uses poetry as a mirror to examine issues on womanhood, blackness, awkwardness, and heartbreak.

You can follow Shelby Birch on Instagram @shelbybirch

Listen to "South Africa, Service and Birthday Reflections with Shelby Birch" on Spreaker.

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

Nightmares Can Lead to Dreams

Slam's life quote is "Sometimes a Nightmare Can Lead to a Dream".
 In this week’s interview Slam shares how the quote, as well as writing and poetry, have motivated and helped her life. It has also led Slam to her dream; working with kids in the foster care system and helping people all over.

Florida native Slam Anderson was born the fourth of five children raised by a single mother. She spent her important adolescent years in Foster Care, and knew from an early age she’d have to forge her own path. And regardless of these early challenges, she still gained admission to the University of South Florida, where she graduated with a Bachelors in Creative Writing and is now working on her Master in Social Work.

Slam is a strong advocate of ‘Youth’ social welfare, and works in the community to promote literacy, self-empowerment, awareness, domestic violence, social justice and most importantly LOVE for ourselves and for others.

Check out this powerful and moving episode.

Follow Slam on Facebook

Listen to "Nightmares Can Lead to Dreams" on Spreaker.

Slam Anderson will be our feature on this week's edition of the Live and Online: Expression Session.  Register below! 

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