Royal State of Mind Amiri Tulloch

A conversation with Jamael Dean, a 21-year-old jazz pianist, composer, producer, and rapper. Jamael and I speak about his musical origins and influences; the role of art education in Black community and life throughout history; how his spiritual practices inform his life, compositions, and creations; and much more.



For a full episode description: http://www.royalstateofmind.com/2020/06/a-conversation-with-jamael-dean/

Rosalyn Huff and Colby King -- board members for Columbia University's Black Students Organizations -- joins me to talk about the BSO's recently-published report about the University's history of anti-black violence and policing.



For more, read: http://www.royalstateofmind.com/2019/05/anti-black-policing-history-at-columbia-feat-rosalyn-huff-colby-king

Professor Stefan Bradley, author of "Upending the Ivory Tower: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Ivy League" joins me to talk about Black students' role in liberation movements and the importance of their contributions throughout history.



For more context, visit http://www.royalstateofmind.com/2019/04/stefan-bradley/.

Naye Idriss and Sophie Edelhart, organizers with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, join me to discuss their activism, Palestinian liberation, and demands for Columbia's divestment from Israeli Apartheid.



For more context and background information, visit http://www.royalstateofmind.com/2019/04/columbia-divest/.

Welcome to the latest episode of the Royal State of Mind Podcast! On today’s show, I am joined by Chaedria LaBouvier.



Chaedria is a writer, activist, curator, and Jean-Michel Basquiat scholar. She graduated from Williams College, majoring in History. She is the creator of the Basquiat Defacement Project and, in September of 2013, she cofounded Mothers of Police Brutality after her brother Clinton Allen was lost to police brutality in March of that year.



In our discussion of Basquiat, Chaedria and I center our conversation around one of Basquiat’s most interesting piece, a 1983 painting titled: “Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart).” Basquiat painted Defacement in response to the death of Michael Stewart, a black graffiti artist who was killed in 1983 by New York City’s transit police. In our conversation, Chaedria sheds light on the painting, the context behind the painting, Basquiat as an artist, and so much more.



And, for context: today's conversation was recorded in August of 2017, but I was never able to publish it on RSOM. I’m really glad to present this interview now, though, because just a few weeks ago, it was announced that the Guggenheim Museum here in NYC will be opening a thematic exhibition around the Defacement piece from June 21 to November 6 -- and Chaedria is the guest curator!



Enjoy our conversation, and be sure to check out her exhibition.

Welcome to the latest episode of the Royal State of Mind Podcast! On today's show, I am joined by Jose Vilson.



Vilson is a long-time math educator in New York City. Jose is also an activist, writer, blogger, web designer, father, and his acclaimed book ("This is Not a Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and the Future of Education") was published in 2014. He is also the executive director of EduColor, a cooperative of "educators, parents, students, writers and activists" who "seek to elevate the voices of public school advocates of color on educational equity and justice."



Vilson and I had an expansive and wide-ranging conversation centered around schools, education, pedagogy, and students. In our discussion, among numerous other topics, Vilson shares his views on teaching for transformation within rigid school structures, comments on charter schools, speaks about the importance of culturally-relevant pedagogy and what it resembles, and how he engages his students. We spoke for almost an hour, yet by the end there was still so much more to analyze and dissect.