Free Minds Free People

At Free Minds Free People 2019, Sarah Ha, Taiyo Na, Noreen Rodríguez and Ed Cummurang sat down with mk to talk about their perspectives as Asian American, and Pacific Islander daughters and sons, students, and educators. The diversity of the communities, cultures and identities of people who are collectively referred to as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, is named and demonstrated in their conversation. The topics range from the importance of disaggregating data to better see and respond to the experiences of students, the Model Minority Myth, whiteness and anti-Blackness, mental health and their personal experiences of ethnic studies (and life without it).

In this episode we bring you the voices from women that are organizers and mothers from across the country: MK, Liza, Erica, and Carolina. We cover what it means to be a mother and an organizer, the demands that are placed on organizing mothers, and the lessons that our children teach us about the world. We also visualize together the world that we need for our children, where a critical education, dignified housing, and a healed mother earth is necessary for communities to raise and take care of children. This episode was recorded at the 12 Years Free Exhibit during the 2019 Free Minds Free People Conference in the Twin Cities.

In part 2 of this episode , we continue to hear from Belinda, Lisa, and Okaikor, mk offers us Arundhati Roy's question of “What will we take in our little luggage through the portal of our current mass transition?” Belinda, Lisa and Okaikor both reflect on the conditions that allow systemic oppression to continue and share their thoughts on reimagining a more humanizing and just world.

In part 1 of 2 episodes, MK sits down with educators Dr. Awo Okaikor Aryee-Price, Belinda Bellinger, & Lisa Kelly as they explore the questions: What has this pandemic unveiled? What are the silver linings or unveilings we want to keep moving forward? & What kind of world do we want to build after? Awo Okaikor M. Aryee-Price, Ed.D. is an anti-racist teacher-organizer and teacher educator who organizes from an anti-racist de/colonial Black feminist lens. She is one of the co-founders of MapSO Freedom School and a founding steering committee member for the National Black Lives Matter at School, a Black-led organizing group of educators, parents, and community organizers committed to transforming schooling for Black and Brown students in the nation currently referred to as “The United States of America.” As a former classroom teacher, teacher-leader, and now, teacher educator, Okaikor is committed to undoing and unlearning the systems and structures that hinders all of us from being able to access our full human-selves. Okaikor is also a core trainer and organizer for the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond– an anti-racist organization committed to Undoing Racism. Okaikor’s dissertation research explored the dehumanizing impact of Eurocentrism and racism on Black educatorhood and Black studenthood, and what we can do to rehumanize ourselves and our learning environments. Most importantly, Okaikor is the mother of two amazing children, Saige Ayikailey and Kaeden Nii Ayikundzra and partner to Keith L. Price. Belinda Bellinger is jubilant about youth empowerment, community organizing, performance theater/spoken word, and healing work. She is known for creating instructional spaces where students are seen, heard, and encouraged to be their authentic self. Over the last 15+ years, she has worked with Bay Area young people in many formations, from tutor to organizer. Before becoming a classroom teacher, she did community organizing, developing young people into social justice warriors who fought for Ethnic Studies, cleaner bathrooms, more counselors and less cops, and youth employment. She began her teaching career as an English teacher at KIPP Bayview Academy, and is currently the 7th grade Social Studies teacher at Summit: Tamalpais in Richmond, CA. Lisa Kelly, an Afrolatina runner and rugby player from Sacramento, CA, is a 9 year teaching veteran. She is currently teaching in the Oakland Unified School District in a Fruitvale public school, and loves teaching English and English Language Development from an Ethnic Studies perspective and framework. Lisa has taught in Berkeley and has now been in Oakland for three years. Lisa loves playing rugby for the Berkeley All Blues, reading, hiking and spending time with her partner and two cats.

In this episode Diana Miron, proud mother and organizer from the class of 2020 speaks to how communities of color and immigrant communities have shown up for each other to gain love and support, while the government has turned a blind eye. Diana also speaks about the struggles of being impacted by COVID-19, as a woman of color, mother and college student. Diana is an active member of Imaginemos, part of Casa Quetzalcoatl. studentshttps://casaquetzalcoatl.org

In this episode we speak to Christian Ramirez, who has been an advocate of migrant, border communities and workers rights for over 20 years. This episode focuses on shedding a spotlight on the conditions that essential workers and service workers are facing and resisting. Essential workers are for the most part people of color, immigrants from the working class, and on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, the team discusses the impacts of COVID19, the world that is being unveiled, Arundhati Roy's idea of the "pandemic as a portal," and what we hope will change through it all.

In this episode, we highlight the power of young people. In Part I: Kendra and Biba discuss Kendra's work recording interviews with youth and sounds of the conference. In Part II: mk interviews youth researchers from YoUthROC at The University of Minnesota. Check them out here: https://uroc.umn.edu/youthroc In this episode, Kendra also shared the Irresistible (formerly the Healing Justice) podcast's episode "Coronavirus: Wisdom from a Social Justice Lens:" https://irresistible.org/podcast/corona Note: This introduction was taped in late February/early March, when social distancing had just been implemented.

Welcome to season 2. In this episode, you'll hear about the 12 Years Free exhibit at FMFP 2019 and plans for its growth. Then you'll hear from community-engaged scholar and poet Jamila Lyiscott, with excerpts from her keynote address at the 2019 FMFP Rad PD and an interview Biba did with her. Jamila is fire! You can find out more at https://www.jamilalyiscott.com/ Enjoy, subscribe, rate, review.

In this season finale episode, the FMFP podcast team reflects on how the FMFP podcast got started and how this podcast has also been a critical healing space for us. We also talk about some of the community and classroom organizing implications with the use of podcasting as a tool for sharing and learning from our stories. The podcast will be back next year with numerous amazing interviews that we captured at the 2019 Twin Cities FMFP conference.