POET ZEE: Thank you for the compliment! Spoken word is my first love and will always be. My passion has always been in writing, it's my way of expression openly with confidence. I believe Culture is Free is a creative mode for me right now, I’m charging my superpowers from the energy of others – I hope they don’t mind.
POET ZEE: Culture is the fabric that weaves our stories, ancestors before us have built the foundations that have allowed us to express, progress and challenge. That’s the positive side, but culture has and will always be under attack, its raw, its strong, its real history. To me it is important to respect and absorb culture. The world and its people are vast, we can never know everything but I’m on a mission to find out as much as I can!
Check out Culture Is Free.
And here's one of my favorite works from Poet Zee...
and this Papoose joint just because it needs to be heard. Communication across generations.
]]>Words and Images by Chelsea Hannah
May 30, 2020
Today I participated in my first protest. I never understood how important protesting was until today. There’s no better feeling than being out in the streets, fighting for what you believe in. It’s the most powerful and empowering feeling ever. To be surrounded by hundreds of voices chanting to end racism, a disease that has been oppressing black communities in this country for hundreds of years. I knew that a simple social media post wasn’t gonna cut it for me this time, I needed to take action. And I did.
At first, I had feelings of nervousness, but as the day went on, the feeling of excitement grew. As I was riding to meet my friends, I rolled my windows down, opened my sunroof, let my hair be free, and played straight Tupac the whole way there. I listened as he spoke such powerful words in hopes of positively changing in our community. I thought about his tattoo 'THUG LIFE' and how our current president recently used the word “thug” to describe us as protesters. The phrase typically has a negative connotation associated with it but I recollected in admiration of how Tupac flipped the meaning of the two words. He describes 'THUG LIFE' as an acronym that stands for “the hate u give little infants fucks everybody”. We weren’t born with hate in our hearts and we weren’t born to hate people based on the color of their skin. This made me think -- What would the love you give little infants do?
As I rode down the highway I felt this overwhelming feeling of pride to be black. I thought of what we as black people have gone through and the racism that we, and even myself, have faced in our lives. I knew that I was making the right decision, and the support of my family made me feel even safer in my choice. I knew I couldn’t sit at home and reap the benefits of freedom that someone else was fighting for me to have. I couldn’t help but think of the everlasting efforts of previous black activists and how so many things would be different if they didn’t get outside and fight. My decision to go out to fight will one day be a decision-maker for my niece and nephew, my younger cousins, and my future children to fight for what they believe in and spread positivity and give love. This decision I made hasn’t only impacted my life, but future generations to come. So I’ll end this by reiterating how important it is to participate and to be a voice, not only for your community but most importantly for yourself and those you love.
I identify myself as a descendant of the Africans brought to the Americas during the maafa as well as individuals and peoples indigenous to the territories now called the Americas. I have not had in my life thus far, the luxury of knowing any more detail about my origins beyond that belief in my identity. Still I take most pride in that identity. Barbados, Guyana, Brooklyn, Philadelphia. It’s my DNA. It’s my experience. My life. I share parts of my identity with millions of people in this country and millions more on this planet. Black. Indigenous. African. American. Our shared origins and experiences make us kin. Bond us in a fight against a common enemy. Make no mistakes, war was declared on us 500 years ago and has been waged ever since. The easy point to make is how one-sided this war has been. Genocide. Colonization. Slavery. Imperialism. Apartheid. 500 years of a complete ass whooping. But in perspective, 500 years is pretty insignificant relative to the existence of man on this planet. So WE are losing the last few rounds of a very long fight. Who are WE? WE are the originals in this time. WE are the teachers. WE are the creators. WE are here to learn who we ARE. WE are here to win. Who are WE? WE are the PEOPLE.
With this innerstanding of my life’s purpose, my personal identity shapes my personal contribution in the war. I see my mission as who I am in this minute to do what I think is the most I can do based on my truth in every and any particular moment of my life. Today and in this moment, my contribution is THE PEOPLE VS. THE ANTI-PEOPLE.
We need to form a human chain back to the ancestors. So from the babies to the kiddies to the teens to the young men and women to the adults to the ole heads to the elders…we need those links. We need to find all of the elders we can and start creating those links while they are still here. We need to tell the stories, pass down the knowledge and work tirelessly towards healing and correcting the imbalance of our people. Through the written and spoken word as well as visual media and production, through outreach and community involvement, through institution building, THE PEOPLE VS. THE ANTI-PEOPLE is committed to the cause and committed to anyone who shares that commitment.
David Shanks
The People vs. The Anti-People
]]>Toni Williams is the CEO of Prodigy of America and creator of the Homeschool and Hustle program that seeks to provide academic and business education to K-8 children and their families. We reached out to Toni to provide some details on the program and how the community can assist her mission.
TPVTAP: First off, tell us a little about yourself and your company, Prodigy of America and then let us know all about the Homeschool and Hustle program including your motivation and/or inspiration behind it.
TONI: I am Toni Williams, a creative entrepreneur from Athens, GA. I started Prodigy of America (officially) in 2016 as a response to an experience at work. A coworker presented my ideas as her own, and I realized it was time for me to be the one to control the narrative of my professional development. I had written the business plan for Prodigy in 2012. In that version of the vision, it was a school for talented creatives of color. Since then, it’s evolved into an all-encompassing creative entrepreneurship support service. Prodigy of America provides marketing resources (graphic design and website development), branding consultation, and youth Entrepreneurship services. Our latest service is Homeschool and Hustle. H&H provides academic content for grades K-8, with an added bonus of a virtual entrepreneurship class for the whole family. Because I’ve worked in the school system, as soon as schools shut down in response to the pandemic, I knew parents would need help! At the core of my being, I love to serve. H&H is my way of taking some stress off of families in this time. Currently, I am both CEO and the only employee of Prodigy of America! I look forward to expanding and I wouldn’t trade the transformational experience of business ownership for the world!
TPVTAP: Adding to that, why did you find it important for you to step up in this moment?
TONI: I’m blessed. I believe in a higher power. Whether you refer to it as God/ Source/ Love/ or your higher self, we all have that energy that protects us. When the pandemic began, I knew I’d be ok. I knew it was going to get rough. So I knew that I had to drop any worries about my own well-being and use my skills to benefit whomever I can.
TPVTAP: You mentioned being a first grade school teacher in the DC area. What has your interaction been like with the children since schools shut down? What feedback have you received from your students or their parents regarding how they are coping with the current circumstances?
TONI: I LOVE my students!!! Unfortunately, I was employed as a long-term substitute so I haven’t had any contact with my students since the shut down began. I miss them SO much and I ask their lead teacher about how they’re doing often. I began with the 1st grade module for Homeschool and Hustle so that my class would be the first to receive the service! I’m excited to see how they engage in the program.
TPVTAP: Without compromising your employment, what thoughts do you have regarding the response of your school system and the larger education system as a whole in this moment? What can we learn moving forward about the education of our children?
TONI: Admittedly, I am disappointed in my agency’s response to the crisis. I had quit my other job to be full-time there and there have been no solutions explored as to how to best financially support employees of the agency. We have essentially lost our jobs without much effective follow up. Great educators (in any capacity) give their ALL to children. I’m so glad students have been able to learn online, but in assisting in putting packets together, I know the work they’ve been given will not suffice as an adequate substitution for classroom learning. Educators who have been in the trenches know that the system has been broken for a while. I see this as a BEAUTIFUL opportunity for passionate educators to develop their own curriculum and serve in their community. We are more than capable of educating our children without this current system. The lesson here for educators and parents is to take charge of the responsibility of developing young minds.
TPVTAP: I find it interesting and timely that you included a "Hustle" component to the program. Why is teaching business to children and learning business as a family unit so important?
TONI: Hustle was actually the name of a past project that I did in Brooklyn, NY. My amazing students there at Eagle Academy taught me rather quickly that our children do not need fluff lessons. They need education in real-world issues. So, in 2017, I redirected my after school class of 60 black and brown middle school boys to learn entrepreneurship through Hip Hop. We studied the paths of artists like Jay-Z and Nas who are not only talented creatives, but business men as well. The kids created businesses (selling bowties, T-shirts, milkshakes, art, and more), designed logos, made budgets, chose a target audience, handmade their products, sold them in the schools, kept all the profit, and gave an investors pitch in a 9 week program. I saw that the program not only was fun, but kept them wanting to learn and wanting to be disciplined every day for class. Homeschool and Hustle is a chance for me to bring that experience to everyone. Entrepreneurship is important to me because, as we now know, we cannot depend on the current economic system. Additionally, exploring your ability to provide a product or service for other people is a journey I feel everyone should have the privilege of taking. It reminds you just how valuable you are.
TPVTAP: If you have not already done so, tell us the launch date of the program, where The People can find it and how we can support you.
TONI: Homeschool and Hustle will be available this May (exact date TBD)! We will release the academic content for 1st Grade on Vimeo first, and build until we have academic content for grades K-8. The “Hustle” portion will be held for families via Zoom. If you’d like to support, I am holding a campaign to recruit 1300 people to commit to donating $1/month to support the continuation of this program AND insure that parents can receive it free of charge. All donations can be made via CashApp to $heyyytoni OR here: paypal.me/prodigyofamerica. If folks are interested in being monthly $1 donors, they can reach out to me via email at prodigyofamerica@gmail.com. For updates, follow us on IG at @prodigyofamerica.
TPVTAP: Please share any additional thoughts, projects or plans you want The People to know.
TONI: Thank you to The People vs. The Anti-People for providing this amazing and thoughtful platform! It’s always a blessing to have the opportunity to share your passion with the public. For those of you in good spirits or under duress during this time, keep your hearts open to each other, first and foremost. The only way we get through this thing is together. Much love from Prodigy of America!!
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DEAFinitely Dope is an organization that uses hip-hop to connect and advocate for the hearing impaired and promote ASL (American Sign Language) education and awareness. We reached out to its creator, Matthew Maxey, to discuss his activism and how hip-hop has influenced his mission.
TPVTAP: It appears that you fell into your current role quite organically. Once your videos began going viral, what was the spark or motivation behind starting DEAFinitely Dope?
Matt: The spark was observing how hip-hop and sign language being combined became mind blowing to people that never knew the two could coexist on such a relatable scale. From there, it became more of the mindset in developing a brand to make it more marketable while at the same time growing to include more of mainstream America.
TPVTAP: In this case, "The People" for you represents the deaf and hearing impaired community but you are also a brother. Can you compare or contrast your experiences in society as both hearing impaired and a person of color?
Matt: I always viewed it as having 2 strikes already, if a police officer tells me to stop as a brother and a deaf man, there’s always a spider sense in the back of my mind that keeps me on my toes knowing I could be a victim of my own circumstance. To be a black man in the deaf community is a minority, just as being deaf in a hearing friendly world also leaves me as a minority, over time, adaptation becomes very real and instead of letting situations claim another victim, why not rise up against it and speak change into action.
TPVTAP: How did hip-hop help you growing up and why do you think it can be a tool to unite the hearing and hearing impaired communities?
Matt: Hip-hop was my favorite audiobook, everywhere I looked was surrounded by hip-hop and I admit when I first started learning sign language, I wasn’t quite sold on it, but seeing how lyrics came to life through sign language changed my perspective forever and slowly became an addiction to a thirst of knowledge as well as breaking down the challenges of combining languages.
TPVTAP: Prior to learning about you, I have not seen much attention paid to ASL interpreters and definitely not in the hip-hop community. How important is it that there is representation from the hip-hop community in this space?
Matt: It’s very important actually, hip-hop is the number one genre, and ASL is the third fastest growing language in America, to combine the two makes for more awareness, and inclusion is a product of that awareness.
TPVTAP: What's next for DEAFinitely Dope? Are there plans to release original music?
Matt: We will be traveling to different conferences, panels, deaf ran camps and more for the upcoming month! Original music has been a goal of mine, but there’s so much music that comes out, it becomes overwhelming!
TPVTAP: How can folks get involved/donate to the cause?
Matt: Support your local deaf school, community or local deaf business!
We thank Matt for representing for the people! Please check out DEAFinitely Dope for more information and to donate.
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