Episode 303: When Lineage Meets Craft and Other Notes on Community with Tai Allen Part 1

This week the US commemorates the MLK Day holiday - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. He would have been 97. The third Monday of January has stood as the official holiday for 40 years, and no matter what the current US administration attempts at erasure, the Black American Diaspora will never forget. I remember growing up, before 1986 when the day became an official holiday, the majority of my Black classmates did not attend school on January 15th. This is the activism that the Civil Rights Movement inspired for two generations, and activism + grassroots organizing are prime topics in this two-part conversation with long-time comrade, fellow Brooklynite, poet, performer, jazz/soul vocalist, musician, producer, designer, and community strategist, Tai Allen. A native New Yorker by way of Panama, Jamaica, and Virginia, Tai’s life story is filled with a history of progressive stands. From his mother’s family being among those that contributed to the suit that integrated schools across the United States—Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka to his father’s influential network of academics and thought leaders, his craft was in the making for his entire upbringing—without him necessarily knowing it. #Listenandlearn more! Where to find Tai? https://taiallen.com/ On LinkedIn On Instagram On Facebook On YouTube On Soundcloud Other topics of interest: About Yonkers, New York Perspective on Jamaican Migration to Panama About Colón and Panama City in Panama About Saint Ann and Saint Elizabeth Jamaica The Maroons of Jamaica How Scots became a presence in Jamaica… Flyght Tyme, the band About Tai’s connection to Roots Author, Alex Palmer Haley and Palmer Family Ancestry The Five Cases that lead to Brown v. Board About recently shuttered community hotspot, The Brooklyn Moon Cafe and Michael Thompson What was Real Player? The Last Poets Amiri Baraka Yosef Ben-Jochannan “Dr. Ben” About Leonard Jeffries Who is Chi Ossé? Revisit Anna Malaika Tubbs on Glocal Citizens CBC - Congressional Black Caucus What’s happening in policy in Utah? A timeline of policing, law enforcement and resistance in the USSpecial Guest: Tai Allen.